A Christmas “cracker” is a festivity meant to be held before dinner on Christmas Eve. Two people pull the paper cracker from either side, until it pops open and the gifts inside fly out.

These are cookies made out of corn flour used to celebrate the coming of spring/summer (Diten e Veres).

The main Pride Parade that happens in Boston during the month of June, celebrating diverse gender identities and sexual orientations.

Samba is a beautiful and vibrant Afro-Brazilian dance and music genre that originated in the 19th century in Bahia, rooted in Congolese and Angolan traditions brought by enslaved people. It evolved from the samba de roda (circle dance) in the Northeast before migrating to Rio de Janeiro, where it became the cornerstone of Brazilian Carnival and national identity. Now it is known and danced by every corner of Brazil.

Black Tea originated in China in the 16th to 17th century.

Baseball is a sport played between a bat and a ball, two teams of nine players who alternate between batting and fielding. The objective is to score runs by hitting the ball and advancing counterclockwise around 3 bases and then to home plate. A standard game consists of nine innings, with the team scoring the most runs winning.

Not a very traditional tradition, but for at least 4 generations in my family we have been visiting the state fair in the state where my parents grew up. For the generation of my siblings, cousins and I, the fair has always fallen right before our school year begins, making it a final hurrah before the return to school. Every year the fair is a bit different but a few things stay the same.

Soba, Japanese noodles made from buckwheat flour, is typically eaten on New Year's Eve. The long noodles symbolize a long life, so eating them is said to make you live longer.

Corned beef and cabbage is a meal made by Irish-Americans, and is eaten by many families on St. Patrick's Day to celebrate Irish-American resilience and culture. It includes salt-cured brisket (corned beef) simmered with potatoes, carrots, onions, and cabbage.

Originated in China and were meant to resemble yuanbao, or traditional Chinese money. It symbolizes prosperity and luck in the Chinese culture.

Kwanzaa was created in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga, a professor of Black Studies, to unite African Americans following the Watts riots by celebrating African heritage and culture. It is a week-long, non-religious holiday running from December 26 to January 1, focusing on seven principles (Nguzo Saba) inspired by African "first fruit" harvest celebrations. Founder: Dr. Maulana Karenga, a scholar and activist, established the holiday in California during the Black Power movement to promote cultural pride. Meaning: The name comes from the Swahili phrase matunda ya kwanza, meaning "first fruits." An extra "a" was added to fit seven letters for the seven principles. Inspiration: The festival is based on traditional African harvest celebrations, such as those of the Ashanti and the Zulu, aimed at promoting community and family. Seven Principles (Nguzo Saba): Celebrated over seven days, each day focuses on a specific principle: Umoja (Unity), Kujichagulia (Self-Determination), Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility), Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics), Nia (Purpose), Kuumba (Creativity), and Imani (Faith). Cultural Significance: It was designed as a cultural, rather than religious, holiday, allowing people of all faiths to participate. Symbols: Key symbols include the kinara (candle holder), mishumaa saba (seven candles), and items representing history and community.

Cumbia is a foundational Latin American music and dance genre based around a galloping rhythm in a moderate to moderately fast tempo. It originated in Colombia, combining African, indigenous, and Spanish influences, but has since gained prominence across continental Latin America. Over the decades, it has been incorporated into various national festivities and traditions, making its mark at concerts, parades, and dance halls. Over time, it has been adapted to each country's culture and the time period of music, making it a timeless and treasured genre.

Chinese calligraphy is the ancient art of artistic handwriting in China. Each period had their own styles of writing, so chinese calligraphy has evolved countless times over the centuries: seal, clerical, semi-cursive, cursive, and regular scripts, just to name a few.

A Greek Orthodox tradition where one boils and dyes eggs red. The red color symbolizes Christ's blood and the cracking symbolizes His resurrection and emergence from the tomb. In order to play the game, one taps the tips of one of the red eggs against a family or friend's egg end to see which egg is stronger. This goes on until you run out of eggs. While cracking the eggs the first person says, "Christos Anesti" (Christ has risen!). And the response to this (during the game or not) is "Alithos Anesti" (Indeed he has risen!). Some families make use of the broken eggs to eat with salt and vinegar or make a small appetizer tray.

A container typically made from papier-mâché, decorated with streamers and filled with candy. It is used at holidays or parties for children to break with a stick and gather the candy when it falls as a celebration in Mexican culture.

