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Rituals and Traditions

Boo! Telling ghost stories on Christmas was a tradition for hundreds of years. Here, Marley's ghost surprises Ebenezer Scrooge in an illustration from the first edition of the classic tale.

Why Do People Tell Ghost Stories on Christmas?

Christmas ghost stories are a tradition going back much farther than “A Christmas Carol”

Cool Finds

Each Christmas, Iceland’s Yule Cat Takes Fashion Policing to the Extreme

The Jólakötturinn will make you thankful for those Christmas socks

Love Locks on the Pont de l'Archevêché bridge in 2012.

Trending Today

Paris Is Selling Old Love Locks to Raise Money For Refugees

Putting clipped locks to good use

The Gävle Goat in 2006

Cool Finds

For 50 Years, This Swedish City Has Celebrated Christmas Season With a Giant Straw Goat

And most of the time it meets a fiery end

The record for lights at a home, lawn included, is 601,736 bulbs.

Untangling the History of Christmas Lights

This bright idea was ahead of its time

The bonfires of Samhain were said to welcome the spirits that could travel to Earth during this special time.

Halloween Owes Its Tricks and Treats to the Ancient Celtic New Year’s Eve

During Samhain, the deceased came to Earth in search of food and comfort, while evil spirits, faeries and gods came in search of mischief

During an initiation ceremony for the Afro-Cuban secret society called Abakuá in the Havana district of Regla, a young aspirant depicts Aberisún, an ireme, or spirit messenger.

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Cuba

Venture Inside Cuba’s Secret Societies

From Masons to Santería priests, photographer Nicola Lo Calzo offers a glimpse into the island’s many subcultures

Girls are saying "let it go" to princess costumes in favor of superheroes.

Trending Today

Kids Ditch Princess Costumes in Favor of Superheroes This Halloween

For the first time in over a decade, princesses falter on the charts

What These Mysterious Scrolls Tell Us About Women in Petra

In 1961, archaeologists in southern Israel discovered a mysterious set of documents. They provide clues into the elevated status of Nabataean women

What Is the Glass Palace Chronicle and Why Is It Important?

One of the most important sources of Burmese history is a document known as the Glass Palace Chronicle

How the Thinnest Burmese Gold Leaf Is Made

In Burma, goldworking skills have been passed down over generations

Why Dead Rulers of the Han Dynasty Were Plugged With Jade

During the days of China’s Han dynasty, when a ruler died his corpse was carefully packed with jade “plugs”

Wu Zetian’s Bold Move at the Spectacular Longmen Grottoes

The Longmen Grottoes remain one of the most sacred places in China

An artist's representation of the Akelarre.

Visit the Site of the Biggest Witch Trial in History

Over 7,000 people were accused of witchcraft in Basque Spain

Inside the Church of Saint Nicholas, Father Nikolai Yakunin blesses parishioners during Pascha (Russian Easter), which begins at midnight and ends at dawn. The smoke of the incense is said to lift prayers to heaven.

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Alaska

In a Remote Alaskan Town, a Centuries-Old Russian Faith Thrives

Residents of Nikolaevsk remain true to the traditions of their ancestors, who fled religious persecution in the 17th-century

Today’s chefs are incorporating new ideas to prepare the creamy yellow-white sauce of the bakailaoa pil-pilean that is the hallmark of the Basque dish.

Here’s an Ingeniously Simple Method for Making Bakailaoa Pil-pilean, the Traditional Basque Meal

Digesting the lessons that the Basque chefs taught at this summer’s Folklife Festival

West acropolis at the Maya site of Yaxchilan, in Southern Mexico.

Ancient Maya Bloodletting Tools or Common Kitchen Knives? How Archaeologists Tell the Difference

New techniques for identifying the tools of sacrifice sharpen our understanding of the ritual

This 2,000-year-old scroll is covered with mysterious words in Aramaic.

Cool Finds

A Guide to Ancient Magic

In antiquity, love or revenge was just a spell away

Children salute the American flag in 1915.

Cool Finds

The Rules About How to Address the U.S. Flag Came About Because No One Wanted to Look Like a Nazi

During the National Anthem, Americans are asked to put their right hands over their hearts. But why?

A grave marker in Kingston's Hunt's Bay Cemetery carved with a skull and crossbones and Hebrew lettering

The Forgotten Jewish Pirates of Jamaica

Today, some tour operators and cultural historians are calling attention to the country’s little-known Jewish heritage

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