Heritage news
HeritageThailand showcases Chud Thai craftsmanship in Paris ahead of UNESCO reviewArtsFamily 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 TraditionFestivalsSASE, AAA celebrate Asian culture at Mid-Autumn FestivalHeritageThailand showcases Chud Thai craftsmanship in Paris ahead of UNESCO reviewArtsFamily 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 TraditionFestivalsSASE, AAA celebrate Asian culture at Mid-Autumn Festival
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
🇯🇵 Kyoto, JapanYūzen友禅 A Japanese resist-dyeing craft that creates painterly patterns on fine kimonoCraft 🇨🇳 China and 1 morePrayer wheelའཁོར་ལོ། A cylindrical wheel spun in Tibetan Buddhist practice to accumulate merit and wisdomSpiritual 🇰🇷 South Korea and 2 moreNajeonchilgi나전칠기 A Korean craft of inlaying mother-of-pearl onto lacquered wood to create decorative objects.Craft 🇲🇳 Ölgii, Mongolia and 3 moreHunting with eagles The Central Asian tradition of hunting foxes and hares from horseback with golden eagles.Game 🇨🇳 Quanzhou, China and 3 moreGlove puppetry布袋戲 A traditional theatre of cloth-bodied puppets with carved wooden heads and live musicPerformance 🇰🇷 South KoreaHanji한지 The Korean craft of making durable paper from mulberry fiber and root mucilage.Craft 🇯🇵 JapanKokeshiこけし Hand-turned Japanese wooden dolls painted with floral designs and slender facesCraft 🇯🇵 Tokyo, Japan and 1 moreBonsai盆栽 A Japanese craft of keeping small trees in shallow pots, shaped for contemplationCraft 🇨🇳 China and 2 moreChinese knotting中國結 (Zhōngguó jié) A folk craft of cord tied into lucky shapes, made in China and given as charmsCraft 🇯🇵 JapanKadomatsu門松 A Japanese New Year gateway decoration of pine and bamboo where a visiting deity can restSeasonal 🇨🇳 Longquan, China and 4 moreCeladon青瓷 (qīngcí) Green-glazed pottery first made in China, valued for colours that echo jadeCraft 🇨🇳 Yixing, ChinaYixing clay teapot紫砂 Handcrafted Chinese purple clay teapots that season with every brewCraft · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies 🇰🇷 Seoul, South KoreaYeondeunghoe연등회 A Korean lantern festival celebrating the Buddha's birthday with glowing lotus lightsSpiritual 🇰🇷 South KoreaNorigae노리개 A Korean pendant of knots and tassels, worn with hanbok and kept for luckDress 🇯🇵 Takayama, JapanTakayama Festival高山祭 Twin seasonal shrine festivals in Japan famed for elaborate lantern-lit floatsFestival 🇨🇳 Shanghai, China and 1 moreCheongsam旗袍 (qípáo), 長衫 (chángshān) A fitted one-piece Chinese dress with a high collar and side slits, worn since the 1920sDress 🇯🇵 JapanKintsugi金継ぎ Mending broken pottery with lacquer and gold, so the repair stays visibleCraft 🇨🇳 ChinaChinese paper cutting剪紙 / 剪纸 (jiǎnzhǐ) Chinese cut paper pictures, pasted on windows and doors for luck at New YearCraft 🇯🇵 Takasaki, JapanDaruma doll達磨 (daruma) A round Japanese wishing doll: fill one eye to set a goal, the other to mark it done.Folklore 🇯🇵 Kyoto, JapanKimono着物 Japan's national dress: a wrapped robe with square sleeves, tied with a wide sashDress 🇯🇵 Tokyo, Japan and 2 moreManeki-neko招き猫 A lucky cat figurine, paw raised, kept by shop doors and in homes across JapanFolklore 🇲🇳 MongoliaMorin khuurморин хуур (Mongolian Cyrillic); ᠮᠣᠷᠢᠨ ᠬᠣᠭᠣᠷ (traditional Mongol script) Mongolia's two-string horsehead fiddle, played with a horsehair bowPerformance 🇯🇵 Osaka, Japan and 1 moreBunraku文楽 Osaka's puppet theatre, with chanters, shamisen players and puppeteers in plain sightPerformance 🇨🇳 Nanjing, ChinaYunjin brocade雲錦 A traditional Chinese silk brocade woven with coloured silk, gold and silverCraft 🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanBoroぼろ Japanese cloth kept going by mending: patched layers dyed with indigoCraft 🇨🇳 China and 1 moreChinese patchwork A needlework craft joining fabric scraps into protective clothing, quilts and folk artCraft 🇨🇳 ChinaTraditional Chinese wedding dress The ceremonial bridal garments worn in Han Chinese marriage ceremoniesDress 🇨🇳 China and 1 moreChiwen蚩吻 A dragon figure on Chinese roof ridges, set there to swallow evil and guard against fireCraft 🇨🇳 Huizhou, ChinaHui-style architecture A traditional Chinese building style of white walls, dark tiles and horse-head gablesCraft 🇯🇵 Kagoshima, JapanSatsuma kiriko薩摩切子 Cut glass from Kagoshima: coloured glass laid over clear, then cut deepCraft 🇹🇼 TaiwanSimple Life Festival簡單生活節 A biennial cultural gathering in Taiwan featuring live music, markets and craftsFestival 🇨🇳 ChinaManchu platform shoes Wooden-soled shoes worn by Manchu women from the early Qing dynastyDress 🇯🇵 JapanKirikane截金 A Japanese craft of cut gold, silver or platinum leaf for Buddhist statues and paintingsCraft 🇯🇵 JapanTairyō-bata大漁旗 Traditional Japanese flags flown by fishing boats to celebrate a bountiful catchFestival 🇯🇵 JapanKamifūsen紙風船 Japanese paper balloons enjoyed as self-inflating toys, gifts and festival lanternsGame 🇨🇳 ChinaChinese herbology中藥學 The traditional Chinese system of preparing and prescribing herbal and natural remediesCraft 🇨🇳 Shanghai, ChinaSeal carving篆刻 The Chinese craft of engraving characters and personal emblems into stone stamping sealsCraft 🇯🇵 Yūki, JapanYūki-tsumugi結城紬 A hand-spun silk cloth from Yūki, Japan, woven slowly on a low loomCraft 🇨🇳 ChinaHuadian花鈿 A forehead ornament of Chinese women, painted or fixed on, still worn with hanfuDress 🇯🇵 JapanAuxiliary armour (Japan) Extra guards that filled the gaps left by the six main pieces of a Japanese armour setDress 🇨🇳 Zhongshan, ChinaChinese clothing Robes, gowns, and suits shaped across dynasties, ranks, and daily life in ChinaDress

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.