Every New Year's Eve, Danes across the nation and the world tune into the King or Queen's speech at 6pm Danish Time. Later, as the clock strikes midnight, Danes jump into the New Year by jumping from a chair, couch, table, or other raised surface. Finally, the Danish capital, Copenhagen, is lit up by fireworks. Legal for just New Year's Eve and Day, hundreds of thousands of fireworks are set off by all sorts of people in the city and across the country. The sheer abundance of fireworks makes the city flash like it was being bombed, and people are encouraged to wear safety glasses when going out that night.

Per the longstanding tradition at Boston Latin School to declaim powerful passages and poems in our English classes, Prize Declamation rewards the best declaimers. Declaiming builds speaking skills, confidence, and broadens one's literary knowledge.

This is a Polish tradition on Christmas Eve wishing luck in the year to come with others. You break off pieces of a wafer and give it to others while wishing them well in the new year.

The practice of gifting family members or friends red envelopes containing money has Chinese origins tracing all the way back to the Han Dynasty. The tradition began as a way to ward off evil. Today, it has evolved to symbolize good luck and prosperity, and it's a way to connect with loved ones.

Cachupa is a Cape Verdean dish that is basically a stew, consisting mostly of corn, with an addition of meat, beans, vegetables, and sometimes sweet potatoes. It was mostly created by enslaved people in the 15th century during colonial times.

According to legend, a strange creature appeared one day and preyed on men and beasts. Its name was nien (which sounds like the Chinese word meaning “year”). It was so fast and fierce that not even the ox or the tiger could slay it. In despair, the people turned to the lion for help. Rushing to meet the terrible foe, the lion wounded the creature who ran away. As the nien fled, it turned and screamed, “Beware! I will return and take my revenge.” A year later, the nien did return. By then, the lion was so busy with his new job guarding the emperor’s gate that he could not help protect the village. The villagers hurriedly took some bamboo and cloth and made an image of the lion. Two men crawled inside and made it run and prance and roar. Faced with this awesome creature, the nien ran away again. And so, on the eve of the Lunar New Year, lions dance, sending menace and evil away for yet another year.

In Japan, every March 3rd is known as Hinamatsuri. Hinamatsuri translates to doll festival or girl's day. Families display elaborate dolls that are said to take away bad luck and bring good fortune for the daughter(s) of the family. The dolls usually represent an ancient Japanese royal court. The dolls are called ohinasama dolls.

It is a new year dish that we usually put in very big pots to share with all of our friends and family. But my family in particular eats Soup Joumou every day for the entire month of January. Soup Joumou was created to celebrate Haiti's independence from France and becoming the first black republic.

Inti Raymi is a traditional holiday celebrated by the Inca Empire before European arrival in the Americas on June 24th, and literally means the Festival of the Sun (or Sun God) in Quechua. It is a day full of colorful outfits and dances that are made to signify the changing seasons, and celebrating the light and good harvest given by the Sun God Inti. Today Inti Raymi is still celebrated in Cusco, as a way for Andean people to connect themselves to their Pre-Columbian roots.

The Christkindlmarkt candle lighting tradition is a living German seasonal ritual. Each December participants gather to light one candle per week of Advent on a central wooden pyramid or display. This act symbolizes the gradual return of light and hope in winter. As each flame is kindled, the group sings traditional German carols and shares family stories from Christkindlmarkt visits and experiences Gemütlichkeit, the warm feeling of togetherness. This simple oral tradition passed down for generations focuses only on the communal candle lighting moment itself. It fosters cultural pride and connection without stalls or crafts or baked goods.

Made of parsley, lemon, lime, tomatoes, onions, and wheat, Tabbouleh is a salad-like dish from Lebanon. It makes for a fresh side plate or snack in the summer, but is delicious to enjoy all year round. Also, the recipe for Tabbouleh can be varied easily based on personal taste or season, making it quite versatile.

When slavery was abolished, former slaves would practice rituals and traditions as an act of rebellion. It was their way of celebrating freedom and remembering ancestors.

The German Christmas pyramid, or Weihnachtspyramide, is a wooden decoration typically set out around the winter holidays. When lit, the candles at the base of the pyramid spin the wooden flaps at the top, rotating the inside structure. Figurines and decorations are placed within each tier to create scenes that tell stories. Such scenes include woodland and nativity settings.

Garba and Raas is a traditional Gujarati folk dance that we still do on special holidays like Navratri.

On May 18th every year Haitians all over the world celebrate our culture specifically with pride in our flag. (submitted by Meggan Jeannot)

Dunkin' Donuts is a global coffee and baked goods chain founded in Massachusetts in 1950. Dunkin' Donuts offers iced coffee throughout the year. Drinking a Dunkin's iced coffee in winter is part of many Bostonians' commutes to work, as well as a beverage enjoyed while shoveling snow or taking part in outdoor activities. Drinking a "Dunkin's iced" is also associated with Boston's fast pace of life, Bostonian's toughness and resilience, and patriotism as an alternate to tea.

