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From pretzels to pickles, snowballs to sauerkraut, Pennsylvania's holiday traditions are the gifts that keep on giving.

Why it matters: Admit it — they make you feel warm and fuzzy inside … well, except maybe those cold-hearted Eagles fans.

🧑‍🎄 Santa took it in stride, and now we have a story as timeless as some of our favorite seasonal rituals.

🐟 Feast of the Seven Fishes: From Pittsburgh to Philly, restaurants and home cooks embrace the Italian American tradition of the Feast of the Seven Fishes, rolling out their own riffs on seafood classics each December.

Rooted in the Catholic custom of abstaining from meat before feast days like Christmas Day, the Christmas Eve celebration traditionally features seven distinct seafood dishes and often unfolds over hours-long dinner parties.

🇮🇹 Cannoli time: The long Christmas Eve lines at Isgro Pastries and Termini Bros. for the sweet Sicilian treats are well worth the wait in Philly.

🥒 Christmas pickle: A pickle-shaped ornament is hidden somewhere on the tree, and the Christmas morning race to find it is on. Whoever spots it first gets an extra present, opens the first gift, or earns a year of good luck.

Its origins are debated, but the hunt endures in Pittsburgh-area homes — helped along by the city's love of all things pickled.

✨ Wanamaker Light Show and Dickens Village: The building's Grand Court offers the perfect spot to take in the vintage light show before heading upstairs to wander through a re-creation of Dickens' holiday classic.

But check it out while you can — the attraction will be on pause in 2026 and 2027 as operators search for a new home for this beloved tradition.

📣 Keeping the spirit of Santa alive: At the Eagles' final home game in 1968, the real Santa got stuck in traffic and the late Frank Olivo filled in for him — only to be booed and pelted with snowballs. Eagles fans hate hearing the story as much as people hate holiday fruitcake, but some lore you just have to lean into.

"As long as there is professional football," former Gov. Ed Rendell said, "the story of Eagles fans pelting Santa Claus will always be told."

🪩 Peak Pennsylvania NYE drops: Dozens of Keystone State locales put their own stamp on the Times Square tradition, swapping the ball for hometown symbols.

Pottsville hoists a Yuengling bottle, Lebanon drops a 250-pound hunk of bologna, Hershey raises a giant Kiss, and Bethlehem lowers a 400-pound Peeps chick.

Meanwhile, Pittsburgh's ball rises, and Kennett Square, Shamokin, and Mechanicsburg stay true to their roots with a mushroom, coal, and a wrench, respectively.

🥨 Pittsburgh's New Year's pretzel: A Steel City New Year's tradition that often flies under the radar: New Year's pretzel — a German-inspired sweet-dough pastry shared at midnight for luck. 

Bakeries turn out thousands each December, topping them with icing, cinnamon, sprinkles, candied fruit and more.

🐷 Pork and sauerkraut: This hearty New Year's Day meal is a Pennsylvania staple, born from a Pennsylvania Dutch tradition that promises a strong start to the year. 

The pork symbolizes progress (pigs root forward) and sauerkraut represents prosperity.

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Our favorite Pennsylvania holiday traditions

Admit it — they make you feel warm and fuzzy inside.

Illustration of a pickle wearing a Santa hat trying to untangle strings of lights. 

From pretzels to pickles, snowballs to sauerkraut, Pennsylvania&#x27;s holiday traditions are the gifts that keep on giving.Why it matters: Admit it — they make you feel warm and fuzzy inside … well, except maybe those <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="cold-hearted Eagles fans" data-vars-click-url="https://www.espn.com/video/clip/_/id/32872172" data-vars-content-id="0bbf9049-747d-4dc6-ac69-ccb0e7f2ecf0" data-vars-headline="Our favorite Pennsylvania holiday traditions" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.espn.com/video/clip/_/id/32872172" target="_blank">cold-hearted Eagles fans</a>.

Culture

Things to Do

Universities in the Philadelphia region raked in billions of dollars from overseas contributors over the past four decades.

Why it matters: The U.S. Education Department's recent data breaks down the foreign contributions that are helping to financially support Philly's biggest schools.

Driving the news: A new database revealed this month shows foreign gifts, contracts and other transactions to hundreds of colleges and universities between 1986 and Dec. 16, 2025.

