Traditions

From sharing a royal cake to speaking with animals: Here are five European Christmas traditions to get you in the mood for holiday season!

Every year on December 6, St. Nicholas surprises Austrian children with presents – while Krampus threatens with whips. How did this unlikely pair end up working together?

Austrians make the most of their many religious holidays – here’s how they celebrate Holy Week.

With religion in decline, consumerism often seems the Season’s raison d’être.

Whether you read horoscopes, have your fortune told, or simply fantasize about the year to come, the thrill of seeing into the future has been inherent to the human experience. Three years ago, I was introduced to the New Year’s …

Thing #303 I’m grateful for | Bleigiessen Read More »

With National Day barely over, it’s already time for the next two Austrian holidays

Yesterday was Nationalfeiertag (the national holiday), the 62nd anniversary of the second republic, commemorating the day Austria was reestablished by the Allies as an independent, sovereign state after the Second World War.

Frightening and magical, ­Austria’s traditional winter ­demons usher in the season