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Rites and Rituals

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snakes

The Italian Town that Welcomes Spring with Live Snakes

It's a good omen if the reptiles wrap themselves around the head of San Domenico Abate.
Dania Rodrigues May 5, 2023
music

How This Demon Dance Banishes Illnesses in Sri Lanka's Remote Jungles

The kankariya dance all started with a legendary demon queen named Kuweni.
Zinara Rathnayake May 4, 2023
witchcraft

In Poland, Drowning the Pagan Goddess Marzanna Ushers in Spring

A straw effigy of the winter goddess is burned and then submerged in chilly waters.
Sarah Laskow May 3, 2023
ancient

To Banish Winter in This Tiny Wisconsin Town, Burn a Swiss Snowman

The burning of the Bӧӧgg is like a fiery version of Groundhog’s Day, but with fireworks and sausages.
Tea Krulos May 2, 2023
festivals

Why 18th-Century Scots Performed Mock Human Sacrifices Over Cake

This May Day, make Beltane bannock, a simple snack with a long history of superstition and divination.
Sam O'Brien May 1, 2023
food

7 Weird and Wonderful King Cakes From Around the World

From slips of Bulgarian fortunes to copulating French figurines, international king cakes hide many surprises.
Matt Haines February 20, 2023
Gastro Obscura

Korovai

The Ukrainian wedding bread is so beautiful, it's displayed near the altar.
Gastro Obscura

Threads of God

To eat the world's rarest pasta, you must first complete a 20-mile pilgrimage.
victorian

Podcast: Lily Dale Spiritualist Community

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.
The Podcast Team January 18, 2022
victorian

To Join This Community of People Who Speak to the Dead, Prepare to Be Tested

Think you have what it takes to be a spiritual medium in Lily Dale?
Sarah Durn December 7, 2021
food

Halloween Used to Be a Lot More Romantic

The food rituals of All Hallows' Eve once predicted marriages and summoned spouses.
Anne Ewbank October 26, 2021
Toguz Toro, Kyrgyzstan

Saimaluu Tash

These oldest of these "embroidered stones" were carved 4,000 years ago in a high mountain valley.
megalithic

Near Stonehenge, an Even Bigger Neolithic Site Is Hidden Underground

A giant circle of pits is the largest Neolithic site found in Britain to date.
Isaac Schultz June 29, 2020
food

A Guide to the World’s Most Comforting Foods of Grief

In an age of distance, we can still connect in the kitchen to mourn, memorialize, and heal.
Sam O'Brien April 20, 2020
Naples, Italy

Church of Santa Luciella ai Librai

An unusual "skull with ears" sits in the crypt of this small church tucked away at the end of a narrow alley.
Torre del Greco, Italy

San Michele Arcangelo Hypogeum

The old church, buried by the 1784 Mount Vesuvius eruption, is a remarkably well-preserved place where people now pray for the souls of the dead.
animals

After Generations of Animal Sacrifice, Nepal Is Butchering Coconuts and Squash

Activists envision a bloodless future for the annual Dashain festival.
Josh Nadeau December 20, 2019
Tokyo, Japan

Tateishi-sama

This tiny stone in a children's park is what remains of an ancient, once-worshipped object.