HowStuffWorks Newsletter
Looking for information on popular holidays and events celebrated around the world? Holidays profiled in this section include Mardi Gras, Kwanzaa, Valentine's Day, Thanksgiving and even Festivus!
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.
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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.
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 relevancy?
By Dave Roos
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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.
The Cinco de Mayo holiday is far more popular in the U.S. than in Mexico. Why is that and what does it celebrate?
The Easter holiday is on a different date each year. But how is the date determined? Answer: Look to the moon.
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Nope, it's not the police code for marijuana possession. It has a much cooler origin story.
Why is April 1 a day to celebrate foolishness and play pranks on each other? How did this tradition begin? Moreover, are you going to prank someone today?
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?
The annual festival of lights signifies the end of Chinese New Year and the beginning of spring.
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This mass migration totally dwarfs Thanksgiving travel in the United States.
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.
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!
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How did spring break become a booze-fueled rite of passage for American college students? Can we blame this one on the ancient Greeks?
By Dave Roos
Whether it's the Nativity display in the public square, the store clerk who says "Happy Holidays" or the tacky holiday sweater, there's something to offend everyone in the season of goodwill.
National Bologna Day is no baloney. This annual October 24 "holiday" offers fans an unapologetic way to pay homage to the most democratic pressed meat of our time.
Though Mother's Day seems to be filled with sweetness and light, it had a rather heavy beginning, arising as a post-Civil War plea for peace. So how did the holiday change over the years?
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We love pepperoni and mozzarella on our pizza, so why not throw it in the bird? Yep, stuffing (or dressing) doesn't have to be boring. Are you daring enough to mix it up?
Incorporate these scents into your home for a lovely seasonal fragrance.
