Cracking Open the History of Fortune Cookies

Last Friday a friend and I decided to grab dinner at a Chinese restaurant down by the D.C. waterfront. We indulged in the hot and sour soup and plates of steak sauteed with scallions and red onion and dark chicken meat marinated in garlicky soy sauce and served with a medley of nuts. And when all t...
February 02, 2011 | By Jesse Rhodes

Lucky Foods for the New Year

Pigs, fish, beans and cakes are among the many delicacies consumed around the world to celebrate the new year
December 28, 2010 | By Annette Foglino

How to Celebrate Christmas in the Southern Hemisphere

I'm leaving for my first visit to Australia on the day after Christmas. Even though I grew up in Southern California—where Christmas decorations are palm tree trunks wrapped in lights and the annual New Year's Day Rose Parade is a televised gloat-fest over the relatively mild weather—it will be str...
December 23, 2010 | By Lisa Bramen

Fruitcake 101: A Concise Cultural History of This Loved and Loathed Loaf

The action of Truman Capote's 1956 short story "A Christmas Memory" is set into motion when a nameless sixty-something woman looks out her kitchen window and exclaims, "Oh my, it's fruitcake weather." Thus, she and her dearest friend, her 7-year-old, live-in cousin Buddy, begin amassing supplies fo...
December 21, 2010 | By Jesse Rhodes

Daughter Knows Best

Kids have discovered a diabolical new use for science: rebutting their parents
December 2010 | By Joe Queenan

Food Fit For the Dead—And the Living

Today is Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, a Mexican holiday that seeks to honor—or even communicate with—the spirits of the deceased. I've seen posters for Day of the Dead festivals in previous years and felt unsettled by the images of grinning or dancing skeletons. Why celebrate death so br...
November 02, 2010 | By Amanda Bensen

Zozobra: The Boogeyman of Santa Fe

Each year, New Mexicans gather around a giant burning effigy, casting off their bad memories into the consuming bonfire
October 28, 2010 | By April Reese

Pumpkin Carving Ideas From Around the Smithsonian

Print out and tape these stencils to your Halloween pumpkin for a different kind of jack o'lantern
October 22, 2010 | By Brian Wolly

Giving Thanks at Sukkot

Among Jewish holidays, I think Hanukkah gets more than its fair share of attention. It's a relatively minor festival that most likely owes its elevated status in the United States to its proximity on the calendar to Christmas. As a secular Jewish kid in an overwhelmingly Christian neighborhood, I w...
September 22, 2010 | By Lisa Bramen

A Youth Renaissance for Native Americans

Filmmaker Chris Eyre says Native pride will embolden the next generation of first Americans
August 2010 | By Chris Eyre

In Kyoto, Feeling Forever Foreign

Travel writer Pico Iyer remains both fascinated and puzzled by the ancient Japanese city
June 2010 | By Pico Iyer

Kurdish Heritage Reclaimed

After years of conflict, Turkey's tradition-rich Kurdish minority is experiencing a joyous cultural reawakening
June 2010 | By Stephen Kinzer

Cinco Non-Alcoholic Mexican Beverages

I've got nothing against the margarita, the go-to Cinco de Mayo refreshment. In fact, it is one of my favorite cocktails. But, say you have to work the next day—even if Jose Cuervo is your amigo on Wednesday night, he might seem more like a frenemy by Thursday morning.Luckily, alcohol-free bebidas ...
May 05, 2010 | By Lisa Bramen

May Day Fritters and Beltane Cakes

May Day, the first day of May, doesn't usually get a lot of love—or anything else—in this country, but elsewhere it is observed as an important holiday. In some countries it has become associated with the worker's movement and is a day for protests; interestingly, this tradition began in 19th-centu...
April 30, 2010 | By Lisa Bramen

Why Are Chocolate Easter Bunnies Hollow?

Isn't it cruel to disappoint kids, who bite into what looks like solid chocolate and are confronted with emptiness?
April 02, 2010 | By Amanda Bensen

Cooking with Easter Candy

Did you buy too much Easter candy to fit in a basket? Not sure you can stomach eating it all straight? Well, in the foolish spirit of the day, here are some alternatives:1. Melt down a chocolate bunny and whaddaya know, you've got molten chocolate—perfect for fondue. You could also use bits of bunn...
April 01, 2010 | By Amanda Bensen

Home is Where the Kitchen Is

Photographer Dona Schwartz viewed her family through her camera lens in the hub of their household: the kitchen
April 01, 2010 | By Amanda Bensen

Homesick for Passover

Six years ago I moved to the Northeast from Southern California, where I grew up and where my family still lives. There are only two times of year that make me homesick, and sometimes they overlap: the waning days of winter, when it seems like the sleet and snow and dreariness—and lack of good fres...
March 30, 2010 | By Lisa Bramen

Easter Eggs Dyed the Natural Way

How how-to guide to making Easter egg dyes from the leftovers in your refrigerator
March 29, 2010 | By Abby Callard

Is It Safe to Drink Green Milk?

I'm not remotely Irish, but I always loved St. Patrick's Day as a kid. My mother has a great sense of fun, especially when it comes to holidays. So on the morning of every March 17th, as my brother and I stumbled groggily downstairs for breakfast, we would be greeted with green: Green placemats; gr...
March 16, 2010 | By Amanda Bensen

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