In 2025 alone, American institutions documented more than 8,300 transactions worth over $5.2 billion in reportable foreign gifts and contracts.

Flashback: Last year, President Trump issued an executive order enforcing Section 117 of the Higher Education Act, which requires colleges and universities to report significant sources of foreign funding.

Trump said his administration sought to "protect the marketplace of ideas from propaganda sponsored by foreign governments, and safeguard America's students and research from foreign exploitation."

Section 117 also includes routine transactions, including research contracts and fellowships.

Between the lines: Characterizing all foreign funding as a threat to national security is misleading, says Alexander Cooley, a political scientist researching foreign authoritarian influence.

The country of origin "does not necessarily reflect the actual provenance of the individual or entity that's giving," he says. "And on the flip side, donations from foreign individuals channelled through shell companies are not classified as foreign donations."

Plus: The reporting requirements also "collapse a lot of different kinds of activities," he says.

Those activities include tuition reimbursements and scholarships for foreign students, he says, as well as contracts for "joint campuses and satellite campuses" abroad.

Zoom in: The University of Pennsylvania led all schools in the Philly metro — by far — with nearly $2.8 billion in foreign funding.

The bulk of the funding came from Germany ($1.9 billion).

Meanwhile, $210.2 million was from China, among those designated "countries of concern" by the U.S. Department of State.

A Penn spokesperson tells Axios the university is "compliant with Section 117 of the Higher Education Act, and we will continue to comply with it," but declined further comment.

Zoom out: Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh reported the highest foreign funding in Pennsylvania since 1986 ($3.9 billion). 

What else: Other Philly schools with big foreign funders during that time period include:

What they're saying: Temple spokesperson Stephen Orbanek tells Axios that much of the foreign funding the North Philly university receives is related to international student tuition payments.

The intrigue: Saudi Arabia was among the largest sources of foreign funding to some Philadelphia-area universities.

Funding originating from Saudi Arabia totaled $39 million for Temple, $8.6 million for Drexel, and $5.6 million for St. Joe's over the past 40 years, per the database.

Friction point: Some critics say that China, Qatar and other foreign entities use partnerships with American schools to expand their influence in the United States.

UPenn leads Philly schools in foreign funding

See how much Philly universities have received from overseas sources over the past 40 years.

Illustration of Benjamin Franklin wearing a school cap with a tassle. 

<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Universities" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/philadelphia/2026/02/10/college-enrollment-racial-changes-students-university-of-pennsylvania-temple-drexel" data-vars-content-id="2d426e4b-8d56-41d9-a080-49722942b8a1" data-vars-headline="UPenn leads Philly schools in foreign funding" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/philadelphia/2026/02/10/college-enrollment-racial-changes-students-university-of-pennsylvania-temple-drexel" target="_self">Universities</a> in the Philadelphia region raked in billions of dollars from overseas contributors over the past four decades.Why it matters: The U.S. Education Department&#x27;s recent data breaks down the foreign contributions that are helping to financially support Philly&#x27;s biggest schools.

Education

Pennsylvania now has 135 data centers planned across the state, per a new analysis.

Why it matters: Anti-data center sentiment is spiking in the Keystone State as well as across the U.S., turning the projects into a potent political issue ahead of the midterm elections.

Driving the news: The planned data centers would massively increase the state's current capacity of 311 megawatts to 18,155 MW, per Cleanview.

Several are proposed for the Philly region, including Sentinel's project in East Whiteland Township and the so-called Project Laurel plan in Limerick Township.

The largest planned site in the state is outside Pittsburgh in Westmoreland County from developer TECfusions.

State of play: Pennsylvania currently has 15 operating data centers, according to market intelligence company Cleanview.

The largest is Amazon's Susquehanna data center in Luzerne County.

Reality check: It's TBD whether all the data center projects on Cleanview's list will come to fruition.

Gov. Josh Shapiro said earlier this month that just five proposed data center projects statewide have the permits needed to operate.

Plus: Shapiro's recent executive order adds guardrails that make it harder for many projects to move forward.

Meanwhile, opposition to data centers is flaring up throughout the Philly region.

Residents in Plymouth Township, Upper Merion Township and Falls Township have mobilized to scuttle proposed projects in their communities.

And in Philly proper, a coalition group recently launched a campaign to impose a moratorium on data centers in the city.

