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Traditional wooden nutcrackers await the finishing touches at the Füchtner family workshop in Germany, where the iconic style is said to have originated.
toys

The Family Behind the First Traditional Nutcracker Is Still Making Them

Wilhelm Füchtner's iconic 1870s design began a legacy that continues in the same small workshop in Germany's Ore Mountains.
Carole Rosenblat December 5, 2023
art

Nativity Scenes Celebrate Diverse Christmas Culture Around the World

Featuring devils, yurts, and Yule Lads, traditional crèche sets can tell unique stories about their communities.
Kayla Harris and Neomi De Anda December 4, 2023
trees

Podcast: The Wishing Tree

Portland's hopes and dreams can be found hanging from its branches.
The Podcast Team October 19, 2023
By the New Kingdom (1550-1069 BC), both royals and non-royals were buried with dozens of figurines known as shabti, which would serve them in the afterlife.
ancient

In Ancient Egypt, Human Sacrifice and Shabti Figures Ensured an Afterlife of Servitude

Clay figurines and murdered retainers provided plenty of company—and a workforce—for the dead.
Nicky Nielsen October 17, 2023
Wisconsin's Wolf River, which flows through the Menominee Indian Reservation, where Indigenous traditions guide sustainable forestry.
forests

In Wisconsin, the Menominee Tribe's Sustainable Forestry Is Visible From Space

The Menominee Tribe's tradition of doing "what's best for the forest" has become a global model for sustainability.
Fred Pearce September 11, 2023
These industrious beetles can live up to a few years without food, and rarely need water, making them unfortunately easy pets.
objects of intrigue

The Living, Breathing Brooches of the Yucatán

The live, jewel-encrusted beetles called maquechs are tied to an ancient legend, but some worry for their future.
Roxanne Hoorn September 7, 2023
Costa Rican designs for oxcarts are iconic and can be spotted throughout the country. The intricate patterns represent birds and foliage found in the dense forests, as well as spear tips from Indigenous and Aztec designs, and colors represent different regions.
art

A Look Inside the Last Colorful Oxcart Factory in Costa Rica

Uriel Alfaro Castro shows his handmade Aztec wheels, which outperformed European designs.
Sarah Yeoman September 5, 2023
Children play in the monsoon rains that pour down on the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh every year from late July till September.
perfume

How Indian Perfumers Capture the Smell of Rain

In Kannauj, perfumers have been making monsoon-infused mitti attar for centuries.
Zinara Rathnayake August 2, 2023
Glasgow, Scotland

Blackstone Chair

The 18th-century inspiration behind Harry Potter's Sorting Hat.
Fairchild the Gopher welcomes visitors to the Minnesota State Fair in St. Paul, Minnesota. A hundred miles to the southeast in Viola, Minnesota, a lesser-known festival, the Gopher Count, happens every June.
festivals

11 Hyper-Local, Unique Summer Activities From Around the World

From trying a pawpaw fruit to attending Minnesota’s gopher count.
Sarah Durn June 2, 2023
The Gloucester Cathedral–shaped lamprey pie for Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee.
medieval

5 of Our Favorite Odd Traditions of English Royalty

From a coronation pie made of lampreys to someone to chat with you in the loo.
April White April 26, 2023
Junior Novera (right), a conservation scientist, is working with his community in Papua New Guinea to protect imperiled Bougainville monkey-faced bats and other local species.
science

Saving Bats in Papua New Guinea Through 'Knowledge-Weaving' Tradition and Science

A Indigenous scientist blends local and Western perspectives about the culturally significant animal to safeguard its future.
Monica Evans April 17, 2023
Hally War, a 68-year-old farmer from Siej village, learned the art of creating a <em>jingkieng jri</em>—as the living root bridges are locally known—from his grandfather.
bridges

The Artisans Behind India's Living Root Bridges

For half a century, Hally War has been growing a bridge across a local river—and between past and present.
Dania Rodrigues March 30, 2023
restaurants

Podcast: A Delicious Mission with Cheuk Kwan

Enjoy a round-the-world meal: three courses, three incredible places, three stories of Chinese immigration.
The Podcast Team March 29, 2023
La lleona de Girona
Girona, Spain

La Lleona de Girona

Kissing the ass of this stone lioness has become a rite of passage in the city of Girona.
One of Kameya Kiyonaga's signature treats.
Kyoto, Japan

Kameya Kiyonaga

This 400-year-old sweet shop serves a delicacy some have described as "edible incense."
León, Nicaragua

Museum of Traditions and Legends

Housed in a 20th-century prison, this small museum recounts local Nicaraguan myths.
Punxsutawney Phil is far from the only weather-predicting marmot on Groundhog Day.
holiday

The Alternative Groundhogs Vying for Punxsutawney Phil's Weather Forecasting Job

Don't forget about Big Al the Alligator and Scramble the Duck's predicting powers either.
Jennifer Byrne February 2, 2023