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Dec 12, 2025Poinsettia: A winter classic

Some plants simply sit quietly on windowsills. The poinsettia? It demands the spotlight — bright, bold and as red as Rudolph"s nose. Long before it became a popular Christmas decoration, it grew wild in Mexico, where the Aztecs used its leaves for dyes and its sap for traditional remedies. In the 19th century, it travelled across continents as people admired its vivid colour during colder months, eventually finding its place in winter celebrations around the world.Desktop Version

Dec 11, 2025International Mountain Day

Every 11 December, we celebrate International Mountain Day, honouring the majestic peaks that shape our planet and the glaciers that support life. From the rolling Alps to the towering Himalayas, mountains cover nearly a quarter of Earth"s land and host 15% of the world"s population and nearly half of its biodiversity hotspots. Mount Everest, the world"s highest peak at over 8845 metres, stands as a symbol of human aspiration and natural beauty. Its glaciers feed rivers sustaining millions, showing that mountains are more than scenery—they are lifelines.Desktop Version

Dec 20, 2025Christmas star lanterns, Germany

As Christmas draws near, star lanterns begin to appear everywhere—twinkling from balconies, shining in shop windows and lighting up market stalls. Their shimmer cuts through the long winter nights, filling streets and homes with joy, colour and a sense of togetherness. But behind these festive decorations lies a story as captivating as their glow. The first of these stars emerged in Niesky, Germany, in the early 1800s. Students at a Moravian Church boarding school crafted what we now call the Herrnhut Star or Moravian Star, during a geometry lesson. That geometric marvel, crafted from paper and cardboard, soon came to symbolise the Star of Bethlehem and the spirit of Advent. By 1897, Pieter Verbeek, a former student of that school, began producing and selling them. His son Harry later continued the tradition, founding the Herrnhut Star Factory in 1925.Desktop Version

Dec 10, 2025Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba, Andalusia, Spain

The Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba is a chronicle of Spain"s layered history. It began as a church built by the Germanic Visigoths, before being transformed into a mosque in 784 CE by Abd al-Rahman I, founder of the Umayyad Emirate of Córdoba. Its vast hypostyle hall, a space supported by rows of columns, features the famous red-and-white arches shown here. Today, it contains more than 850 columns, many reused from Roman and earlier Visigothic structures.Desktop Version

Dec 13, 2025Merced River, Yosemite National Park, California, United States

Every masterpiece needs a brushstroke to tie it together. For Yosemite National Park, that stroke is the Merced River—painting reflections of granite cliffs, pine forests and waterfalls across its canvas. One of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers, this waterway begins high in the Sierra Nevada. It gathers meltwater and travels about 235 kilometres west through Yosemite Valley into California"s Central Valley in the United States.Desktop Version

Dec 19, 2025Bormio, Lombardy, Italy

Bormio is a mountain town in northern Italy"s Lombardy region, nestled in the Alps near the Stelvio Pass. This location has connected communities across mountain valleys for centuries, shaping how people live and move through the region. Today"s image features Bormio"s winter landscape, a reflection of its high-altitude surroundings and enduring bond with the surrounding peaks.Desktop Version

Dec 9, 2025Guanaco, Punta Norte, Valdés Peninsula, Argentina

If llamas are the laid-back stars of the Andes, their cousins, the guanacos, are the free spirits of Patagonia. Guanacos are part of the same camelid family as llamas, alpacas and vicuñas. But unlike their domesticated relatives, they keep things wild. Found mainly in Argentina, Chile, Peru and Bolivia, they"re built for life at high altitude. Their thick coats help them handle chilly winds, while their padded feet give them the grip to trek across rocky terrain that would make even mountain goats nervous.Desktop Version

Dec 16, 2025Handmade gnomes at a Christmas market

They"ve got long beards, red hats and a knack for stealing a tad bit of Santa"s thunder every Christmas. Meet the gnome—known as "tomte" in Sweden and "nisse" in Norway—whose traditions vary across regions. Rooted in Scandinavian folklore, these tiny guardians watch over homes and farms, keeping families safe through long, dark winters. But there"s a catch: treat them kindly or they may play tricks. A warm bowl of porridge on Christmas Eve is their favourite reward. Said to bring luck and laughter, they might even befriend your garden gnomes, since they often resemble them.Desktop Version

Dec 17, 2025Eurasian red squirrel in Northumberland, England

Who could resist that squishy face? A Eurasian red squirrel perches on a snowy pine branch, paws clutching a pine cone like it"s the last snack on Earth. These little acrobats stay busy collecting nuts, seeds and fungi—feasting on fresh finds in summer and on stored cones through winter.Desktop Version

