Category: Traditional Culture

As Politics Dominate Mainstream Culture, Country Music Fans Turn to Branson, Missouri for Traditional Songs

As “wokeness” invades multiple facets of American life, from Hollywood stars bailing out rioters to pushes for critical race theory in public education, people across the nation have been finding it hard to avoid. The country music industry is no exception. Despite being founded by Christian Irish, Scottish, and English immigrants in the early 1900s, there is a recent push to…


Homeowner Uncovers Garden Grotto From 1700s in Backyard of His Suburban Home of 25 Years

A homeowner was stunned to uncover a beautiful 18th-century Gothic folly hidden at the end of his suburban back garden at the house where he has lived for 25 years. John Bostock, 62, had been pruning ivy and tidying up his garden ahead of moving house when he made the incredible discovery on July 3….


The ‘Ladies’ Château’: Château de Chenonceau

If there was ever a monument of architecture dedicated to the feminine soul, Château de Chenonceau should be that testament. The medieval castle that dominates the right bank of the Cher River in France’s Loire Valley exists only because of the women who loved this regal residence. Built upon the ruins of a 12th-century medieval…


Still Under Siege: Armenians and the Churches of Nagorno-Karabakh

In 1965, I was an eighth grader at Virginia’s Staunton Military Academy, a school now long defunct. One day a classmate, Thomas A., told me the story of his Armenian grandmother, how some Turkish troops had entered her village, how she had hidden away either in a cellar or under a bed (that detail has…


Australia Gets a Taste of New York as The MET’s European Masterpieces Arrive Down Under

Australians will now be able to see some of New York’s finest treasurers with five centuries of  European Masterpieces coming to Queensland in the most significant exhibition of international art Australia has seen in recent decades. The traditional masterpieces exhibition features portraits, still-life, and landscapes by Cézanne, Rembrandt, Renoir, Vermeer, van Gogh and others from…


New York Met Museum to Send European Masterpieces Down Under

Australians will soon be able to see some of New York’s finest treasurers with five centuries of European Masterpieces coming to Queensland in the most significant exhibition of international art Australia has seen in recent decades. The traditional masterpieces exhibition features portraits, still-life, and landscapes by Cézanne, Rembrandt, Renoir, Vermeer, van Gogh and others from…


New York Met Museum’s European Masterpieces Visit Down Under

New York’s finest treasures, including five centuries of European Masterpieces, are now on display in Queensland, Australia in the most significant exhibition of international art the country has received in recent decades. The traditional masterpieces exhibition features portraits, still-life, and landscapes by Cézanne, Rembrandt, Renoir, Vermeer, van Gogh and others from the Renaissance to twentieth-century…


Blooming Again: Marie Antoinette’s Private Garden Is Restored at the Palace of Versailles

At a certain time of year, American visitors ambling around the grounds of the Palace of Versailles can detect the familiar heady scent of the Virginia tulip tree—Marie Antoinette’s favorite tree.   Native to eastern and southern America, the Virginia tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera), with its pale green or cheerful bright yellow cup-shaped blooms, along with…


The Dangers of Imagination Without Borders

Use your imagination—compare the modern monsters Godzilla and King Kong to the ancient monsters Pegasus and the Chimera. In this comparison spanning eons lies something of the imaginative purpose of monsters. While the giant ape is outrageous, his essence projects alpha-male strength, whereas the atomic lizard (with perhaps a nod to the dragon) is more egregiously outrageous….


Recurrents: The Story of Faust Through History

In the rich tapestry of Western civilization, certain themes and stories keep recurring. They mark our culture’s continuity as each generation finds new meaning in them. From the Middle Ages to the present, the legend of Faust has never gone away. It speaks to people in every time and place. Why? Perhaps because each of…