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SeasonsOak Mountain State Park to host annual Harvest Festival Oct. 17ArtsTwo weekends of Oktoberfest fun begin tonight at American German ClubArtsTwo weekends of Oktoberfest fun begin tonight at American German ClubArtsTwo weekends of Oktoberfest fun begin tonight at American German ClubArtsOur Delaware Cultural Festival 2026TableDía De Los Muertos Celebration Returns To Downtown Redwood CityFestivals60 years of history celebrated at Autumn Leaves FestivalTableWhat’s Popping Up – The Halloween EditionSeasonsWeekly roundup: Hicks Canyon Elementary students celebrate language and culture during Mid-Autumn FestivalTableExclusive | Fuggedabout Little Italy! NYC’s hidden Italian enclaves are the real deal — from antipasto to zeppoleSeasonsOak Mountain State Park to host annual Harvest Festival Oct. 17ArtsTwo weekends of Oktoberfest fun begin tonight at American German ClubArtsTwo weekends of Oktoberfest fun begin tonight at American German ClubArtsTwo weekends of Oktoberfest fun begin tonight at American German ClubArtsOur Delaware Cultural Festival 2026TableDía De Los Muertos Celebration Returns To Downtown Redwood CityFestivals60 years of history celebrated at Autumn Leaves FestivalTableWhat’s Popping Up – The Halloween EditionSeasonsWeekly roundup: Hicks Canyon Elementary students celebrate language and culture during Mid-Autumn FestivalTableExclusive | Fuggedabout Little Italy! NYC’s hidden Italian enclaves are the real deal — from antipasto to zeppole
EveryParampara

Crafts and making

Weaving, pottery, carving and other handed-down skills.

Crafts and making are the skills of hand and eye that are handed down in families and workshops: weaving, pottery, carving, metalwork, embroidery, dyeing, basketry, paper, leather and wood. A craft tradition is also a tradition of knowledge, about plants, clays, tools and patterns, and of values such as patience and care. Here they are listed by country, with notes on where the craft is practised and how makers keep it alive.

Skill passed on

Most crafts are learnt by watching a parent or master for years. A weaver in Bonwire, a potter in Oaxaca, a lacquer worker in Kyoto and a carpenter in Norway all learn by doing. Some crafts are kept within a family or a caste, others are open to anyone willing to learn. The tools are often simple and the techniques ancient, though the best makers experiment within the tradition.

Craft in a changing world

Mass production and cheap imports have put many crafts under pressure, but there is also a revival, with designers, schools, cooperatives and fair trade shops supporting makers. UNESCO and national bodies list living treasures and protect skills. Buyers can help by choosing handmade pieces and asking who made them. A craft survives when someone still wants the object and someone still wants to learn to make it.