Beef Wellington is a classic British dish with a beef tenderloin coated in pâté, wrapped in bacon, and then encased in puff pastry before being baked until golden brown.

The Greenway is a park that stretches through several neighborhoods in Downtown Boston (including the Financial District, Waterfront, Chinatown, and North End). Its green space and plazas provide many opportunities for community engagement, focused especially on promoting small businesses and government services.

Every Music Night at BLS before the musicians go out to perform, there is a table outside of the auditorium entrance and musicians often drink many cups to hydrate.

For Haitians, soup joumou is a symbol of freedom and independence. During French colonial rule, enslaved Haitians were forbidden from eating it—it was reserved for slave owners. After Haiti won its independence in 1804, people began eating soup joumou on January 1st to celebrate liberation. (Submitted by Beverly)

It is the most important holiday in Vietnam, and celebrates the Lunar New year, and the arrival of spring. It is a time for family reunions, honoring ancestors, and new beginings. It often starts in late January or early Feburary.

Kolo is a traditional dance found in Slavic countries such as Serbia, Bosnia i Herzegovina, and Croatia. Participants usually hold hands or waists in a chain or circle, moving with subtle coordinated steps. It's usually preformed at weddings and festivals, featuring a rapid "three step, hop" rythm while being accompanied by traditional folk instruments, like the frula (shephards flute) and tamburica (stringed instruments). Many regions have different styles of this dance, and each have their own complexity to it.

Dia de los muertos, which is also commonly known as day of the dead, is very important in Mexican culture. Day of the dead is a day where a family will get together to make an ofrenda, or alter, for the deceased family or friends. You put a picture of the person if you have one, their favorite food, an object that connects to them, and bunches of marigolds.

This is a hearty one-pot rice dish featuring tender meat (usually beef or lamb), carrots, onions, and aromatic spices like cumin and garlic. Stemming from Central Asian traditions, this staple is now a favorite in Russia, known for its layered flavors where carrots and onions are sautéed with meat before steaming with rice.

The Boston Pops, hosted at Boston Symphony Hall during the holiday season, shares the holiday spirit through music. Each year, Pops includes arrangements of classic carols with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, a sing-along, and a visit from Santa. Led by famous conductor Keith Lockhart for decades, this performance is certainly a staple of Boston culture.

The red couch was homed in the White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou, China. This was the primary approved hotel for American families adopting from China due to its proximity to the US Consulate. It was a popular tradition to photograph your adopted child on this couch as a symbol of connection and new beginnings from their home in China to the US. As of 2022, the couch now lives in Holt International’s Headquarters in Oregon and it displayed to celebrate Chinese Adoptee history.

Bagpipes are an instrument played at parades, funerals, and other celebrations across Ireland and Scotland. Bagpipes create sound by the musician blowing air into a pipe, which produces one of nine notes. Bagpipes are an important cultural aspect of both Ireland and Scotland and the instrument is used to unite communities.

Tinikling is a traditional Filipino folk dance where dancers step in between moving bamboo sticks in a steady rhythm.

During Passover, Jewish people celebrate their ancient ancestors' liberation from slavery in Egypt by not eating leavened food for 8 days. Instead of bread, we eat matzah, which is basically a cracker. Many families today have a tradition of making "matzah bark," which is a dessert consisting of matzah, toffee, and chocolate baked together.

All of the seniors at BLS chant during their last lunch "It's all over, you're still here!" and then continue to chant that as they leave the school at the end of their last day.

Pasando el Huevo (or La Limpia de Huevo) is a ritual rooted in Brujeria, a mixture of Indigenous spirituality across Latin America (namely Southern Colombia), and western European ideas of religion and healing. It involves rubbing an egg along parts of your body that is afflicted with an illness, and then blowing on the egg three times. After you do so the negative energy in your body will be trapped in the egg, and you crack it into a clear glass of water. Then you can place it on a windowsill and the sunlight will burn away the bad energy in the egg. If the yoke breaks then there was a large amount of bad energy that the egg removed, but if the yoke has a small circle near its center that looks like an eye, then you've been cursed with Mal de Ojo and need to see un Brujo to get it removed.

Fried and salted plantain eaten in the Caribbean, especially in Puerto Rico. It's often paired with a mixture of mayonnaise and ketchup.

A nutty, fruity bread baked during the wintertime by many German families. The preparation process is labor-intensive, including hand-shaping and several weeks of aging for flavor development.