Rituals and Traditions

An artist’s depiction of Gunakadeit joseeae

215-Million-Year-Old, Sharp-Nosed Sea Creature Was Among the Last of Its Kind

Researchers gave the marine reptile the genus name <u>G</u>unakadeit in honor of a sea monster from Tlingit oral history

Witch bottles, or talismans designed to ward off evil spirits, were more commonly employed across the pond in the United Kingdom.

Suspected 'Witch Bottle' Full of Nails Found in Virginia

Archaeologists unearthed the blue glass bottle near the hearth of a small fort used during the Civil War

A group of revelers are seen wassailing at Redbyrd Orchard Cider in New York.

New York's Cideries Bring the Tradition of Wassailing to the Finger Lakes

Common in England, the practice of toasting to the health of the orchard has hopped the pond

From Christmas to Chinese New Year to San Sebastián Street Festival, here are the beverages that people around the world will be sipping on this holiday season.

Nine Delicious Holiday Drinks From Around the World

Bored of eggnog? Sick of cider? Here are nine scrumptious end-of-year beverages to sip on from across the globe

Flying Santa plane flies past Boston Light in 1947.

After 90 Years, the 'Flying Santa' Is Still Dropping Gifts From a Plane

In New England, a long-standing tradition continues with pilots delivering gifts to lighthouses and lifesaving stations

Lead author Scott Haddow says, "Given the small sample size, the ultimate meaning of the human teeth pendants will remain elusive until new findings ... can help us better contextualize [them]."

Archaeologists Unearth Beads Made of Human Teeth in Ancient Turkish City

The molars found in Çatalhöyük are the first such beads found in the Near East

The two cracked eggs emitted a "sulfurous aroma" during excavation.

Archaeologists Crack the Case of 1,700-Year-Old Roman Eggs

Two of the eggs broke open during excavation, but one remains intact

The Randall Park Mall in Ohio, photographed here in 2014, was opened in 1971 and abandoned in 2009. Amazon has built a new distribution center on the site.

The Rise of the Zombie Mall

Hundreds of big retail centers have gone under, but the shop-til-you drop lifestyle isn't dead yet

A copper band found at the McQueen shell ring is similar to ceremonial objects seen at sites in the Great Lakes region

Grave Hints at Interaction Between Early Humans Living in Great Lakes, American Southeast

Parallels between burial sites in the two regions suggest long-distance networks emerged earlier than previously believed

1,000-Year-Old Pouch From Bolivia Contains Traces of Five Mind-Altering Drugs

The ingredients include coca leaves and two compounds used in modern ayahuasca rituals

During Holi, people crowd the streets and splash brilliantly colored dyes on anyone walking by.

The Meaning Behind the Many Colors of India's Holi Festival

From red to green to indigo, each color provides festival-goers with a sense of beauty, ritual and tradition

An Appreciation of <i>Küchle</i>, My Family’s Deep-Fried Dough Tradition for Fat Tuesday

Avoid a grease fire. Support a local bakery.

Paella, a national favorite in Spain, is a hearty dish prominently featuring two of Linford's Seven Wonders—rice and tomato. It may be seasoned with salt and chili flakes as well.

The Mouthwatering History of Seven Fundamental Foodstuffs

A new Smithsonian book whisks readers on a culinary odyssey, tracing the history of salt, pork, honey, chili, tomato, rice and chocolate

At Gobbler’s Knob, Punxsutawney Phil is proudly lifted like Simba high overhead by his top-hatted Groundhog Club handler. Will it be six more weeks of winter or an early spring? Only the groundhog knows.

Play a Groundhog Day Song on a Continuous Loop

Like Bill Murray, wake up to Groundhog Day everyday with the Smithsonian Folkways' groundhog playlist

When the sun sets on the fifteenth day of the Lunar New Year celebrations, hundreds brave the freezing February temperatures to see the display.

To Celebrate the Lunar New Year, Chinese Blacksmiths Turn Molten Metal Into Fireworks

Dubbed the "poor man's fireworks," the spectacular pyrotechnic display is a 500-year ritual in Nuanquan, China

Woman arranging bric-a-brac in her Arizona home circa 1940

How America Tidied Up Before Marie Kondo

From the Progressive Era's social hygiene movement to Netflix self-help reality television

The Key Marco Cat was unearthed at Marco Island off Florida’s southwestern shore in the late 19th century.

This Hand-Carved Panther Statuette Embodies a Lost Civilization’s Harmony With Nature

Calusa Indians harnessed the bounty of Florida’s estuaries with respect and grace

In this 2018 photo provided by Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History, INAH, a skull-like stone carving and a stone trunk depicting the Flayed Lord, a pre-Hispanic fertility god depicted as a skinned human corpse, are stored after being excavated from the Ndachjian–Tehuacan archaeological site in Tehuacan, Puebla state, where archaeologists have discovered the first temple dedicated to the deity.

Archaeologists Find First-Known Temple of ‘Flayed Lord’ in Mexico

While the rituals associated with the site may not be entirely clear, identifying the ruins of a temple to the deity Xipe Tóte is an important discovery

Saint Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, is shown throwing three balls of gold through a window, providing the dowry of three poverty-stricken maidens in an altarpiece painted between 1433 and 1435 for a monastery in Florence. The design was based on an altarpiece by Gentile da Fabriano of 1425.

Why We Should Bring Back the Tradition of the Christmas Orange

The appeal of a last-minute stocking stuffer

The Patents Behind Christmas Lights

This Christmas, take a moment to appreciate the many innovations that make holiday light displays and the strand of bulbs on your tree possible

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