Eating KFC is a Christmas tradition in Japan

See what people around the world eat for Christmas

Christmas meals vary widely around the world: the British serve roast turkey and Christmas pudding, many Italians celebrate with seafood-only feasts, Filipinos eat whole spit-roasted pigs, and Mexican families enjoy tamales.

McDonald's releases a new adult Happy Meal

Some McDonald's restaurants in Ohio began a nostalgic campaign in late 2023, reviving chicken nugget-style doll toys famous in adult-themed Happy Meals over a quarter-century before. The company collaborated with artist Kerwin Frost to create the toys. Read more and see photos here.

The Hungry Ghost Festival in Asia honors the dead

A tradition in East and Southeast Asia, the Hungry Ghost Festival primarily involves offering food and other treats to the dead. The festivals' practices uphold the Buddhist ideals of generosity and compassion, directed even toward specters.

Globalization is increasing the demand for cheese

The increased popularity of Western cuisine has affected the cheese market in historically cheese-averse regions like East Asia. Japan has gotten particularly excited about exploring what cheese has to offer, with festivals and creative fusion dishes featuring the versatile ingredient.

The dominant popularity of McDonald's french fries

McDonald's french fries are, by far, the most popular french fries available at fast food restaurants around the world. Since their beginnings, their consistent and unique flavor, crispiness, and shape formed a new staple side at restaurants. Despite undergoing drastic shifts in how they are made due to health and business factors, the fry has remained dominant in the fast food culinary world. Find out more about its history in this video.

Danish cookies became a treasured Lunar New Year gift, thanks to their unique tin container

Hong Kong experienced an economic boom in the 1970s, which led to snacking, including on Western foods, becoming a cultural norm. Kjeldsens butter cookies became a popular treat, and their packaging, a distinct tin container, presented them as more refined than a simple snack. Instead, they were considered a worthwhile present for Lunar New Year.

In Japan, elders lead toasts

Older family members and colleagues, or senpai, are expected to take the lead at formal gatherings, pouring drinks and offering toasts. Younger people should accept pours by holding their glasses with both hands and waiting to drink until their older adults have done so. Finally, before drinking, participants should say “kampai!”

Why Christians eat fish on Fridays during Lent

The rule isn't actually to eat fish—it's to abstain from eating warm-blooded animals on Fridays, the day of the crucifixion. Fish filled the gap because it was cheap, plentiful, and theologically convenient. As it happens, the medieval Catholic calendar's proliferation of meatless days became one of the drivers of the global fishing industry.

Advent calendars have become a major seasonal driver for brands

Companies now treat Advent calendars as key holiday products, expanding production as demand surges across categories. Retail data shows beauty and self-care calendars consistently rank among the most popular, as some brands report selling out yearly, and retailers order months in advance.

QR codes were developed in Japan in 1994 to fix bar code limitations

These codes store more data than traditional barcodes—up to 1,850 uppercase characters—and can be quickly scanned from any angle thanks to visual indicators like green squares and zebra-striped lines communicating orientation.

Yakuza gangsters' tattoos often portrayed moments from their lives

Although tattoos have been worn in Japan for centuries, no single group is more famous for their elaborate, full-body tattoos—featuring traditional Japanese art—than Yakuza gangsters. The criminal organization does not use tattoos to mark their association, though. Instead, the scenes are intensely personal.

Hibachi restaurants were designed to appeal to American soldiers stationed in Japan

Hibachi-style cooking was originally used in residences, with Japanese families cooking together around the grill. That style was then refined after World War II with the teppanyaki restaurant Misono, which used more American-friendly ingredients (like steak) to appeal to American soldiers stationed in the country. Despite the differences between teppanyaki and hibachi, diners began using "hibachi" to describe the concept. Later, the Aoki family brought it to American soil with Benihana.

Chicken vendors are an integral part of Oktoberfest

Ever since the first roasted chicken stall appeared at Oktoberfest in 1885, this rich, satisfying dish has been a crowd favorite for soaking up all that beer. Some estimates put the number of Wiesenhendl, or Wiesn chickens, served each year at 700,000.

Santa Claus originally wrote Christmas letters instead of receiving them

Parents originally used the letters as an opportunity to help discipline their children. Gifts eventually took on a more central role in the holiday, turning the letters into chances for kids to write Christmas wish lists.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe dressed as Mario at the Olympics

In a 2016 ceremony at that year’s Summer Games in Rio, Abe dressed as Super Mario to celebrate his country hosting the 2020 Olympics. It was a logical move: The character is one of the most recognizable characters in the world and someone who’s now associated with Japanese culture.

How Tencent's QQ penguin became a national mascot

Created when Tencent launched the first version of its internet messaging platform, the company's winking penguin has become a ubiquitous cultural presence in China. The mascot has become a revenue generator, with Tencent licensing the character for cross-promotion with KFC, Midea Group, and more.

Pizza Hut helped pioneer online food delivery

The company's PizzaNet website launched in 1994, allowing users to order pizza online for the first time. The service launched in select areas of Santa Cruz, California, though its servers were located in Kansas. Every order was relayed to the preferred branch in California, who would then call the user to confirm the order.

