Some 100 balloonists, including a slew who man special-shaped airships like dragons and bald eagles, converge on the region's parks and airports to launch against a backdrop of mountains awash in fall foliage.

CNN: 7 breathtaking ballooning adventures

In the days before, shopkeepers decorate their windows, bakers bake special ring-shaped breads called krakelingen, and schoolteachers recount a tale explaining the origins of the ritual.

UNESCO: Culture

We'd forgotten all about it, but remember that contest where Coca-Cola is putting special GPS-enabled Coke can-shaped phones?

ENGADGET: Coke cans compromising national security

Instead, she cited the special place in her heart reserved for her own mother's recipe for Pizzelle, snowflake-shaped cookies for Italian brides, and Eli Zabar's mother's butter sugar cookies.

WSJ: A Zabar Does Cookies