Rituals and Traditions

About 65 percent of Americans will send Christmas letters or cards this holiday season.

The History of Our Love-Hate Relationship With the Christmas Letter

How the "Dear Friends" missive started and how it has survived the Facebook age

Of Gods and Heroes by Jeffrey Veregge, 2018 (detail featuring Colleen Wing and Misty Knight)

This Artist Reenvisioned Marvel Superheroes in a Traditional Native American Style

Jeffrey Veregge uses formline, more typical of paintings and totem poles, to create a heroic mural

For Mariachi Arcoiris de Los Ángeles, their dual mission of being a respected musical group and advocating for social equality for the LGBTQ community has won the hearts and minds of many.

How the First LGBTQ Mariachi Became an Outlet for Advocacy

LA musicians Carlos Samaniego and Natalia Melendez do traditional Mexican music their way

A brave soul walks on Legos at the U.K. Firewalk

Why Walking on Legos Hurts More Than Walking on Fire or Ice

Everything you wanted to know about the science and history of stomping on the toy blocks

Soldiers supporting the coup led by Gen. Augusto Pinochet take cover as bombs are dropped on the Presidential Palace of La Moneda in Sept. 11, 1973.

An Eyewitness Account of Pinochet’s Coup 45 Years Ago

Smithsonian ethnomusicologist Dan Sheehy poignantly recalls the brutal outcome of a nation divided

This stretchable electronic device's design is inspired by the cut-paper art called kirigami.

How Ancient Arts Are Inspiring Modern Electronics

Engineers are finding a connection between paper snowflakes and wearable devices that stretch and bend with your body

The Gilbert Stuart painting “Portrait of George Washington’s Cook” may depict Hercules, the first president’s famous chef.

How Enslaved Chefs Helped Shape American Cuisine

Black cooks created the feasts that gave the South its reputation for hospitality

Covering the tūpuna (Māori ancestral remains) with the leaves of the kawakawa

Preserved Māori Head Returns to New Zealand

The sacred items were once widely collected by Europeans. In recent years, New Zealand has worked to secure the repatriation of these ancestral remains

Raising a Glass to Armenia’s Elaborate Toasting Tradition

In the backyard of the world’s oldest-known winery, a cherished national tradition evolved

A restaurant in Bishopville, S.C. markets the town’s association to the Lizard Man.

A Search for Mysteries and Monsters in Small Town America

How monster festivals became American pilgrimage sites

The Boquera brothers (above, Fèlix) are the fourth generation in their family to work the sea off the Costa Brava of Catalonia.

How a Fallback to Historic Traditions Might Save Catalonia’s Red Shrimp Fishery

The Boquera brothers, two fishermen from the Costa Brava, are part an innovative management plan that combines science with maritime skills and knowledge

The giants and big heads have been a hit among Folklife Festival-goers, says performer Jesus Bach Marques. "They're amazed by our giants! For most of them, it's something really new."

For Hundreds of Years, Papier-Mâché Has Lent a Surreal Face to Catalan Culture

Street performers disguised as Giants and Big Heads blend reverence with ribaldry at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival

Water throwing on Vardavar is a holiday unique to Armenia.

The Point of Armenia's Splashy Holiday Is Getting Wet

The ancient tradition of Vardavar attracts tourists to Armenia, but bring a change of clothes

Each spring the Festival de Sopes del Món Mundial (World Soup Festival) takes place in Barcelona, the capital of Spain’s Catalonia region.

How Soup Nourishes Barcelona's Tradition of Welcoming Immigrants

In the town plaza of Nou Barris, a festival feast mixes together the spices and flavorings of the world’s cuisines

The chevrons on the Panther's early suit, and the tessellated triangles on his later model, hint at the "sacred geometry" of triangular forms common to several African cultures.

King T’Challa’s Black Panther Suit, a Bold Statement of Afrofuturist Pride, Comes to the Smithsonian

Pounce on the opportunity to celebrate contemporary African-African filmmaking at the National Museum of African American History and Culture this fall

Why This Year's Royal Wedding Cake Won't Be a Disgusting Fruitcake

Wedding guests of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry can have their cake – and this time they’ll want to eat it, too

How African Female Ex-Slaves Became Agooji Warriors

During the 17th century, the Agooji were a battle-hardened, all-female warrior force that held a special place within the African kingdom of Dahomey

This African Warrior Ceremony Was Highly Intimidating

When France sent ambassador Jean-Marie Bayol to Dahomey to secure a deal for the kingdom's rich natural resources, he was greeted by an elite force

President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, first lady Melania Trump, and Brigitte Macron stand during a State Arrival Ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, April 24, 2018

A Brief History of State Dinners

The White House first hosted King David Kalākaua, of the Kingdom of Hawaii for a state dinner back in 1874

Joe Leahy at his Kilima coffee plantation at the height of his wealth and power.

The Reckoning

Thirty years ago, an acclaimed series of documentaries introduced the world to an isolated tribe in Papua New Guinea. What happened when the cameras left?

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