🎉 Holidays & Traditions
Veterans Day
Nov 11
Veterans Day on November 11 honors everyone who has served in the U.S. armed forces. Learn its Armistice Day origins and meaningful…
Holidays & Traditions Days
The big holidays and cherished traditions of the year, from New Year's Day to Christmas, with their history, customs and ways to celebrate.
40 days, starting with the next one coming up.
🎉 Holidays & Traditions
National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day
Dec 18
National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day falls on the third Friday of December. Learn how tacky holiday sweaters became a beloved trend and…
🎉 Holidays & Traditions
St. Nicholas Day
Dec 6
St. Nicholas Day on December 6 honors the generous 4th-century bishop who inspired Santa Claus. Learn the legends and traditions around the…
🎉 Holidays & Traditions
Feast of the Immaculate Conception
Dec 8
The Feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8 is a Catholic holy day honoring Mary. Learn what it means, its history…
🎉 Holidays & Traditions
Bodhi Day
Dec 8
Bodhi Day on December 8 commemorates the Buddha's enlightenment under the Bodhi tree. Learn its meaning, history and how Buddhists observe it.
🎉 Holidays & Traditions
Christmas Card Day
Dec 9
Christmas Card Day on December 9 celebrates the tradition of sending holiday cards. Learn how the first Christmas card appeared in 1843…
🎉 Holidays & Traditions
Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Dec 12
The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on December 12 honors Mexico's patroness. Learn the story of Juan Diego, the tilma and…
🎉 Holidays & Traditions
St. Lucia Day
Dec 13
St. Lucia Day on December 13 is a Scandinavian festival of light. Learn about Saint Lucy, candle crowns, saffron buns and how…
🎉 Holidays & Traditions
Las Posadas (begins)
Dec 16
Las Posadas begins December 16 and lasts nine nights. Learn the meaning of this Mexican Christmas tradition, its songs, foods and piñatas.
🎉 Holidays & Traditions
National Go Caroling Day
Dec 20
National Go Caroling Day on December 20 invites everyone to sing holiday songs door to door. Learn the history of caroling and…
🎉 Holidays & Traditions
Yule
Dec 21
Yule is a midwinter festival held around the winter solstice. Learn its Germanic roots, the Yule log and how Yule traditions live…
🎉 Holidays & Traditions
Feast of the Seven Fishes
Dec 24
The Feast of the Seven Fishes is an Italian American Christmas Eve seafood dinner. Learn its history, the meaning of seven and…
🎉 Holidays & Traditions
Christmas Eve
Dec 24
Christmas Eve on December 24 is full of traditions, from candlelight services and the Feast of the Seven Fishes to tracking Santa.…
🎉 Holidays & Traditions
Christmas Day
Dec 25
Christmas Day on December 25 is celebrated by billions worldwide. Learn how the date, the tree, Santa and gift-giving traditions came to…
🎉 Holidays & Traditions
Boxing Day
Dec 26
Boxing Day on December 26 is a public holiday in the U.K., Canada and Australia. Learn why it's called Boxing Day, its…
🎉 Holidays & Traditions
St. Stephen’s Day
Dec 26
St. Stephen's Day on December 26 honors the first Christian martyr. Learn its history, Ireland's Wren Day traditions and how it's celebrated…
🎉 Holidays & Traditions
Kwanzaa (begins)
Dec 26
Kwanzaa begins on December 26 and runs for seven days, celebrating African American culture through seven principles. Learn its history and traditions.
🎉 Holidays & Traditions
Holy Innocents’ Day
Dec 28
Holy Innocents' Day on December 28 remembers the children of Bethlehem in the Gospel of Matthew. Learn its history and Spain's Día…
🎉 Holidays & Traditions
Falling Needles Family Fest Day
Dec 30
Falling Needles Family Fest Day on December 30 celebrates the last days of the Christmas tree. Learn tree care, safety and recycling…
🎉 Holidays & Traditions
New Year’s Eve
Dec 31
New Year's Eve on December 31 is the world's biggest countdown. Learn the history of the Times Square ball drop and global…
🎉 Holidays & Traditions
Hogmanay
Dec 31
Hogmanay on December 31 is Scotland's New Year's Eve celebration. Learn its history, first-footing, 'Auld Lang Syne' and how to celebrate.
