Rituals and Traditions

Pancakes—or at least early versions of them—have been a culinary staple for tens of thousands of years.

A Brief History of Pancakes

From ancient Greece to Shrove Tuesday celebrations, the sweet or savory flat cakes have long been a culinary staple

Big Chief Monk Boudreaux (center) leads his Mardi Gras Indian tribe, the Golden Eagles, on Super Sunday.

What You Should Know About the Mardi Gras Indians

For more than a century, New Orleans' Black residents have donned Native-inspired attire to celebrate Carnival

Paczki made by Chicago bakery Delightful Pastries

What Is Paczki Day?

The Fat Tuesday tradition centered around eating fried, filled Polish pastries is celebrated across the Midwest, but especially in Chicago

The Codex Sassoon, which measures 12 by 14 inches, dates to the late ninth or early tenth century.

World's Oldest Near-Complete Hebrew Bible Goes to Auction

The Codex Sassoon could break auction records, becoming the most valuable historical document ever sold

The items were found at Thompson Farm, were Harriet Tubman was born into slvery.

Artifacts Unearthed Near Harriet Tubman's Birthplace

Archaeologists identified a West African spirit cache, a collection of items used to protect a home's occupants

Mobile, Alabama is considered by many to be the birthplace of Mardi Gras.

The Best Mardi Gras Parades Beyond New Orleans

You may think of the “Big Easy” on Fat Tuesday, but other towns throughout Louisiana and the wider Gulf Coast play host to raucous celebrations

Cows are considered sacred in Hinduism.

India Wants to Replace Valentine's Day With 'Cow Hug Day'

The Hindu nationalist government says that Western culture threatens Indian traditions

The dako sword found at Tomio Maruyama

Seven-Foot Sword Unearthed From 1,600-Year-Old Burial Mound in Japan

Archaeologists think the artifact was used to protect against evil after death

An intact Roman dodecahedron at the Gallo-Roman Museum

Metal Detectorist Finds Mysterious Roman Object Possibly Used for Magic

Patrick Schuermans discovered a fragment of a 1,600-year-old dodecahedron in Belgium

The finely crafted, decorative ceramics

Archaeologists Unearth 3,000-Year-Old Wishing Well in Germany

The Bronze Age well was full of decorative ceramics, jewelry and other items likely used for ritual purposes

The researchers' facial reconstruction shows a bearded, brown-eyed man in his 30s or 40s.

See the Face of a Neolithic Man Who Lived in Jericho 9,500 Years Ago

Prehistoric people modified a skull to create a rudimentary likeness of its owner. Now, scholars have produced a more accurate facial reconstruction

Egyptian officials with the ancient sarcophagus on January 2, 2023

U.S. Returns Looted Sarcophagus to Egypt

The "Green Coffin" had been at the Houston Museum of Natural Sciences since 2013

Soup joumou is a savory, orange-tinted soup that typically consists of calabaza squash, beef, noodles, carrots, cabbage, various other vegetables and fresh herbs and spices.

Haiti's Beloved Soup Joumou Serves Up 'Freedom in Every Bowl'

Every year, Haitians around the globe eat the pumpkin dish on January 1 to commemorate the liberation of the world’s first free Black republic

Sim’oogit Ni’isjoohl (Chief Earl Stephens) of the Nisga’a Nation with the Ni’isjoohl memorial pole

Inside the Nisga'a Nation's Fight to Get a 36-Foot Totem Pole Back From Scotland

National Museums Scotland agreed to repatriate the object, which was stolen in 1929, following an in-person appeal by an Indigenous delegation

A tableau of sculptures or living beings, the Nativity scene (as well as the closely related Adoration of the Magi) traces its origins back some 1,500 years.

What Nativity Scenes Tell Us About the Evolution of Christianity

From ancient mosaics to Saint Francis of Assisi, depictions of Jesus's birth reflect the changing conventions of the world's largest religion

Christmas market in Goslar, Germany, at dusk

A Brief History of Christmas Markets

Now a global phenomenon, the holiday tradition traces its roots to medieval Europe

Pilgrims queue to get inside of the Basilica of Guadalupe on December 11, 2022.

Millions of Pilgrims Gathered to Celebrate the Virgin of Guadalupe in Mexico City

After two years of pandemic closures, the annual tradition is back in full force

Signed copies of the thriller Reykjavik, co-written by Iceland's Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir and Icelandic author Ragnar Jonasson, one of the most popular crime writers in the world, are pictured during the official release of the book in Reykjavik, Iceland, on October 25, 2022.

Iceland's Christmas Book Flood Is a Force of Nature

The nation’s seasonal publishing and gifting tradition nourishes its unique literary culture

The French baguette has officially been given UNESCO protection.

As Traditional Bakeries Disappear, the French Baguette Receives UNESCO Protection

The agency adds the “artisanal know-how and culture of baguette bread” to its intangible heritage list

Richard Nixon and his daughter Tricia on her wedding day in June 1971

A Brief History of White House Weddings

Naomi Biden's nuptials will mark the 19th wedding held at the presidential seat of power

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