what is folklore

Folklore is the whole of oral traditions shared by a particular group of people, culture, or subculture. It includes the art, stories, knowledge, and practices of a people, and is often rooted in the past but is also tied to vibrant living traditions and creative expression today. Folklore can define a populations values, beliefs, and preferred way of life with its literary themes. Folklore artifacts or traditional cultural expressions include tales, myths, legends, proverbs, poems, jokes, customary lore, traditional building styles, and the forms and rituals of celebrations such as Christmas, weddings, folk dances, and initiation rites. Folklore is not something one can typically gain from a formal school curriculum or study in the fine arts. Instead, these traditions are passed along informally from one individual to another, either through verbal instruction or demonstration. Folklore is a central, everyday part of life and how we make sense of the world today, and it is at the heart of how we communicate who we are.