Other Holidays

The origins of Valentine’s Day stretch back long before heart shaped chocolates and red roses filled store shelves. The history behind Valentine’s Day includes dark origins, muddled stories and a surprising amount of chance.

By Lena Thaywick

When most people hear the word "Thanksgiving," they picture a late-November feast with turkey, pumpkin pie and maybe a football game on TV. But in Canada, Canadian Thanksgiving happens on the second Monday in October and brings its own unique history and traditions.

By Lena Thaywick

Bursting with color, music, and joy, Holi is one of the most important festivals in the Hindu tradition. But what is Holi exactly?

By Lena Thaywick

When we think about St. Patrick's Day, spiritual meaning isn't always the first thing to come to mind. We often celebrate with parades, green attire and festive gatherings — but at its core, it is a deeply spiritual holiday revolving around faith and devotion.

By Yara Simón

Grab your BFFs, girls. Galentine's Day is coming and we're celebrating like Leslie Knope!

By Kristen Hall-Geisler

Love bubble wrap? There's a holiday for that. And just about everything else. But who's creating them and why?

By Carrie Dennis

This centuries-old Pagan holiday isn't necessarily scary. But those who celebrate are honoring the dead, believing their spirits have easy access to the world of the living during Samhain.

By Mark Mancini

More states are replacing Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day. What's prompted the switch and how you do celebrate it?

By Dave Roos

The July 14 holiday celebrated by the French is way more complicated than the term "Bastille Day" might suggest.

By Carrie Whitney, Ph.D.

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is one of the largest and most popular parades in the United States. And this year is no exception. Find out what makes this annual event such a hit.

By Kathleen Seiler Neary

Day of the Dead is not a Mexican version of Halloween. It's a celebration of life - both here and beyond - when the souls of the departed come home for feasting and fun. Here's how it started.

By Dave Roos

This fall festival is about food, faith, lights and gifts. But please don't call it an Indian Hanukkah.

By Dave Roos

As more states are swapping Columbus Day celebrations for Indigenous Peoples' Day observances, does Columbus Day still have any relevance?

By Dave Roos

Which three presidents died on July 4? What's the Horribles Parade? And, should America be celebrating on July 2 instead?

By Dave Roos

Today Americans mostly celebrate it as the start of summer. But the annual May holiday has a significant history that's worthy of acknowledgment.

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

Cinco de Mayo is more than margaritas. Learn how the first Cinco de Mayo celebration in the U.S. was in 1863, as a show of solidarity with Mexico against French rule.

By Julia Layton & Kathryn Whitbourne

The Easter holiday is on a different date each year. But how is the date determined? Answer: Look to the moon.

By Kathryn Whitbourne

Nope, it's not the police code for marijuana possession. It has a much cooler origin story. Find out about the meaning of 420.

By Nathan Chandler

Why is April 1 a day to play pranks on others? How did this tradition begin? And are you going to prank someone on April Fool's Day?

By HowStuffWorks.com Contributors & Ada Tseng

Mardi Gras turns New Orleans into a hotbed of fun and reveling. This might make the festival's religious ties rather hard to imagine. So did how Mardi Gras get started?

By Kathryn Whitbourne

The annual festival of lights signifies the end of Chinese New Year and the beginning of spring.

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

This mass migration totally dwarfs Thanksgiving travel in the United States.

By Carrie Whitney, Ph.D.

This beloved holiday celebrates the poet Robert Burns and is full of whisky, readings and fat juicy haggis.

By Dave Roos

The price of the average American Thanksgiving increased about 14 percent over last year. Why so much? Blame the supply chain crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, of course.

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

The Thanksgiving holiday started out very differently from our modern celebration of gluttony. How much do you know about Thanksgiving history myths? Take our quiz and find out!

By Nathan Chandler