Rituals and Traditions
The Fascinating Afterlife of Peru's Mummies
From inside stone palaces and atop sacred mountaintops, the Inca dead continued to wield incredible power over the living
In Bolivia's High-Altitude Capital, Indigenous Traditions Thrive Once Again
Among sacred mountains, in a city where spells are cast and potions brewed, the otherworldly is everyday
Astronauts Have Some Weird Pre-Launch Traditions
Rituals are important when you're about to rocket into space
Have Something Rude to Say? Put it on This 2300-Year Old Statue in Rome
A cardinal started the tradition of decorating this statue with snarky poems and insults
The Foods Americans Once Loved to Eat
Turtles, beavers and eel were once beloved staples of the continental diet. What happened?
New Photo Book Explores Places the Dead Don’t Rest
From mossy burial caves to bone-filled churches, photographer Paul Koudounaris spent a dozen years documenting sites where the living and dead interact
Meet the Makech, the Bedazzled Beetles Worn as Living Jewelry
The unusual bugs from the Yucatán have a backstory as colorful as their rhinestone-studded rumps
Kyrgyzstan’s Otherworldly Cities of the Dead
Photographer Margaret Morton traveled to the remote corners of the Central Asian nation to document its city-like ancestral cemeteries
The Trickiest Part of a Penis Transplant? Finding a Donor
The doctors who announced the first successful procedure last week had a particularly difficult time finding willing organ donors
No One Really Knows What a Shamrock Is
The three-leaf clover is what everyone wears, but what species is it?
Mad, Wonderful Photos From Mardi Gras and Carnival
From New Orleans to Panama to Spain, revelers celebrated Mardi Gras and the days leading up to it with costumes, color and craziness
What Exactly Is Duck Sauce?
Trying to get to the bottom of this Chinese food mystery sends our writer on a wild goose chase
One Night Each Winter, Devils Run Through the Streets of Barcelona
Since the early 1990s, Barcelona's winter bonfire festival has celebrated the intersection of Catalan and Majorcan cultures
Argentina Has a Superstition That Seventh Sons Will Turn into Werewolves
If the president adopts them, however, the seventh sons are spared from their werewolf fate
In Catalonia a Christmas Log Delivers Presents in An Unusual Way
Called Tió de Nadal, the log is decorated with a smiling face and fed until Christmas, but that’s not the strangest part of the tradition
Get Set Up With a Family in NYC for Christmas
Don’t be sad at the prospect of spending the holiday alone, a popular photoblog will match you up with a family
Show Us the Holiday Decorations in Your Neighborhood
What does the holiday season look like in your community? Upload a photo of the best light displays, Christmas trees, menorahs and other festive scenes
Why is Turquoise Becoming Rarer and More Valuable Than Diamonds?
With depleting mines, turquoise, the most sacred stone to the Navajo, has become increasingly rare.
When Becoming a Man Means Sticking Your Hand Into a Glove of Ants
Young men must subject themselves to a ritual involving bullet ant-filled gloves not once but 20 times
To Limit Pollution, The Chinese Are Faced With Giving Up an Ancient Tradition
For the Chinese, who invented both gun powder and fireworks, foregoing old traditions may clean up the air—just a bit
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