Behold the lovely Tannenbaum ("fir tree" for you non-German speakers). Here in Tyrol, Austria, Christmas Eve marks the first of three Rauchnächte, or "smoking nights." A long-standing Tyrolean tradition, people in this Alpine region burn frankincense and herbs in homes, barns, and stables to avert bad fortune. The custom is then repeated on the other two "smoking nights," New Year"s Eve and the night before Epiphany.
Smoking nights in Austria
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
-
March of the flowers
-
Après-ski in the Dolomites
-
Arrr! Can you talk like a pirate?
-
The Aomori Nebuta Festival parade, Japan
-
Happy anniversary to the National Park Service!
-
Alaska moose
-
Saint Dwynwen s Day
-
Village of Labro, Italy
-
Square Tower House in Mesa Verde National Park
-
Jeju Island, South Korea
-
White Sands National Park turns 90
-
Happy Thanksgiving!
-
International Lighthouse Weekend
-
Celebrating National Panda Day
-
Grandparents Day
-
Victory Day in Valletta
-
Why, aloe there
-
Victory in Europe, 75 years ago
-
Darwin s Arch
-
Winter at Valley Forge
-
Remembering Krakatoa
-
Rock of ages
-
Celebrating National Dentist Day
-
Arches National Park, Utah
-
Cecropia leaf and lobster claw petals in Mexico
-
Flock online for the Great Backyard Bird Count
-
No, it s not a leaf. Happy Look-alike Day
-
Life in the slow lane
-
Diwali lights in Guwahati, India
-
A Christmas market with a long history