Heritage news
HeritageThailand showcases Chud Thai craftsmanship in Paris ahead of UNESCO reviewFestivalsItalian Festival at the Mount celebrates heritage, community and a taste of the old country (79 photos)ArtsFamily Folk DanceHeritageWhy is Kolkata’s Durga Puja recognised as a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage?HeritageWhy is Kolkata’s Durga Puja recognised as a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage?WeddingsCalifornia city hall goes jurassic with dino wedding ceremonyCarnival28th Latino Heritage Parade and Festival Set for Today, Recognizing City’s ‘Unsung Heroes’WeddingsInternet sensation Mr Faisu gets married in traditional 'Nikah' ceremony, calls it a "blessing beyond words"Holy daysWhen is Diwali 2026? Key dates, significance, how to celebrateWeddingsArt of Betashar: Issatay Issabayev’s Lifelong Dialogue with Kazakh TraditionHeritageThailand showcases Chud Thai craftsmanship in Paris ahead of UNESCO reviewFestivalsItalian Festival at the Mount celebrates heritage, community and a taste of the old country (79 photos)ArtsFamily Folk DanceHeritageWhy is Kolkata’s Durga Puja recognised as a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage?HeritageWhy is Kolkata’s Durga Puja recognised as a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage?WeddingsCalifornia city hall goes jurassic with dino wedding ceremonyCarnival28th Latino Heritage Parade and Festival Set for Today, Recognizing City’s ‘Unsung Heroes’WeddingsInternet sensation Mr Faisu gets married in traditional 'Nikah' ceremony, calls it a "blessing beyond words"Holy daysWhen is Diwali 2026? Key dates, significance, how to celebrateWeddingsArt of Betashar: Issatay Issabayev’s Lifelong Dialogue with Kazakh Tradition
EveryParampara

Seasons, harvest and the calendar

Customs tied to a season, a harvest, a moon or a day of the week.

Seasonal and calendar traditions follow the turning of the year: the first thaw, the monsoon, the harvest, the longest night, the new moon. They also follow the days of the week, with Friday prayers, Sunday roast and Monday fasts. Because these customs are tied to nature and time, they appear almost everywhere, though each place names and keeps them in its own way. EveryParampara links them to the live calendar, so that you can see what is being kept today and what is coming in the year ahead.

Seasons and harvests

Farming societies marked the sowing, the first fruits and the harvest with offerings and feasts, and many of those festivals are still kept: Pongal, Chuseok, Thanksgiving, the New Yam Festival. Spring brings festivals of renewal, from Nowruz to Holi and Easter, and midwinter brings fire and light. In the tropics the rains rather than the temperature set the year, and festivals greet their arrival or their end.

Moons, weeks and days

Lunar calendars shape the dates of Ramadan, Lunar New Year, Vesak, Diwali and the Jewish festivals, so the dates move against the solar year. The week has its own rhythm, with a day of rest, a day of market and days of fasting for particular gods. EveryParampara's calendar and weekday pages show these patterns, so a visitor can see why Friday is couscous in Morocco and Saturday is Shabbat in Israel.

About this page

Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Background on Seasons, harvest and the calendar (kind of tradition). Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.

