Folklore of the United States
American folklore encompasses the folklore that has evolved in the present-day United States mostly since the European colonization of the Americas. It also contains folklore that dates back to the Pre-Columbian era.
Plymouth Rock Monument designed for the Tercentenary (1920)
Betsy Ross sewing
MOLLY PITCHER. (Ten American Girls from History 1917)
The Empire State Building
Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as tales, myths, legends, proverbs, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also includes material culture, such as traditional building styles common to the group. Folklore also encompasses customary lore, taking actions for folk beliefs, and the forms and rituals of celebrations such as Christmas, weddings, folk dances, and initiation rites.
Netherlandish Proverbs by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1559
A European folk tale, Little Red Riding Hood; illustration by Jessie Willcox Smith, 1911
A German folk tale, Hansel and Gretel; illustration by Arthur Rackham, 1909
Indian Folk Worship at Batu Caves, Selangor Malaysia