Holidays

A boy poses with a pillow shaped like lips on sale for Valentine's Day in Yopougon, Ivory Coast, on February 13th, 2018.

• By Pacific Standard Staff

Find your purpose, forgive yourself for slip-ups, and have someone gently prod you.

• By Francie Diep

Performers dance during the Lagos Street Carnival on December 3rd, 2017, in Lagos.

• By Pacific Standard Staff

A round-up of images from Viewfinder, Pacific Standard's daily photo feature.

• By Pacific Standard Staff

Snowmen stand on a field in Bielefeld, northwestern Germany.

• By Pacific Standard Staff

African Heritage Dancers dance to the African Heritage Drummers during a Kwanzaa celebration at the Lincoln Theater in Washington, D.C.

• By Pacific Standard Staff

Children and families enjoy the houses on Franklin Road lit with Christmas lights on December 1st, 2017, in Auckland, New Zealand.

• By Pacific Standard Staff

Runners dressed in Father Christmas costumes arrive to take part in the annual five kilometer Santa Dash in Liverpool, England, on December 3rd, 2017.

• By Pacific Standard Staff

Research shows the act of re-gifting bothers the re-gifter more than it does anyone else.

• By Kate Wheeling

A keeper clad in a Santa Claus costume feeds Magellanic penguins in a water tank as part of Christmas events at Hakkeijima Sea Paradise amusement park.

• By Pacific Standard Staff

An orthodox Jewish Israeli walks past an inflatable figure of Santa Claus in the Christian Quarter of Jerusalem on December 20th, 2017.

• By Pacific Standard Staff

Bystanders admire a Christmas display along the Meguro River in Tokyo, Japan, on December 17th, 2017.

• By Pacific Standard Staff

Children ride a merry-go-round on opening day at the Christmas market in Magdeburg on November 27th, 2017.

• By Pacific Standard Staff

Unless it's motivated by fear, social withdrawal can be a positive thing.

• By Tom Jacobs

This Thanksgiving, skip the extra beer and take the higher ground in your family debate; chances are, your relatives will follow your example.

• By Jared Keller

Asking them about their healthy habits, it turns out.

• By Francie Diep

A study shows that most of the variation in plants and trees comes down to just two factors: overall size and the "leaf economics spectrum."

• By Nathan Collins

From ironic nostalgia to festive simulation.

• By Kerri Scheer

Distributing emotional labor equally is a great gift for everyone.

• By Francie Diep

Don't underestimate the happiness physical presents can produce.

• By Tom Jacobs

The Paulas way, it turns out.

• By Rick Paulas

After living the unfamiliar for so long, the idea of home becomes powerfully linked with an oversimplified image of American life.

• By Alissa Greenberg

Is there another holiday as perennially divisive as Valentine's Day? We've compiled stories on love and lust that will fit whatever mood you happen to be in this year.

• By Bettina Chang

Research shows that we're pretty bad at following through.

• By Max Ufberg