The albumen of St. John: a curious Italian tradition
John the Baptist is the most depicted saint in art of all centuries. His night has always been considered magical and prodigious, probably because it immediately follows the summer solstice […]
St John’s eve: ancient rituals to mark midsummer
Saint John’s Eve, starting at sunset on 23 June, is the eve of celebration before the Feast Day of Saint John the Baptist. The Gospel of Luke states that John […]
The best pictures of creepy Easter Bunnies scaring of innocent children~
Easter is a bizarre holiday with pagan origins and lot of bizzarre traditions in Europe, but not only. The dead returning to life. Bunny shaped chocolates. Painting and hiding eggs. […]
Why do we have Easter bunny and Easter eggs?
All the fun things about Easter have pagan roots, and It is not a coincidence if the most widely-practiced customs on Easter Sunday are associated to the rabbit (“Easter bunny”) […]
Święconka: the Polish Easter tradition artfully assembles symbolic foods, from bread to lamb-shaped butter.
The Polish people are very religious. Most of them are Roman Catholics. For centuries, during the 40 days before Easter (Lent) the Polish people fasted: they ate no meat, butter, […]
The ancient pagan origins of Easter
Easter: a secular culture celebrates the spring equinox, whilst religious culture celebrates the resurrection. In religious (and obvious) terms, Easter is a holiday celebrated by millions of people around the […]
Some surprising things you (probably) didn’t know about Good Friday
Have you heard of the theory that it storms on Good Friday in the afternoon between 12 p.m. and 3 p.m.? The Christian belief is Christ’s crucifixion occurred on this […]
Costumes, dancing, and food: Malanka is Ukraine’s biggest party
In Ukraine, Malanka is much more than a party: it’s one of the oldest, happiest, most vibrant days of the year in local culture. It is a folk holiday celebrated […]
March, 17: It’s St Patrick’s Day!
All we known that March 17 is St Patrick’s Day, a cultural and religious holiday celebrated every year in Ireland and by Irish communities around the world. The celebration marks […]
The “100 Giorni”: the official countdown to the final High School state examination
What in Italy is called “100 giorni”, is the official countdown begins to the final High School state examination and its traditions are repeated by students in many areas and […]
29/30/31 January: the Merla days (hen blackbird), according to tradition are the coldest days of the year ~
It was a very, very cold Winter. That year the month of January put every effort to live up to his reputation as a freezing, windy month. The snow was […]
La Giubiana: a curious tradition linked to the last Thursday of January in Northern Italy
A great fire that will illuminate the darkness, with the hope that it will burn well and quickly so as to drive away the winter and propitiate the year that […]
Chinese New Year 2020: the year of the Golden Rat. History and traditions of a millenary festival.
Two days ago, on January 25, the new year began according to the traditional Chinese calendar, a holiday period that will end on February 8, with the start of the […]
How do people celebrate New Year around the world?
Even if people celebrate New Year in a number of ways, on 31st December, the festivities hit all places across the world at slightly different times too, due to the […]
The incredible Chinese Ghost Festival (Ghost Month) in Taiwan~
If you’ve ever been to China or Taiwan or read about Chinese society, you’ve probably come to realize that Chinese culture abounds with the most unusual and macabre customs and […]
The Annual world meeting of Gypsies in Camargue, France.
“Vive les Saintes Maries! Vive la Sainte Sara!” The celebrant on the altar, with the garment embroidered with the symbols of the Camargue, stylized profiles of bulls and horses on […]