Dec 6, 2025Everglades National Park, Florida, United States

On Florida"s southern tip lies one of the United States" most unusual landscapes. The Everglades is not a typical swamp or river. It is a slow, shallow sheet of water that drifts south across flat grasslands toward Florida Bay, linking forests, marshes, mangroves and coastal prairies. This subtropical wilderness supports hundreds of species, including alligators, manatees and the endangered Florida panther. Spanning over 6000 square kilometres, it is one of the largest wetland ecosystems in North America—a place where land, sky and water meet in constant motion.Desktop Version

Dec 5, 2025Maya site of Copán

In a quiet valley of western Honduras lie the ruins of Copán—a city of the ancient Maya civilisation. Its sky served as both compass and calendar, guiding celestial events and shaping temples, rituals and the rhythm of life. Around 426 CE, K"inich Yax K"uk" Mo", a warrior from the Maya heartland, founded Copán and established its royal dynasty. The city became a centre of Maya art, astronomy and power.Desktop Version

Nov 29, 2025Red deer stag in De Hoge Veluwe National Park, Netherlands

Picture 54 square kilometres of open land, wildlife on the move, and a stag flaunting its crown of antlers. In 1909, husband and wife Anton Kröller and Helene Kröller-Müller began building a private estate in Gelderland, Netherlands—what we now know as De Hoge Veluwe National Park. Their vision? To merge art and nature. They brought it to life by placing artwork within the landscape, like "Three Upright Motives" by English sculptor Henry Moore in the Pampelse Zand and the President Steyn stone bench by Belgian architect Henry van de Velde, among others.Desktop Version

Nov 12, 2025Colosseum, Rome, Italy

Think modern sports are dramatic? Ancient Romans had front-row seats to spectacles far more intense inside the Colosseum. Commissioned by the Flavian emperor Vespasian in 72 CE and finished by his son Titus in 80 CE, this amphitheatre broke tradition with its predecessors that were built into hillsides for natural support. Instead, the Colosseum was a fully free-standing architectural giant, crafted from stone and concrete. Its arches and vaults supported an arena that could host up to 50,000 spectators. Gladiators, exotic animals and even staged sea battles thrilled the crowds, while hidden elevators and trapdoors created sudden, dramatic appearances.Desktop Version

Dec 8, 2025Christmas lights on buildings of Domaso, Lake Como, Italy

When the twinkling reflections on Italy"s Lake Como outshine the stars, you know Christmas has docked in Domaso. Once a fishing village, this lakeside town now transforms each winter into a glittering display of holiday cheer, where pastel houses, old churches and waterfront villas are wrapped in ribbons of light. The result? A picturesque Christmas scene.Desktop Version

Nov 23, 2025Fibonacci Day

Look closely at this ammonite fossil. Its swirling shell, once home to a prehistoric sea creature, holds a mathematical secret—a spiral pattern. Each new chamber is proportionally larger than the previous one, maintaining a consistent growth ratio, often associated with the Fibonacci sequence.Desktop Version

Nov 6, 2025The temple of Wat Phra That Hariphunchai, Lamphun, Thailand

What would you wish for if a single lantern could carry it skyward? Tonight, in northern Thailand, the Yi Peng festival offers that chance. This centuries-old Lanna tradition celebrates the twelfth lunar month with glowing paper lanterns—khom loi—that are released to honour the Buddha. Each lantern is believed to carry away misfortune and light the way toward a brighter future. Children steady the lantern frames, elders whisper blessings and the crowd pauses as hundreds of lights drift higher than the trees. Farther south, the same full moon watches over Loy Krathong, a sister festival, where candlelit rafts glide across the water.Desktop Version

Dec 15, 2025Spiegelgracht canal in Amsterdam, Netherlands

Have you ever wondered how canals changed the way cities developed? For thousands of years, people have built canals to transport goods, control water flow and connect places. From ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt to medieval Europe, they transformed cities like Venice and Bruges into trade hubs. The Netherlands took this even further—by the 17th century, they were designing waterways that shaped cities such as Amsterdam.Desktop Version

