People & Customs

Festivals, gestures and the habits that differ from one place to the next.

• 
  Hand Gestures Around the World: Same Sign, Different Meaning

  Thumbs up, OK, the V sign, beckoning and nodding: which everyday gestures change meaning from country to country, what the evidence says, and the myths behind some of them.

• 
  How Did Halloween Start? Samhain, All Hallows' Eve and the Jack-o'-Lantern

  Where Halloween comes from: the Gaelic festival of Samhain, the Christian feast of All Saints, guising and souling, turnip lanterns, and how the holiday crossed the Atlantic.