About this page

Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Background on Crafts and making (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
🇬🇧 United KingdomTartanbreacan The checked woollen cloth of Scotland, woven from crossing stripes into named patternsDress 🇵🇭 San Fernando, Philippines and 3 moreParolparól A Filipino star lantern of bamboo and paper, hung at Christmas from September to JanuaryFestival 🇯🇵 Osaka, Japan and 1 moreBunraku文楽 Osaka's puppet theatre, with chanters, shamisen players and puppeteers in plain sightPerformance 🇪🇬 Cairo, EgyptFanousفانوس An Egyptian lantern of metal and glass, hung in streets and homes through RamadanFestival 🇮🇩 Indonesia and 5 moreBatikꦧꦛꦶꦏ꧀ (bathik) A Javanese wax-resist way of patterning cloth, and the textiles made that wayCraft 🇲🇽 Mexico and 1 moreCalaca Skull and skeleton figures made for the Day of the Dead, joyful rather than sadCraft 🇮🇩 Palembang, Indonesia and 3 moreSongketᬲᭀᬂᬓᬾᬢ᭄ A hand-woven cloth threaded with gold or silver, worn at weddings and royal courtsDress 🇵🇸 Bethlehem, PalestineTatreezتَطْرِيز Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery, stitched onto dresses and read for its regionCraft 🇸🇪 Nusnäs, Sweden and 1 moreDala horseDalahäst A carved painted wooden horse from Dalarna, a children's toy that became a national symbolCraft 🇹🇷 Bursa, Turkey and 5 moreKaragöz and Hacivat A Turkish shadow play of two quarrelling friends, acted on a lit screen behind a curtainPerformance 🇪🇸 Valencia, SpainFallasFalles de València Valencia's five-day March fiesta of giant paper figures and bonfiresFestival 🇺🇦 Kyiv, Ukraine and 1 moreUkrainian embroideryвишивка (vyshyvka) A stitched folk art of Ukraine, worked into shirts, cloths and church furnishingsCraft 🇵🇭 PhilippinesBarong tagalog The Philippine national shirt for men: embroidered, worn loose and never tucked inDress 🇮🇳 India and 5 moreKolamகோலம் A rice-flour floor drawing made at South Indian doorsteps before sunriseCraft 🇮🇳 India and 1 moreRangoliरंगोली Floor patterns of rice flour, sand or petals, drawn at the doorstep for festivalsCraft 🇮🇳 Nadia, IndiaDhunachi A Bengali incense burner, swung in worship and danced with at Durga PujaSpiritual 🇪🇬 Egypt and 4 moreOudعُود (ʿūd) A fretless, pear-shaped Middle Eastern lute, plucked with a plectrum called a rishaPerformance 🇮🇶 Kufa, Iraq and 5 moreArabic calligraphykhatt (خَطّ) Artistic handwriting of the Arabic script, practiced as a sacred craft and a living visual tradition.Craft 🇦🇱 Albania and 3 moreXhubleta A rippling bell-shaped skirt made by Albanian women of the northern highlandsDress 🇸🇮 Idrija, SloveniaIdrija lace A bobbin tape lace from the Slovenian mining town of Idrija, still taught there todayCraft 🇺🇦 Ukraine and 7 moreEgg decorating Decorating eggs with dye, wax and carving, kept at Easter, Nowruz and springCraft 🇦🇺 AustraliaBoat building The craft of constructing watercraft from timber, metal and modern composite materialsCraft 🇦🇴 Angola and 2 moreLusona Sand drawings from Angola and Zambia that carry proverbs, fables and animalsCraft 🇵🇱 Poland and 3 morePodłaźniczka A decorated evergreen branch hung over the Christmas Eve table in Poland and SlovakiaFestival 🇮🇳 IndiaIndian wedding invitationनिमन्त्रण पत्र/पत्रिका Decorative ceremonial cards sent to announce marriages and invite guests across IndiaRite of passage 🇧🇩 Dhaka, Bangladesh and 1 moreMuslin A fine handwoven cotton from Bengal, once famed worldwide and woven again todayCraft 🇱🇹 LithuaniaLithuanian cross craftingLietuvos kryždirbystė A Lithuanian folk art of carving wooden crosses that blend Christian faith with ancient Baltic symbols.Craft 🇰🇼 Kuwait and 3 moreAl Sadu A traditional Bedouin weaving craft from the Arabian Peninsula, known for geometric patterns and wool textiles.Craft 🇮🇹 Pantelleria, ItalyVite ad alberello of Pantelleria A traditional low-bush vine training system kept on the Italian island of Pantelleria for thousands of years.Craft 🇨🇭 Zurich, SwitzerlandSwiss traditional costumeSchweizer Trachten Distinct regional festive dress worn across the cantons of SwitzerlandDress 🇳🇬 Nigeria and 2 moreGeleGèlè A voluminous sculpted headwrap worn by Yoruba women for gatherings and daily lifeDress 🇨🇳 ChinaChinese herbology中藥學 The traditional Chinese system of preparing and prescribing herbal and natural remediesCraft 🇨🇳 Huizhou, ChinaHui-style architecture A traditional Chinese building style of white walls, dark tiles and horse-head gablesCraft 🇯🇵 JapanKamifūsen紙風船 Japanese paper balloons enjoyed as self-inflating toys, gifts and festival lanternsGame 🇮🇳 India and 2 moreKasayaकाषाय The traditional patchwork robes worn by ordained Buddhist monasticsDress 🇮🇷 Iran and 1 moreArkhalig A traditional fitted jacket worn by men and women in the Caucasus and IranDress 🇲🇲 Amarapura, MyanmarAcheikအချိတ် A Burmese silk weave of waves and stripes, made with up to 200 shuttlesDress 🇧🇬 Chiprovtsi, Bulgaria and 1 moreChiprovtsi kilimЧипровски килим Handmade flatwoven rugs with identical sides, crafted in a Bulgarian town since the 17th century.Craft 🇵🇭 PhilippinesTapis A hand-woven wrap skirt from the Philippines, fastened at the waist with a sashDress 🇰🇭 Longvek, Cambodia and 2 moreKhmer traditional clothing How Khmer people dress: the wrapped sampot, the embroidered sbai, the checkered kramaDress 🇮🇳 India and 5 moreSalwar Loose trousers gathered at the ankle, worn with a kameez across South AsiaDress 🇺🇿 Namangan, UzbekistanFlower Festival in UzbekistanGul bayrami An annual spring celebration of floriculture and floral art held across several cities in Uzbekistan.Festival 🇨🇳 ChinaHuadian花鈿 A forehead ornament of Chinese women, painted or fixed on, still worn with hanfuDress 🇰🇭 CambodiaAv pakអាវប៉ាក់ A Cambodian women's shirt in silk or cotton, embroidered or laced, for festivalsDress 🇹🇼 TaiwanSimple Life Festival簡單生活節 A biennial cultural gathering in Taiwan featuring live music, markets and craftsFestival 🇺🇬 UgandaEkisaakaate A Buganda youth retreat teaching traditional manners, crafts and life skillsEtiquette 🇺🇬 Mengo, UgandaEkisaakaate A royal Buganda cultural retreat teaching heritage, crafts, and manners to the youngRite of passage 🇧🇦 Konjic, Bosnia and HerzegovinaKonjic woodcarvingKonjičko drvorezbarstvo A traditional hand-carving craft shaping furniture and home ornaments in KonjicCraft
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The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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