Smoking nights in Austria Dec 24, 2021

Smoking nights in Austria

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.

© nagelestock/Alamy

palette

Today in History

Dec 24, 2018The birthplace of a classic Christmas carol
Dec 24, 2019Dashing through the snow
Dec 24, 2020Hey, don t you guys have somewhere to be?
Dec 24, 2022Christmas Eve
Dec 24, 2023Christmas Eve
Dec 24, 2024Silent night, sparkling lights, and hearts full of joy
Dec 24, 2025Christmas Eve

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Apr 27, 2024National Go Birding Day
Jun 23, 2022Stari Most in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Feb 12, 2025Celebrating Charles Darwin
Oct 15, 2025National Mushroom Day
May 7, 2024A duckling swimming in a water meadow, Suffolk, England
Dec 29, 2025St. Gregory Church in Ani Ruins, Kars, Türkiye
Oct 26, 2025National Pumpkin Day
Aug 1, 2021Welcome to Scotland s garden
Mar 23, 2021Uncommon clouds are gathering
Apr 11, 2022Fiddlehead fern fronds
Jan 5, 2019Art abounds at the Palais Garnier
Jan 14, 2022Road to Sa Calobra, Majorca, Spain
Jan 14, 2018Sanday Island and the North Sea, Scotland
Apr 3, 2023National Find a Rainbow Day
Jul 17, 2022The Wave at Coyote Buttes
Jan 11, 2026Blue walls of Chefchaouen, Morocco
Jul 28, 2019Road-trip worthy attraction in the heartland
May 12, 2025An iris garden in Tokyo, Japan
Oct 3, 2021Birthplace of Roman emperors
Nov 11, 2019On a Healing Field for Veterans Day
Dec 12, 2022Poinsettia Day
Nov 30, 2023Saint Andrews Day
Feb 25, 2026Mendenhall Glacier, Alaska
May 12, 2022International Nurses Day
Nov 15, 2022River otters at Acadia National Park, Maine
Oct 8, 2021An uncommonly cool critter
Jan 4, 2024Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, California
Nov 29, 2024Mont-Saint-Michel, Normandy, France
Jan 19, 2018Old Town in Prague, Czech Republic
Sep 30, 2023Shenandoah National Park, Virginia