Holidays

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

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.

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

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).

By John Fuller & Cherise Threewitt

Yes, you read that right. There are several options for renting Christmas trees. They're more eco-friendly and way more convenient.

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

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

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?

By Christopher Hassiotis

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

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.

By Melanie Radzicki McManus

Get your ugly holiday sweater fill in one go with these nine horrid knits.

By Yves Jeffcoat

Experts and parents are divided on whether to encourage children's belief in Santa Claus.

By Alia Hoyt

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

Can a Halloween attraction be sued for being too scary? It's already happened. When else did attractions get out of control - at least for some visitors?

By Melanie Radzicki McManus

You thought your drunk uncle was the worst part about Christmas? These tragedies, large and small, should put things in perspective.

By Clint Pumphrey

Have Halloween decorations gotten so good that when people spot a real dead body, they think it's fake? That's been the case in these ghoulish instances.

By Chris Opfer

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.

By Laurie L. Dove

The American Halloween is just one of many celebrations around the globe with roots in ceremonies to honor the dead who've returned to visit their loved-ones. Want to join the Hungry Ghosts Festival or snack on a sugar skull?

By Melanie Radzicki McManus

Though Mother's Day seems to be filled with sweetness and light, it had a rather heavy origin, arising as a post-Civil War plea for peace. So how did the holiday change over the years?

By Laurie L. Dove