Nov 19, 2025Hungarian Parliament Building, Budapest, Hungary

Step closer, and the details begin to speak—every stone, spire and statue seems to hold a story of its own. Conceived in the late 19th century, the Hungarian Parliament Building was designed to reflect a nation"s ambition, blending Gothic Revival elegance with distinctly Hungarian motifs. Architect Imre Steindl"s vision took shape over two decades through the work of more than 1,000 craftsmen. Even the central dome, rising 96 metres high, carries meaning: the height honours the year of Hungary"s millennium anniversary in 1896. Completed in 1904, the building still dominates Budapest"s skyline as a powerful national symbol.Desktop Version

Nov 16, 2025A traboule in Lyon, France

In Lyon, France, you don"t just walk through the city—you glide through it. The traboules, a network of hidden passageways threading between courtyards and buildings, turn a simple stroll into a treasure hunt. They were the original shortcuts, allowing residents to dodge rain, carry goods or move discreetly through the medieval quarters. Today, they"re less about practicality and more about discovery. These passages date back to the fourth century but became essential during the Renaissance, when silk traders used them to shuttle delicate fabrics safely from workshops to the river without braving the weather. Later, during World War II, Resistance fighters used the traboules as escape routes.Desktop Version

Nov 18, 2025Male hooded merganser, Oregon, United States

Each autumn, the quiet waterways of Oregon, United States, become seasonal waypoints for hooded mergansers—small diving ducks native to North America. They are agile divers, plunging beneath the surface to catch fish and other prey. Males, known as drakes, stand out with their fan-shaped white crests, dark heads and chestnut-brown sides, while females, called hens, are brownish grey with smaller crests. Oregon"s lakes and wetlands provide sheltered feeding grounds as these birds migrate or winter across the continent.Desktop Version

Nov 15, 2025Irohazaka Road in autumn, Nikko, Tochigi, Japan

If you think the alphabet is straightforward, Japan"s Irohazaka Road in Nikko will twist that belief right out of you. Named after the old Japanese syllabary "Iroha," this mountain pass once had 48 hairpin bends—each curve matched to a character of the alphabet. Today, it"s a pair of separate one-way roads—one goes up, the other comes down and both make drivers feel as if they"re spelling out a story with every turn.Desktop Version

Nov 24, 2025Gwalior Fort, Madhya Pradesh

Few cities carry their past vividly as Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh. Towering over its skyline, Gwalior Fort is a 6th-century hilltop stronghold. Nicknamed "the Gibraltar of India," this fort was praised by Mughal emperor Babur as the "pearl among the fortresses of Hind" for its strength and grandeur. The fort has witnessed rulers from the Tomars and the Mughals to the Scindias, each leaving echoes of their reign, and remains tied to tales of battles, royal intrigue and whispered treasures.Desktop Version

Nov 30, 2025Christmas market in Leipzig, Germany

Do you know what people bought at Christmas markets 567 years ago? Not costly ornaments or fancy souvenirs but candles, spices, local goods, knitted items and toys. Leipzig"s Christmas market began in 1458 and quickly became a favourite stop for merchants and locals alike. Today, with its cultural and culinary offerings spread across the historic old town and about 300 stalls, it is one of the largest Christmas markets in Germany. Imagine streets buzzing with the chatter of traders and children following the scent of "Lebkuchen"—honey-sweetened cakes. This is where townsfolk gather to celebrate winter and catch up on the news while sipping mulled wine. These markets have always symbolised more than shopping—they offer an escape from the everyday routine.Desktop Version

Nov 13, 2025Quiver trees, Keetmanshoop, Namibia

Of all the plants on Earth, the quiver tree looks the most like a vision from the future. Found in Southern Africa, including parts of Namibia, these striking giants are not true trees but a species of aloe adapted to life under the desert"s scorching sun. Their thick trunks store water, while their branches reflect heat, helping them endure harsh conditions. Reaching up to 7 metres in height, with some living for more than 100 years, quiver trees are also vital to their ecosystem. They offer rare perches and nesting sites for birds in landscapes where few other trees exist.Desktop Version

Nov 25, 2025Trevi Fountain, Rome, Italy

Ever heard coins clinking louder than applause? That"s the Trevi Fountain in Rome, Italy, for you—a spot where history, hope and selfie sticks collide. Completed in 1762, it marks the endpoint of one of ancient Rome"s earliest aqueducts, the Aqua Virgo, which still supplies water today. The name "Trevi" comes from Tre Vie—"three roads"—signifying the junction where it stands. Designed by Italian architect Nicola Salvi and finished by Giuseppe Pannini, this 26-metre marvel is the largest Baroque fountain in the city and one of the most famous in the world. Its sculptures show Oceanus, the god of the sea, surrounded by Tritons and horses.Desktop Version

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