What we're watching: Whether new data center restrictions in Pennsylvania slow the pipeline.

Sentinel's project in East Whiteland Township

outside Pittsburgh in Westmoreland County

Mapped: Data center pipeline in Pennsylvania

Anti-data center sentiment is spiking in the Keystone State as well as across the U.S.

Maps of Pennsylvania and the United States show the expected locations of data centers by the end of 2026 and the locations of proposed data centers in future years.

Clearview, August 2026; Jim Sergent/Axios

Illustration of data center servers on an abstract vector background

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Stock: Getty Images

Pennsylvania now has 135 data centers planned across the state, per a <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="new analysis" data-vars-click-url="https://cleanview.co/data-centers/pennsylvania#data-center-faq" data-vars-content-id="52af0356-f185-4abc-9af5-8980f3ec5e93" data-vars-headline="Mapped: Data center pipeline in Pennsylvania" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://cleanview.co/data-centers/pennsylvania#data-center-faq" target="_blank">new analysis</a>.Why it matters: Anti-data center sentiment is spiking in the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Keystone State" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/philadelphia/2026/09/14/data-center-philadelphia-region-campaign-josh-shapiro-pennsylvania" data-vars-content-id="52af0356-f185-4abc-9af5-8980f3ec5e93" data-vars-headline="Mapped: Data center pipeline in Pennsylvania" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/philadelphia/2026/09/14/data-center-philadelphia-region-campaign-josh-shapiro-pennsylvania" target="_self">Keystone State</a> as well as across the U.S., turning the projects into a <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="potent political issue" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2026/08/19/josh-shapiro-ai-data-centers-pivot" data-vars-content-id="52af0356-f185-4abc-9af5-8980f3ec5e93" data-vars-headline="Mapped: Data center pipeline in Pennsylvania" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2026/08/19/josh-shapiro-ai-data-centers-pivot" target="_self">potent political issue</a> ahead of the midterm elections.

Politics

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Business

Measles cases are surging in Pennsylvania and on track to eclipse last year's total. 

Why it matters: Falling vaccination rates are raising alarms that one of the world's most contagious viruses could make a comeback and spread rapidly in densely populated cities like Philly. 

State of play: Pennsylvania had 12 confirmed measles cases as of Wednesday — in Lancaster (8 cases), Montgomery (3) and Chester (1) counties, per state health officials. 

All those cases were among unvaccinated people. 

Last year, Pennsylvania recorded 16 cases. In 2024, there were six.  

Plus: Two more cases involved out-of-state residents, including one who visited Montgomery County and the other Chester County. 

 Zoom in: Philly is under a measles health advisory. 

The advisory noted that a large number of travelers are poised to come to Philly for the World Cup and other big events throughout the year. 

While there have been no confirmed measles cases in the city proper so far in 2026, Philly health officials have warned of possible exposure at the city's airport this year. 

Between the lines: More than half of Pennsylvania's counties, including Philly, don't meet the herd immunity threshold for measles.

Flashback: Last year, U.S. measles cases topped 2,000 for the first time in over 30 years, per CDC data.

How it works: Measles is highly contagious, spreads easily through the air, and can linger indoors for hours, per the CDC. 

Infection can raise the risk of pneumonia or inflammation of the brain or lungs, particularly in young children.

Symptoms include high fever, rash, cough and pink eye.

Plus: Parents who want to protect their newborns have few options as infants typically aren't vaccinated until they're a year old.  

State of play: Getting two doses of the MMR or MMRV shot is safe and 97% effective at preventing infections, per the CDC.

Measles cases on the rise in Pennsylvania

Falling vaccination rates are raising alarms that one of the world's most contagious viruses could make a comeback.

Illustration of a syringe drawing vaccine out of a vial.

Measles cases are surging in Pennsylvania and on track to eclipse last year&#x27;s total. Why it matters: <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Falling vaccination rates" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/philadelphia/2026/01/08/measles-vaccination-rates-in-most-pennsylvania-counties-lag-below-herd-immunity" data-vars-content-id="d3070361-89f8-4f78-a532-bae1975a4dd8" data-vars-headline="Measles cases on the rise in Pennsylvania" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/philadelphia/2026/01/08/measles-vaccination-rates-in-most-pennsylvania-counties-lag-below-herd-immunity" target="_self">Falling vaccination rates</a> are raising alarms that one of the world&#x27;s most contagious viruses could make a comeback and spread rapidly in densely populated cities like Philly.

