Some of our most enduring Christmas traditions may date back to the days before that holiday even existed.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Working together to build 20 foot pyres of wood and wire, a family near New Orleans celebrates Christmas eve.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Las Posadas, celebrated in Mexico and in many Hispanic communities, commemorates Mary and Joseph's search for lodging in Bethlehem.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Believe it or not, there was a time when the singing of Christmas carols could land you in jail.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In the early 1800's, letting off steam at the annual Jonkonnu celebrations may have been a social safety valve.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A widely celebrated event during the 1800's inspired historians and local residents of eastern North Carolina to reconstruct its spectacle.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Revelers of the Jonkonnu masquerade sing and dance through neighborhoods, visiting homes where their pageantry might be favored with a gift of money.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In North Carolina, the festival of Jonkonnu is celebrated with influences from West Africa, England, and the Caribbean.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

There's one sure way to make a memorable impression.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

If you want to design effective packaging, you'd better know how it will stand up to being transported in planes, trains and trucks.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In Lindsborg, Kansas, folks still mark this time of year with traditions their ancestors brought from Sweden.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In the world of package design, you have to think not only of the package itself, but what it's going to be resting upon.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Packages that were previouly made out of plastic, are now being made out of bioplastics.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Why would anyone want to cut the toenails of a snapping turtle?  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Snapping turtles are teaching us invaluable lessons about the effects of toxins on the environment.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Microorganisms are part of the "recipe" for making rain, and rain not only cleans the atmosphere of microbes and airborne particles, it serves as a prime mover in stimulating microbial growth.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy ...

Why would bacteria evolve the ability to freeze cloud water at higher than normal temperatures?  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Most scientists refrain from eating anything in their labs, and for good reason. But when it comes to flavor science, tasting chemicals is madatory.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

They're the largest antlered animal in the world and a lot faster that you'd expect them to be.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On Isle Royale in Lake Superior, wolves and moose lead an interdependent existence.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

You might not expect the wolf population to effect the number of trees in an ecosystem - but it does.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

What does it take to handle a four-story high balloon?  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

For many New Yorkers, watching the giant parade balloons being filled on the day before Thanksgiving, has become part of their holiday celebration.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

An innovative way is being developed to create nanomaterials - tiny bits of matter - using microscopic organisms called diatoms.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Diatoms are among the world's oldest and most ubiquitous creatures, and they may soon be an important part of one of the newest branches of science and technology.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.