The circle of 12 animals — the rat, ox ... and crane as a symbol of longevity. This year, merchants in China and elsewhere are producing lanterns, soft toys and other products where the snakes have ...

Lunar New Year festivals and prayers are marking the start of the Year of the Snake around Asia and the world.

The Japanese government decided on January 28 to recommend archaeological sites in Nara Prefecture, western Japan, to be considered for registration as a UNESCO World Heritage site. The sites include ...

It's often represented by a circular diagram and contains symbols of animals associated ... Twelve animals participated: the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster ...

Japan’s indigenous religion, worship Kami – gods believed to inhabit the natural world – and the Kumano region is considered to be home to a particularly large number. Walking the ancient ...

But the citrus genus has a surprising history, popping up everywhere from ancient Rome and the Renaissance to naval exploration and Casanova's famed romantic trysts. The history of citrus dates ...

In the UK, May has hitherto been a month of innocent delight and sacred observance, with no less than two bank holidays. On May Day - a festival of ancient origins that shares a date with ...

The Sterkfontein excavation site, which exposes the ancient deposits that once formed underground and contain Australopithecus fossils. The fossil-bearing red sediments clearly contrast with the grey ...

Such was the value of honey as a commodity that the Egyptian hieroglyph for ‘bee’ came to be used as the symbol for the ruler of Lower Egypt. In ancient Greece, bees and honey were a significant ...

A symbol of health and medicine around the world to this day ... However, the healer later became a heroic figure in the ancient world and eventually received god status. Asclepius’ cult began in ...

In Chinese culture, the snake is a symbol of happiness and good luck. People born in the year of the snake are said to be wise and charming.

Sunflowers growing in an empty plot of land in the city of Kobe, where a home once stood before a massive earthquake 30 years ago, have spread throughout the country as a symbol of reconstruction ...