Many families spend several days throughout the year packing up excess clothing, shoes and other belongings to give away to avoid overflowing their homes' storage capacity. While this practice sometimes allows nonprofits ...

Category: Holidays and Observances

When the holiday season approaches, many people start looking forward to their favorite traditions. Others, however, start to feel a sense of impending dread along with the excitement. When your anticipation of the upcom ...

Category: Uncategorized

In America, the “holiday season” consists of all the major holidays beginning with Halloween and ending with New Year’s Day. However, in today’s diverse society, it’s worth noting that not everybody celebrates ...

Category: Holidays and Observances

We’re almost there! Part III of our series takes us the rest of the way through December. December 16–24, Posadas Navideñas: Hispanic Catholic, Protestant The Spanish word posada translates to &ldquo ...

Category: Holidays and Observances

Continuing on with the holidays occurring during “the most wonderful time of the year,” we now get to the month of December. December 1–24, Advent: Catholic, Protestant, Secular The dictionary defines ...

Category: Holidays and Observances

Back in the day, crooner Andy Williams had a mega-hit record called “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.” In this upbeat Christmas song filled with warm fuzzies, he sang about all the joys of the ...

Category: Holidays and Observances Religion

Years ago, Frank Sinatra had one of his major hits with the song “The Second Time Around.” Its lyrics begin as follows: Love is lovelier the second time around, Just as wonderful with both feet on the ground ...

Category: Ceremonies Weddings

As Americans become ever less religious, so too have our celebrated life milestones such as births, weddings, and funerals. Many of these celebrations are no longer held in a church, synagogue, or mosque, presided over b ...

Category: Ceremonies Funerals Freedom from Religion

While human societies throughout history have marked time by the passage of the sun and the change of the seasons, modern global society has come to agree on a civil calendar by which nearly all people in the world are u ...

Category: Holidays and Observances Religion

Here in the United States, we think of January 1 as New Year's Day. You might watch the Rose Parade and the Rose Bowl while enjoying Hoppin' John, a traditional dish of black-eyed peas and rice. Maybe you have your own ...

Category: Holidays and Observances