Skip to main content
Intellect

Family Christmas traditions explored at Lee Library lecture Dec. 9

Kristi Bell, Brigham Young University folklore archivist, will speak Thursday, Dec. 9 at 3 p.m. in the Special Collections' DeLamar Jensen Lecture Room as part of this semester's Omnibus Lecture Series, sponsored by the L. Tom Perry Special Collections.

Bell's lecture, "My Mother Makes Us Pajamas for Christmas: Family Traditions for Strong Families" discusses what holiday traditions mean.

"Our stories and traditions tell us who we are and how we fit into our family," says Bell. "They emphasize what is important to us. The patterns, traditions, stories that we share within our families create a unique family spirit."

Bell will share stories gathered by the Wilson Folklore Archives about Christmas, family togetherness and traditional gifts.

As a curator of the Wilson Archives since 1995, Bell has given many professional and community presentations. Her research focuses on family narratives and Mormon courtship customs.

For media inquiries, please contact Kristi Bell at (801) 422-6041, Kristi_bell@byu.edu or Mike Hooper, communications manager of the Harold B. Lee Library at (801) 402-6687, mike_hooper@byu.edu.

Writer: Mike Hooper

Related Articles

data-content-type="article"

Wildflowers not wildfires: How BYU and Provo City are helping to restore Rock Canyon Trailhead

July 10, 2025
At Rock Canyon Trailhead in Provo, Utah, BYU researchers are fighting fires with flowers. By replacing a problematic weed called cheatgrass with wildflowers, students and faculty are working to protect and restore one of Provo’s most popular hiking spots.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=
data-content-type="article"

Wildfires in residential areas are on the rise; why hydrants and the water system behind them were never meant to stop those fires

July 01, 2025
BYU professor Rob Sowby teaches and studies environmental engineering, urban water infrastructure and sustainability. He has particular expertise in the planning, design, construction and operation of public water systems. That expertise has been increasingly important (and regularly sought out) in the wake of apocalyptic wildfires that have taxed those public water systems.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=
data-content-type="article"

Meet the BYU math student helping make wildfire predictions faster and smarter

June 25, 2025
Using machine learning and math, a BYU student improved a key tool firefighters rely on during wildfire season
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText=