Culture & Traditions

Recognized by its bright colors and rows of bold, woven patterns, kente cloth is more than a piece of fabric. Each kente cloth has meaning, which is conveyed through its colors, patterns and symbols.

By Carrie Whitney, Ph.D.

President-elect Joe Biden has pretty much made 'malarkey' a household word, so we thought we'd do some research into its origin story.

By Kristen Hall-Geisler

The earliest biblical descriptions don't mention the presence of animals at the manger when Jesus was born. So how did those Nativity scenes evolve into what we know today?

By Vanessa Corcoran

Many Christians believe Jesus Christ will return to Earth to judge and rule it; they refer to it as the Second Coming. For centuries people have hoped it would happen in their lifetimes. So when — if ever — will it take place?

By Dave Roos

Originally, 'Pagan' was a putdown for the country folk who continued to worship the old Roman gods, rather than embracing Christianity. Today, paganism is having a resurgence but with a modern twist.

By Dave Roos

Studies have shown that for immigrants, assimilation into the new culture can be bad for your health, family relationships and educational attainment. Why's that, and how do you acculturate without assimilating?

By Dave Roos

At-thay epends-day on-way at-whay ou-yay ean-may y-bay eal-ray.

By Kristen Hall-Geisler

By the time Richard Alpert died in 2019, he was better known as Baba Ram Dass and had become a spiritual teacher, psychedelic research pioneer, best-selling author and New Age guru to millions of followers.

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

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

What's Victoria Day all about? Why is Canadian Thanksgiving in October? We'll give you a quick tour of Canadian holidays.

By Dave Roos

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

By Dave Roos

Born in 1207 as Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī, the Sufi mystic and Persian poet wrote a staggering amount of verse, and is still beloved and widely influential to this day.

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

The Latin language may be dead, but this phrase, which originated 2,000 years ago, is still used in legal and financial docs. So what does it mean?

By Kristen Hall-Geisler

If you've ever expressed the charming idea that you have a buttload of something – a buttload of laundry to do, a buttload of tacos to eat – you may have wondered what the measure of a buttload actually is and where the phrase came from.

By Kristen Hall-Geisler

Ever found yourself in a pickle and wondered, "Hey, why the heck do we call it a pickle?" Let's see if we can swim through the brine and find out.

By Kristen Hall-Geisler

The phrase (which means to ride in the front passenger seat of the car) seems like it might have come about during the Wild West. But it actually took a detour through Hollywood.

By Melanie Radzicki McManus

The most famous Quaker (the one on the oats box) is not even a real person. And this religious group, best known for its pacifism, has had much success in a sweeter area of food: chocolate!

By Dave Roos

You know that time in summer when everything slows down and not much is going on? The German word sommerloch neatly sums it up. But where did it come from?

By Dave Roos

Thanks to COVID-19, big celebrations are canceled. So it's no surprise people aren't saying 'Happy Birthday' with a simple card, but with a huge yard sign instead.

By Kristen Hall-Geisler

Floriography — the association of flowers with special virtues and sentiments — has been a practice from antiquity to the present day.

By Carrie Tatro

The name Karen has somehow become the universal term for the angry, white woman. But when and how did that happen?

By Kristen Hall-Geisler

From the worlds of politics, professional baseball and old-time boxing came a term still in use today to describe someone who has a left-handed predilection.

By Laurie L. Dove

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

By Carrie Whitney, Ph.D.

You didn't ask for a cigar. Maybe you don't even like them. So why is someone abruptly denying you one?

By Nathan Chandler

In TV shows and movies, sometimes an angel of death appears to tell some unfortunate soul their time on Earth is over. But where did this idea come from? And what if you tell the angel, "I'm not ready?"

By Dave Roos