Health

News

Pennsylvania's Affordable Care Act marketplace has seen health insurance cancellations skyrocket so far this year.

The big picture: Spiking insurance premiums, driven in part by recently expired federal subsidies, are pushing enrollment down, as higher costs for energy, gas and food strain household budgets.

State of play: Roughly 45,000 Pennsylvanians have dropped coverage through Pennie between the close of open enrollment on Jan. 31 and April 9.

That's a nearly 50% jump in cancellations, compared to the same time in 2025, per Pennie.

It comes after 85,000 people across the state nixed their coverage during the open enrollment period from November through January.

Zoom in: In Philadelphia proper, premiums rose an average of $137 per month (up 116%) over last year, according to Pennie.

In the 'burbs, premiums increased $126-$144 per month on average.

Zoom out: This is not just a Pennsylvania problem.

About 1 in 10 Americans enrolled in an ACA plan last year now lack health coverage, per surveys by research nonprofit KFF.

Between the lines: Pennsylvania also saw a steep rise (30%) in people enrolling in bronze plans, which have lower monthly premiums but higher out-of-pocket costs, this year.

More uninsured and underinsured Pennsylvanians could lead to higher uncompensated care costs for hospitals.

The intrigue: Pressure is mounting on Pennsylvania lawmakers to replace at least part of the lost subsidies.

What they're saying: "We're very concerned those people will be at risk of medical debt if they have an emergency situation or if they get diagnosed with cancer or another health condition," Joanna Rosenhein, director of campaigns at the Pennsylvania Health Access Network, told WHYY.

What we're watching: More big spikes in health care costs could be coming.

The Trump administration's latest budget proposes deeper cuts to federal health spending, reducing the Department of Health and Human Services by more than 12% ($15.8 billion) and scaling back assistance programs.

Pennie coverage drops amid rising health care premiums

More big spikes in health care costs could be coming.

Illustration of a stethoscope with a high price tag

Pennsylvania&#x27;s Affordable Care Act marketplace has seen health insurance cancellations skyrocket so far this year.The big picture: Spiking insurance premiums, driven in part by recently <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="expired federal subsidies" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2025/12/17/house-gop-health-bill-obamacare-aca-subsidies" data-vars-content-id="ed0fb365-be56-4bcf-8b14-cccc68f2d7e1" data-vars-headline="Pennie coverage drops amid rising health care premiums" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2025/12/17/house-gop-health-bill-obamacare-aca-subsidies" target="_self">expired federal subsidies</a>, are pushing enrollment down, as higher costs for <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="energy" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/pittsburgh/2026/04/02/why-electricity-rates-rising-pennsylvania-energy-demand-grid" data-vars-content-id="ed0fb365-be56-4bcf-8b14-cccc68f2d7e1" data-vars-headline="Pennie coverage drops amid rising health care premiums" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/pittsburgh/2026/04/02/why-electricity-rates-rising-pennsylvania-energy-demand-grid" target="_self">energy</a>, <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="gas" data-vars-click-url="https://triblive.com/local/westmoreland/western-pa-gas-prices-surge-above-4-20-per-gallon-as-iran-war-continues-to-push-oil-costs/" data-vars-content-id="ed0fb365-be56-4bcf-8b14-cccc68f2d7e1" data-vars-headline="Pennie coverage drops amid rising health care premiums" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://triblive.com/local/westmoreland/western-pa-gas-prices-surge-above-4-20-per-gallon-as-iran-war-continues-to-push-oil-costs/" target="_blank">gas</a> and <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="food" data-vars-click-url="https://triblive.com/local/valley-news-dispatch/as-prices-continue-to-rise-western-pa-food-banks-see-climbing-demand/" data-vars-content-id="ed0fb365-be56-4bcf-8b14-cccc68f2d7e1" data-vars-headline="Pennie coverage drops amid rising health care premiums" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://triblive.com/local/valley-news-dispatch/as-prices-continue-to-rise-western-pa-food-banks-see-climbing-demand/" target="_blank">food</a> strain household budgets.

Chrissy Suttles

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