Holidays
Everyone loves a good holiday, no matter whether you're commemorating a special occasion or just looking for a day out of the office. Read about important holidays in these articles.
Mexico's Night of the Radishes, a Quirky Christmas Tradition
How the 19th Century Invented Modern Christmas
Official White House Christmas Ornaments Are a 40-Year Tradition
McKamey Manor Is Too Extreme for Most, But Creator Tells Us It's PG-13
Flying on Halloween? You Can Wear a Costume!
5 Halloween Myths That Will Not Die
Celebrate Galentine's Day, Leslie Knope Style
National Bubble Wrap Day? Who Is Making Up These Weird Holidays?
Before Halloween, There Was Samhain
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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
On Christmas Eve, Icelandic families traditionally settle down to a cozy night of exchanging gifts of books and reading. It's all part of jólabókaflóð or the Christmas Book Flood.
By Dave Roos
We tallied up how much dough it costs the big guy to give every kid in the world toys. And it's way more than we expected.
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Our theory on St. Nick's sweet ride: It's rustic on the outside and state-of-the-art on the inside. Learn more about the advanced technology we think runs Santa's sleigh (and those reindeer).
Yes, you read that right. There are several options for renting Christmas trees. They're more eco-friendly and way more convenient.
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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Checking your kids' candy for poison or sharp objects? Locking up your black cat so it doesn't get snagged by a Satanist? Maybe you can relax after finding out the real stories behind these urban legends.
By Dave Roos
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
Parson Brown? Yuletide? Do you have a clue what the lyrics of Christmas carols are talking about?
Each country has its own unique way of celebrating the Christmas season. Learn about Christmas traditions around the world, from England to Ethiopia.
By Sarah Toast
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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.
Writer Robert Lamb wonders if the unblinking, judging eye of elfin surveillance is such a great idea.
By Robert Lamb
Get your ugly holiday sweater fill in one go with these nine horrid knits.
Experts and parents are divided on whether to encourage children's belief in Santa Claus.
By Alia Hoyt
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Forget caroling, feasting and having any sort of fun at all on "Foolstide," the catchy but hateful nickname some Puritans gave Christmas in the New World.
By John Donovan
Haunted houses have an arsenal of scare tactics they deploy depending on who darkens their doors.
By Dave Roos