RegionSouth AsiaSoutheast AsiaEast AsiaCentral Asia and the CaucasusMiddle EastNorth AfricaSub-Saharan AfricaEuropeNorth AmericaLatin America and the CaribbeanOceania
MealBreakfastLunchDinnerSupperTea-time and snacking customsTea, coffee and drinking ceremoniesSweets given and sharedFeasts and festival mealsFasting and breaking the fast
🇯🇵 JapanKadomatsu門松 A Japanese New Year gateway decoration of pine and bamboo where a visiting deity can restSeasonal 🇯🇵 JapanToshikoshi soba年越し蕎麦 Buckwheat noodles eaten on New Year's Eve, cut easily to let the year goTable custom · Feasts and festival meals 🇰🇷 South KoreaJesa제사 (Jesa) A Korean ancestral memorial ceremony held on death anniversaries and major holidays.Spiritual · Feasts and festival meals 🇯🇵 Kishiwada, JapanKishiwada Danjiri Matsuri岸和田だんじり祭 A high-speed festival of wooden shrine floats pulled through Kishiwada, JapanFestival 🇨🇳 China and 5 moreMid-Autumn Festival中秋節 An annual harvest festival celebrating family reunions, full moons and mooncakesFestival · Sweets given and shared 🇨🇳 China and 5 moreQingming Festival清明节 A spring custom of sweeping family graves and honouring ancestors across East Asia.Spiritual 🇯🇵 Tokyo, Japan and 2 moreTanabataたなばた A Japanese summer star festival of written wishes hung on leafy bamboo.Festival 🇨🇳 Shanghai, China and 1 moreJiaozi餃子 Crescent Chinese dumplings filled with meat or vegetables, eaten for fortune and feastsTable custom · Breakfast 🇨🇳 China and 7 moreGhost Festival中元節 / 中元节 (Zhōngyuán jié) A full-moon night in the seventh lunar month for feeding ghosts and guiding souls homeSpiritual 🇨🇳 China and 2 moreQixi Festival七夕 A Chinese night of romance, needlecraft wishes and stargazing for two mythic loversFestival 🇯🇵 JapanChildren's Dayこどもの日 A Japanese holiday on May fifth celebrating the happiness and growth of childrenFestival 🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreGanggangsullae강강술래 A Korean harvest dance where women hold hands and sing in circles under the full moonPerformance 🇰🇵 Pyongyang, North KoreaDay of the Sun태양절 North Korea's principal holiday, marking the birth anniversary of Kim Il SungCeremony 🇨🇳 China and 5 moreDouble Ninth Festival重陽節 An autumn festival of mountain walks, chrysanthemum wine and ancestor remembranceSeasonal · Tea-time and snacking customs 🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanHatsumōde初詣 The first shrine or temple visit of the Japanese New Year to pray for good fortuneSpiritual 🇲🇳 Mongolia and 2 moreTsagaan SarЦагаан сар The Mongolian Lunar New Year festival of peace, elders, white foods and renewalSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals 🇯🇵 JapanHadaka Matsuri裸祭り Japanese festivals where participants clad in loincloths seek luck and purificationSpiritual 🇹🇼 Taipei, TaiwanDouble Ten Day國慶日 The national holiday of Taiwan marking the start of the 1911 revolution.Ceremony 🇰🇵 Pyongyang, North KoreaDay of the Shining Star광명성절 A two-day national holiday in North Korea honouring the birth of Kim Jong Il.Ceremony 🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreDaeboreum대보름 A Korean festival of the first lunar full moon, marked by fires, wishes and feastsSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals 🇨🇳 ChinaGolden Week黄金周 Seven- or eight-day national holiday periods in China for travel and family visitsSeasonal 🇰🇷 Boryeong, South KoreaBoryeong Mud Festival보령머드축제 A summer festival of mud baths, slides and music on the coast of South KoreaFestival 🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreChuseok추석 A Korean harvest festival of ancestral rites, seasonal rice cakes, and folk gamesFestival · Feasts and festival meals 🇯🇵 JapanHigan彼岸 A Japanese Buddhist week of reflection and ancestor remembrance at the equinoxesSpiritual 🇰🇷 South KoreaGimjang김장 Korea's late-autumn work of making enough kimchi to last the winterTable custom 🇯🇵 Kyoto, JapanGozan no Okuribi五山送り火 Five giant bonfires lit across Kyoto's hills to bid farewell to ancestor spirits.Spiritual 🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanDaijō-sai大嘗祭 The emperor's once-in-a-reign Shinto rite of thanks for the rice harvestSpiritual 🇯🇵 JapanYuzu bath柚子湯 A winter solstice soak in hot water with whole yuzu citrus, kept across JapanSeasonal 🇨🇳 Beijing, China and 1 moreLaba congee腊八粥 A ceremonial Chinese porridge of rice, beans and dried fruit, eaten at the Laba FestivalTable custom · Feasts and festival meals 🇯🇵 JapanTango no sekku端午の節句 A Japanese seasonal festival for children marked with carp streamers and iris leaves.Festival · Sweets given and shared 🇹🇼 TaiwanFlying Fish Festival飛魚祭 A months-long seasonal fishing observance kept by the Tao people of Orchid IslandSeasonal 🇨🇳 Hong Kong, China and 5 moreLunar New Year New year festivals dated by the moon, kept from East Asia to the Middle EastFestival 🇨🇳 China and 5 moreAncestor worship Honouring dead relatives with offerings and prayers, kept in many cultures worldwideSpiritual 🇰🇷 South KoreaJwibullori쥐불놀이 A Korean New Year game of whirling fire-cans to clear fields and wish good luckGame 🇯🇵 Japan and 2 moreJoya no Kane除夜の鐘 A Japanese Buddhist New Year's Eve ritual where temple bells are struck to cleanse the year of worldly desires.Spiritual 🇯🇵 Japan and 4 moreBodhi Day成道会 A Buddhist observance marking the enlightenment of Gautama Buddha under the Bodhi TreeSpiritual 🇨🇳 Dali, ChinaThird Month Fair三月街 A mountain-foot bazaar, festival, and sports gathering among the Bai in YunnanFestival 🇯🇵 Takayama, JapanTakayama Festival高山祭 Twin seasonal shrine festivals in Japan famed for elaborate lantern-lit floatsFestival 🇨🇳 ChinaTorch Festival火把节 A summer fire holiday celebrated by Yi and neighbouring communities in southwest ChinaFestival · Feasts and festival meals 🇯🇵 Kyoto, JapanGion Matsuri祇園祭 A month-long Kyoto festival of grand floats, evening markets and purifying ritualsFestival 🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanJapanese New Year正月 An annual celebration of renewal, seasonal foods, and bell ringing across JapanSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals 🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanKoinobori鯉のぼり Carp-shaped windsocks flown across Japan for Children's Day in springFestival 🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreKorean New Year설날 A three-day Korean festival celebrating the lunisolar new year with family and feastsSeasonal 🇨🇳 Suzhou, China and 3 moreDongzhi冬至 A midwinter festival celebrating the return of light with family feasts and dumplingsSeasonal · Dinner 🇨🇳 China and 5 moreMoon rabbit月兔 A hare seen in the Moon's dark patches, pounding rice cakes or the elixir of lifeFolklore 🇭🇰 Cheung Chau, Hong KongCheung Chau Bun Festival包山節 A week of vegetarian days, bun towers and a midnight scramble on a Hong Kong islandFestival 🇰🇷 Seoul, South KoreaYunnori윷놀이 A Korean board and stick-tossing game played with tokens during the Lunar New YearGame 🇨🇳 Nanjing, China and 4 moreSingles' Day光棍节 A day for people without a partner that grew into the world's biggest shopping eventFestival
More traditions

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

The weekly EveryParampara

Every week: one tradition from somewhere new, what is being celebrated around the world this week, and one idea explained.