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Rituals and Traditions

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

Money tossed into a fountain at New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Cool Finds

What Happens to the Coins Tossed Into Fountains?

All that money has to go somewhere

Authentic "Derby-Pie"

Trending Today

Why Making ‘Derby-Pie’ Might Land You a Lawsuit

The Kentucky Derby’s traditional dessert has a tangled legal history

It is tradition for a young man to kiss a young lady’s hand at the Elmayer Hofburg ball. The waltz ends; enchantment lingers.

Austria

The Timeless Art of the Viennese Waltz

A reminder of past glory, the dance is birthright in Vienna

The Swiss have a tradition for predicting spring: the Böögg.

Switzerland

In Switzerland, an Exploding Snowman Helps Predict Spring

Think Groundhog Day—but with fire

Ancient Mayan skull and bones remain in a Mexican sinkhole, remnants of a long-ago human sacrifice. The victims of sacrifice in Mayan rituals were varied, ranging from slaves to captive rulers of other lands.

New Research

Human Sacrifices May Lie Behind the Rise of Ancient Social Status

Dark practices may have helped the elite keep the lower classes in line, a new study hints

As we turn towards Kawaihae, I get another turn at the steering paddle. All of us steered at different times, sometimes two or three at once to handle the paddle in rough seas.

A Firsthand Account of What It Takes to Pilot a Voyaging Canoe Across the Ocean

More than just a desire to learn, a seat aboard the historic vessel Hōkūle`a requires skill, dedication and well, …obsession

A sauna on the lakefront for Sauna Day.

Europe

Explore Helsinki’s Private Saunas

Finland celebrates its first festival devoted to a steamy tradition

Cool Finds

This Stunning Dragon Dance Was All for the Sake of Tea

Your next cup could be filled with New Year’s luck

Tulsi Yadav teaches Shoba Narayan about the application and design of mehndi, or henna, at the Dera Mandawa haveli in Jaipur, Rajasthan. Formerly a private mansion, the Dera Mandawa is now a hotel.

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: India

A Quest to Master the Art of Henna

In anticipation of her daugher’s wedding, Shoba Narayan set out to hone her mendhi craft

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