392 Items Tagged

Rites and Rituals

The procession.

Romont, Switzerland

Les Pleureuses

What this Good Friday parade lacks in baroque filigree it makes up in somber gothic imagery.

Hand of Glory: The Macabre Magic of Severed Hands

Dolly Stolze April 7, 2014

Mark Your Calendars for 12 of the World's Weird Rites of Spring

Allison Meier March 25, 2014

Eurasian griffon (vulture) contributing to the ritual

Give My Body to the Birds: The Practice of Sky Burial

Meg van Huygen March 11, 2014

A reproduction Kuman Thong sold as a souvenir at the Buddhist temple at Ayutthaya, Thailand

Black Magic Baby: The Macabre History of Kuman Thong

Kevin Lo February 27, 2014

The Baby Jumping Festival

Castrillo de Murcia, Spain

The Baby Jumping Festival

During an annual Catholic feast in this tiny Spanish village, men dressed as devils leap over rows of babies to cleanse them of sin.

One of the Peabody Ducks takes the stage.

Memphis, Tennessee

Peabody Hotel Duck March

Every day a troupe of pampered water fowl walk the red carpet to their favorite fountain.

Hull, Massachusetts

Flying Santa Delivers to Boston Light

A man in a plane delivers Christmas packages to lighthouses.

Run Run Rudolph: The World of Reindeer Racing

Allison Meier December 16, 2013

rites and rituals

The Truth About Krampus

Al Ridenour November 29, 2013

All photographs courtesy of Kathryn Yu; kathrynyu.com

society adventures

Society Adventures: An Exclusive Encounter with the Times Square Ball

Megan Roberts November 15, 2013

London, England

Masonic Lodge of the Andaz Hotel

Hidden behind a wall for decades, this masonic lodge was only rediscovered during renovations.

Brooklyn Bridge Love Locks

New York, New York

Brooklyn Bridge Love Locks

A popular European tradition makes its way to the states on one of America's most famous bridges.

Boca do Acre, Brazil

Boca do Acre

Hub for hallucinogenic Amazon religion.

A Beastly Blessing: St. Francis Day at Manhattan's St. John the Divine

Megan Roberts October 9, 2013

Xiannongtan

Beijing Ancient Architecture Museum / Xiannongtan (Temple of Agriculture)

An ancient Chinese temple where even the emperor dressed like a farmer in the name of the harvest.

Estes Park, Colorado

Frozen Dead Guy Days

An annual festival celebrating Colorado's most famous frozen corpse.

The Temple of Apollo, Delphi.

Nine Places To See the Ruins of Ancient Religious Cults

Ancient religion was strange and fierce.

Edmund Richardson September 6, 2013