Archives Advent Calendar Recap

Happy December! This year we are participating in the hashtag challenge #ArchiveAdventCalendar, where we  are posting (almost) every day according to the festive prompts. This hashtag challenge was created by Archives and Records Association, Scotland (ARA Scotland) who you can find on Instagram @ara_scotland and on Twitter @ARAScot.

Day 1: Snow

Even though there isn't any snow currently in Philadelphia, we made a bookish snowman ⛄️ ! In this stack, we included books from our Ministerium of Pennsylvania (MOP) collection, our Rare Book collection, as well as from our reference library collection. Hopefully you’ll enjoy these posts as much as we’ve had fun making them!

Day 2: Tree

Our Project Archivist Melissa Bergoffen got creative and created a tree made out of books! All the books used for this festive stack are a combination of items from our Ministerium of Pennsylvania, Research Library, and Rare Book collections. Who knew we had so many green bindings within our collections!

Project Archivist Melissa Bergoffen assembling a bookish tree!

Day 3: Holiday Spirit

The Brossman Learning Center (where we are located) has a beautiful tree in the lobby, showing some #holidayspirit ! 🎄

Day 5: Angels

We originally missed this day on our Instagram, but later discovered an angel ornament hanging on the tree in the Brossman Center lobby!

Day 7: Shopping

Did you know we have an Online Shop that sells new and used books? Yes, it's true! What's also true is that it's Day 7 of the #ArchiveAdventCalendar and today's prompt is SHOPPING! With only 19 days left until Christmas have you got your shopping done? If you have a bibliophile on your shopping list, consider checking out our online book store by clicking here.

Day 10: Christmas Sweater

Our archivists Sheila and Melissa were caught sporting some snazzy Christmas sweaters in front of the tree in the Brossman Center Lobby. These ladies sure know how to have some festive fun!

Day 11: Candle

Below are some featured candlestick holders and candelabras currently on display in the Augustana Museum, located on the third floor of the Brossman Center.

Wooden Altar, gift of Zion Lutheran Church, Greendale, Worchester, MA containing several different candlestick holders and candelabras.

Swedish Wooden Seven-Branched Candelabra. Gift of Salem Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Church, Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, NY.

Swedish Wooden Seven Branch Candelabra. Gift of Paul M. Cornell.

Wooden Advent Log. Gift from Immanuel Lutheran Church, Attleboro, MA

Day 12: Toys

These Dalecarlian Horse or Dala Horse is a traditional carved, painted wooden statue of a horse of Swedish origin. Originally intended as a toy for children, they have now become more known as a symbol of the Swedish province of Dalarna.

Blue Dala Horse: Gift of Paul M. Cornell.

Larger Orange Horse: Gift of Upsala College.

Smaller Orange Horse: Gift of Kim-Eric Williams.

Brown Horse (set of 3): Gift from Kim-Eric Williams, originally from St. Marks Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, Connecticut.

 Day 13: Festive Clothes

We may be double dipping, but we can't get over how festive our archivists Sheila and Melissa are in these holiday sweaters! Plus this red couch matches the theme too, don't you think?

Day 16: Decoration

We thought we'd share some of our favorite ornaments hanging on the Christmas tree in the Brossman Learning Center. What are some of your favorite decorations to put up for the holiday season?

Stay tuned for more!