The legend of Pittsburgh’s fake Burger King

Years ago, a Burger King in Pittsburgh lost its franchise due to repeated customer complaints about food quality. However, the franchise-holders continued to operate the restaurant, switching to generic packaging but keeping the signage and uniforms. Customers eventually caught on and raised suspicions, leading to Burger King's corporate leaders' involvement. Learn more about the bizarre establishment and how it managed to continue operations for months.

'Shogun,' a 1980s TV series, helped popularize sushi in the US by stimulating an American interest in Japanese culture.

An anthropologist analyzes the Japanese movement against having children

Broadly known as anti-natalism, the philosophical stance against having children stems from a variety of factors. In Japan, it arises amid low fertility rates, economic pressures, and ethical concerns. This essay explores the reasons some Japanese embrace the philosophy.

The commander of the Japanese force at Pearl Harbor speaks on the Merv Griffin show

Mitsuo Fuchida, who led the first wave of the Pearl Harbor attack, converted to Christianity in 1950, after reading the testimony of a former American POW. He later traveled through Japan and the United States, sharing his story and working as a Christian evangelist.

The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree was first erected in 1931 by construction workers

The tradition of erecting a tree in Rockefeller Center officially began two years later, when the company continued what the Depression-impacted workers had started. Today, its lighting and nearby ice skating draw millions annually, making it one of America’s most famous holiday traditions.

Japan was an empire from 1868 until 1947

The Empire of Japan began on Jan. 3, 1868, and facilitated rapid modernization. It endured through a period of colonial expansion—including Korea and Taiwan—1930s militarism, and participation in WWII, until Japan’s formal transformation into a constitutional state under the 1947 constitution following Allied occupation.

Comiket, hosted in Tokyo, is the world’s largest fan-run convention

Comiket—short for Comic Market—is a semiannual, volunteer-organized fan art marketplace in Tokyo where up to 750,000 attendees experience self-published comics, anime, games, cosplay, and more over a span of four days.

King cake is a classic Mardi Gras dessert

One of the signature foods of Mardi Gras is the king cake, a green, gold, and purple-sprinkled desert. Baked inside is a hidden figurine, though some bakers use other objects. Whoever gets the piece with the object is blessed with good luck, though they're also expected to bring a cake to the next gathering.

Fast-casual restaurant Chili's is experiencing a resurgence, with its parent company recently reporting a nearly 32% increase in sales, thanks to passionate Gen Z fans on TikTok.

Ukraine's sushi restaurants have remained open through the country's war with Russia

Although the country's cities have become battlegrounds, its sushi restaurants—a popular comfort food for Ukrainians—have remained open. That's especially surprising considering they require imported fresh fish and highly skilled chefs.

Up to a million Girl Scouts sell about 200 million cookie boxes every spring, generating $800 million, largely because refusing a child is frowned upon

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

El Niño, Spanish for 'the boy,' was named after Jesus Christ because the phenomenon resembled the weather changes observed around Christmastime.

The history of many kitchen appliances involves unexpected discoveries and applications, including wartime radar turned hamster defroster and replacing an 'ice king' with heat-stealing boxes.

'Silent' fireworks have gained more interest in recent years as a quieter celebratory option.

Cultural norms about how to handle the bodies of loved ones in communities in West Africa have hampered Ebola responses.

The 1987 Nintendo video game 'Stadium Events' isn't known for being particularly fun, but its scarcity has made it a highly sought-after item that has sold for up to $35K at auction.

Sears sold DIY house kits starting at $600 in its famous catalog from 1908 through the 1940s, resulting in roughly 10,000 'Sears and Roebuck houses' being built.

NBA superstar Victor Wembanyama spent the 2025 summer training with monks in central China to enhance his body and mind.

See the most iconic photos from four decades of LIFE magazine

American short story writer Flannery O'Connor raised 40 peacocks, which became potent symbols for her fiction's elegant violence

How Amazon operates a 'flywheel' business model, a self-reinforcing cycle that drives continuous growth

Sunflowers have long been a symbol of nuclear disarmament because they can extract large amounts of radioactive cesium from soil.

For centuries, it was common to sleep in two shifts: a few hours at the beginning of the night, and a longer period beginning around midnight

In 2026, Finland was named the world's happiest country for the ninth consecutive year based on its wealth, social safety network, and high life expectancy, among other factors.

Sony set the standard for cylinder-shaped batteries when it repurposed manufacturing equipment used to make rolls of magnetic recording tape.

Poison ivy was sent to Europe in the 1600s as an exotic, ornamental oddity, where it was purposefully grown in the English royal gardens at Kew, the Faculty of Medicine in Paris, and a few other locations.

While the first exchange-traded fund (a 'basket' of different assets that can be bought and sold on a stock exchange) in the US only launched in 1993, the global ETF market has grown to more than $10T in the short time since.

Take a 3D tour of the Hajj, Islam's annual pilgrimage to Mecca, undertaken by over 1.5 million Muslims.

Prince's sexually explicit 1984 track 'Darling Nikki' attracted the ire of the Parents Music Resource Center, an advocacy group that inspired the Parental Advisory sticker, even though the song ends with a Christian message.

The identity of the Tank Man in the iconic photo from the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests remains unknown and was possibly killed.

Artificial coral reefs have been 3D printed from nontoxic, biodegradable terracotta clay, which coral polyps have used as a foundation for rebuilding marine ecosystems.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict is the largest ground war in Europe since World War II in terms of casualties, forces mobilized, and displacement of civilians.