🎉 Holidays & Traditions
Polar Bear Plunge Day
Jan 1
Polar Bear Plunge Day on January 1 celebrates brave New Year's swims in icy water. Learn the tradition's history, charity plunges and…
🎉 Holidays & Traditions
New Year’s Day
Jan 1
New Year's Day on January 1 is a fresh start celebrated around the world. Learn why the year begins in January and…
🎉 Holidays & Traditions
Twelfth Night
Jan 5
Twelfth Night on January 5 marks the end of the Twelve Days of Christmas. Learn its history, Twelfth cake, wassailing and when…
🎉 Holidays & Traditions
Three Kings Day
Jan 6
Three Kings Day on January 6 celebrates the Magi's visit to baby Jesus. Learn its traditions, from rosca de reyes to children…
🎉 Holidays & Traditions
Orthodox Christmas
Jan 7
Orthodox Christmas falls on January 7 for churches that follow the Julian calendar. Learn why the date differs and how Orthodox Christians…
🎉 Holidays & Traditions
Makar Sankranti
Jan 14
Makar Sankranti, usually on January 14, is a Hindu harvest festival marking the sun's move into Capricorn. Learn its meaning, kites and…
🎉 Holidays & Traditions
Pongal
Jan 15
Pongal is a four-day Tamil harvest festival in mid-January. Learn the meaning of Pongal, its four days, the sweet pongal dish and…
🎉 Holidays & Traditions
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity
Jan 18–25
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity runs January 18–25 each year. See its 1908 origin, why it spans two feasts and…
🎉 Holidays & Traditions
Burns Night
Jan 25
Burns Night on January 25 celebrates Scottish poet Robert Burns with a supper of haggis, poetry and whisky. Learn its history and…
🎉 Holidays & Traditions
Australia Day
Jan 26
Australia Day on January 26 is Australia's national day. Learn its history, how Australians celebrate and why many call it Invasion Day…
🎉 Holidays & Traditions
World Interfaith Harmony Week
Feb 1–7
World Interfaith Harmony Week is February 1–7 each year. See how Jordan's proposal became a UN observance in 2010 and ideas for…
🎉 Holidays & Traditions
Groundhog Day
Feb 2
Groundhog Day is February 2. Learn how Punxsutawney Phil's forecast works, how the tradition began, how often he's right and where the…
🎉 Holidays & Traditions
Valentine’s Day
Feb 14
Valentine's Day is February 14. Learn the real history behind the day, from St. Valentine to Chaucer and Esther Howland, plus ideas…
🎉 Holidays & Traditions
St. Patrick’s Day
Mar 17
St. Patrick's Day is March 17. Learn who St. Patrick was, where America's first parade really happened and the story behind corned…
🎉 Holidays & Traditions
May Day
May 1
May Day is May 1. Learn how spring festivals and the fight for the eight-hour workday gave the date two meanings, plus…
🎉 Holidays & Traditions
Cinco de Mayo
May 5
Cinco de Mayo is May 5. Learn about the Battle of Puebla, why it isn't Mexican Independence Day and how it became…
🎉 Holidays & Traditions
Juneteenth
Jun 19
Juneteenth is June 19. Learn how General Order No. 3 announced freedom in Galveston, Texas, in 1865 and how the day became…
🎉 Holidays & Traditions
Independence Day
Jul 4
Independence Day is July 4. Learn how the Declaration of Independence was adopted, why John Adams expected July 2 parties and how…
🎉 Holidays & Traditions
Halloween
Oct 31
Halloween on October 31 is a night of costumes, trick-or-treating and spooky fun. Learn its history, from Samhain to modern celebrations.