Black Friday and Cyber Monday are all about finding the best deals on holiday gifts for friends and family members. But GivingTuesday, which will be observed on November 29, 2022, has a more altruistic purpose. "The Global Day of Giving" encourages people to do good by helping those in need....

On Thursday, November 24, 2022, Americans will celebrate Thanksgiving. The annual tradition is credited to an autumn harvest feast shared by the early European settlers and the Native Americans in 1621. The holiday centers around delicious food and has many fun traditions. Here is a brief history of how some of the customs began....

November 11, 2022, is Veterans Day. The federal holiday honors the brave men and women of the United States Armed Forces. This includes everyone who has served in the US Army, Navy, Marine Corps, National Guard, Air Force, and Coast Guard....

On November 6, 2022, most North Americans will mark the end of Daylight Saving Time (DST) by moving the clocks back an hour. The simple action will help shift daylight back into the morning during the shorter winter days. It will also add an extra 60 minutes to the weekend!...

Earlier this year, the United States Mint began producing a series of quarters showcasing some of the most influential American women. The fifth coin in the "American Women Quarters Program" was released on October 24, 2022. It features famous Hollywood actress Anna May Wong. She is the first Asian American to appear on the country's currency....

Few countries celebrate Halloween as enthusiastically as the United States (US). Children and adults spend months — and millions of dollars — looking for the perfect costume. Many families decorate homes and front yards with spooky skeletons and jack-o-lanterns. How did all these fun customs begin? Read on....

Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675) is among the most admired painters of his era. His most well-known work, Girl with a Pearl Earring, has even been nicknamed the "Dutch Mona Lisa." But Vermeer completed surprisingly few pieces — no more than 60 in total — during his lifetime, only 36 of which are still around. A recent discovery by the National Gallery of Art (NGA) in Washington, DC, has reduced the already paltry number even further....

Columbus Day, which honors the Italian explorer's October 12, 1492, arrival to the Americas, has been a US federal holiday since 1971. However, the holiday, marked annually on the second Monday of October (October 10th this year), has always been controversial. Many believe that the European settlers' mistreatment of the Native American people is not a cause for celebration....

Michael Heizer was just 27 years old when he began work on "City" in 1970. Now, 50 years later, the reclusive American artist is finally ready to showcase his life's work. The 1.5-mile-long complex, which cost $40 million to build, opened to the public on September 2, 2022. It is the largest contemporary artwork ever built. The exact location of "City" is a secret. But it lies in a remote valley in Nevada's Great Basin Desert....

On September 25, 2022, Jewish people worldwide will observe Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. The two-day celebration is held annually on the first and second days of Tishrei — the first month of the Jewish year. While the holiday's exact date changes each year, it is almost always in September or October....

A local waterway and shipping authority was conducting a routine measurement in northern Germany’s Trave River when they stumbled upon a rare piece of history — a 17th-century shipwreck. Researchers from Kiel University, who revealed the find on July 26, 2022, believe the ship sank during the end of the Hanseatic period. This refers to the time between the 13th to 17th centuries when a network of 190 cities in 16 Northern European countries dominated maritime trade in the Baltic Sea....

On September 11, 2022, Americans will mark the 21st anniversary of the deadliest terrorist attacks in US history. The unprovoked act of violence was planned and executed by members of the Islamic extremist organization al-Qaeda. The tragedy resulted in the deaths of 2,977 innocent people and altered life as we knew it forever....

Art experts at the National Galleries of Scotland in Edinburgh made an exciting discovery while preparing for an upcoming exhibition. The reverse side of Vincent van Gogh's 1885 painting, Head of a Peasant Woman, features a portrait of the famed artist....

A Roman-era cargo ship that sank near the Greek island of Antikythera over two thousand years ago has been yielding abundant ancient treasures since its discovery in 1900. In late June 2022, researchers revealed their latest find — a marble head depicting the Greek and Roman demigod Hercules. The expedition team believes it belongs to a headless sculpture of Hercules found during the first visit to the shipwreck....

Few countries can measure up to Egypt when it comes to fascinating archaeological discoveries. A collection of 250 beautifully painted sarcophagi with well-preserved mummies is the latest to make headlines. The 2500-year-old artifacts, unveiled on May 31, 2022, were unearthed at Saqqara's "Cemetery of Ancient Animals," near Cairo. The temple complex was dedicated to Bast, the Egyptian goddess of protection and the bringer of good health. It was the burial place of choice for affluent residents of Memphis, the capital city of the Old Kingdom of Egypt....

On Sunday, June 19, 2022, Americans will observe both Father's Day and Juneteenth, the nation's youngest federal holiday. Officially recognized in 2021, it commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. On this day in 1865, America's last enslaved people — a group in Texas — were notified that slavery had been made illegal and that they were free....

Winning the Scripps National Spelling Bee is never easy. However, this year's champion, Harini Logan, faced some unexpected twists and turns, including an unprecedented spell-off in the final round on June 2, 2022. But the poised 14-year-old from San Antonio, Texas, prevailed to take home the coveted title, trophy, and over $50,000 in cash and prizes....

Christie's highly anticipated 20th-and 21st-century art auction on May 12, 2022, was a roaring success. Buyers from across the globe outbid each other to own the Impressionist and Modern paintings offered. However, the evening's highlight was a remarkably well-preserved fossil of a Deinonychus antirrhopus. The rare skeleton — the first of its kind ever sold at an auction — fetched an impressive $12.4 million (with fees) from an anonymous fan. It was more than double the auction house's estimated high of $6 million....

Americans are mourning the loss of innocent lives in yet another school shooting. On Tuesday, May 24, 2022, a gunman took the lives of nineteen children and two teachers, and wounded seventeen others, at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. The tragic incident is the second deadliest school shooting in US history, behind the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, when twenty first-graders and six staff members were killed. It marks the seventh-deadliest shooting in the country since the Columbine High School massacre in 1999....

Memorial Day, which will be observed on May 30, 2022, is often considered the "unofficial" start of summer by Americans. However, the US federal holiday, celebrated annually on the last Monday of May, has a solemn purpose. It honors the men and women who have died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. This includes those in the Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, and Navy....

Laura Young had a feeling that the 52-pound marble sculpture she bought from a Goodwill Store in Austin, Texas, in 2018, was worth more than the $34.99 she paid. However, the vintage store owner never thought it would be a priceless, 2000-year-old Roman relic dating back to the first century AD....

May marks the start of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month in the United States. The month-long observation celebrates the achievements and contributions of AAPI communities in America. The broad term includes 50 ethnic groups that speak over 100 languages and have roots in more than 40 countries. They include those with connections to China, India, Japan, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Korea....

Ramadan, which began on April 2, 2022, is the holiest month in the Islamic calendar. It was during this ninth month that Jibril (the archangel Gabriel in the Judeo-Christian faith) revealed the first verses of the Quran — Islam's holy text — to the Prophet Muhammad. The auspicious month's start is based on the appearance of the super-slim young crescent Moon, which generally appears one night after the new Moon....

In 2020, Stan, one of the world's largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus Rex (T. rex) skeletons, was auctioned for a record $27.5 million ($31.8 million with fees and costs). The precious fossil, bought by an anonymous private buyer, led many paleontologists to fret that the T. rex was lost to science forever. As it turns out, they had nothing to worry about....