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EveryParampara

Folklore and belief

Legends, superstitions, charms and customs of luck.

Folklore and belief gather the legends, charms, superstitions and customs of luck that people live by: knocking on wood, the evil eye, the tooth fairy, the black dog on the moor, the fox spirit of Japan, the spirits of the forest. These are not formal religion but a living layer of stories and habits, told by grandparents and kept alive in jokes, rhymes and small rituals. EveryParampara describes them as folklore, in the way those who keep them describe them, and takes no position on whether they are true.

Tales and creatures

Every region has its stories of giants, fairies, trolls, tricksters, ghosts and talking animals, often explaining a hill, a river or a custom. They are told to entertain and to teach, and collectors such as the Brothers Grimm and local folklorists have written many down. The same tale types appear across continents, with local details, which scholars have long studied. Storytelling nights, festivals and schools keep them in circulation.

Luck and protection

Customs of luck and protection are the small daily rituals: spilling salt, a horseshoe over the door, a red thread, a coin in the fountain, a lucky number. They answer the wish for some control in an uncertain world and are often kept with a smile. Some have a practical origin, and others are echoes of older beliefs. EveryParampara notes traditional use as tradition and offers no medical or financial advice.

About this page

Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Background on Folklore and belief (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
🇯🇵 Japan and 1 moreIomanteイオマンテ An Ainu rite that sends a hand-raised bear cub's spirit home to the god-worldSpiritual 🇨🇳 Yining, China and 1 moreMeshrepمەشرەپ A Uyghur gathering of music, poetry, dance and moral counsel at harvest and weddingsPerformance 🇧🇬 Bulgaria and 4 moreKukeriкукери (kukeri) Masked and belled figures who tour Bulgarian villages at New Year to drive off harmSpiritual 🇩🇪 Aachen, Germany and 4 moreStraw bearStrohbär A carnival figure wrapped in straw, paraded through German towns to mark the end of winter.Festival 🇯🇵 JapanKintsugi金継ぎ Mending broken pottery with lacquer and gold, so the repair stays visibleCraft 🇵🇱 Poland and 5 moreZaduszkiZaduszki, Dzień Zaduszny A Polish day of prayer for the dead on 2 November, kept with candles at the gravesSpiritual 🇦🇺 AustraliaBush ballad Verse and song that tell stories of life in the Australian bushPerformance 🇮🇩 Uluwatu, IndonesiaKecakᬓᬾᬘᬓ᭄ (Balinese), Tari Kecak (Indonesian) A circle of men chanting chak as they dance the Ramayana epic in BaliPerformance 🇲🇼 Malawi and 2 moreGule Wamkulu A masked Chewa dance of the Nyau society, danced at funerals and chief installationsPerformance 🇷🇺 Dymkovo, RussiaDymkovo toysДымковская игрушка Painted clay people, animals and whistles, shaped by women in Dymkovo near KirovCraft 🇧🇬 Bulgaria and 1 moreBaba MartaБаба Марта A Bulgarian day on 1 March, when red and white martenitsi are given and wornFestival 🇨🇳 China and 5 moreMoon rabbit月兔 A hare seen in the Moon's dark patches, pounding rice cakes or the elixir of lifeFolklore 🇬🇹 GuatemalaWorry dollMuñecas quitapenas Hand-made dolls from highland Guatemala that children tell their worries to at nightFolklore 🇨🇦 Canada and 2 moreInuksuk Stone markers raised by Inuit across the Arctic to guide, hunt and rememberCraft 🇲🇾 Kelantan, Malaysia and 2 moreMak yongTarian Mak Yong (Jawi: مق يوڠ) A dance-drama of Kelantan and Patani, told in song, music and improvised speechPerformance 🇳🇱 Amsterdam, Netherlands and 3 moreZwarte Piet Saint Nicholas's companion in the Low Countries, who hands out sweets to childrenFolklore · Sweets given and shared 🇪🇸 SpainCorrefoc Devil-costumed fire runs through the streets of Catalan and Valencian festival townsFestival 🇦🇹 Austria and 5 moreKrampus Saint Nicholas's horned companion, who comes for misbehaving children on 5 DecemberFolklore 🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreKallikantzarosκαλικάντζαρος A malevolent goblin of Greek and Balkan folklore, active in the Christmas season.Folklore 🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreTopping out A builders' rite for the day the last beam goes up, marked with a tree, a flag and a toastCraft 🇩🇪 Germany and 5 morePolterabend Guests smash porcelain the night before a wedding to wish the couple luckRite of passage 🇱🇰 Sri LankaSanni Yakuma A Sinhalese rite where masked dancers summon eighteen illness demons and banish themSpiritual 🇨🇳 China and 5 moreAncestor veneration Honouring dead relatives with offerings, meals and prayers, kept in cultures worldwideSpiritual 🇬🇧 United KingdomPlough Monday England's old start of the farming year, kept with ploughs, straw bears and sword dancesSeasonal 🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreTracht Traditional dress of the German-speaking regions, from lederhosen to the dirndlDress 🇨🇳 China and 5 moreJoss paper金紙 (jīnzhǐ) Paper money burned for ancestors and gods, folded and offered in Chinese worshipSpiritual 🇨🇳 China and 5 moreAncestor worship Honouring dead relatives with offerings and prayers, kept in many cultures worldwideSpiritual 🇬🇧 Yorkshire, United Kingdom and 3 moreMischief NightNoson Ddrygioni (Welsh); Oidhche nan Cleas (Scottish Gaelic) An evening of pranks and tricks, kept before Halloween or Guy Fawkes NightFestival 🇯🇵 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 🇰🇷 South KoreaJwibullori쥐불놀이 A Korean New Year game of whirling fire-cans to clear fields and wish good luckGame 🇬🇹 Santiago Atitlán, Guatemala and 3 moreMaximón A folk saint of the Guatemalan highlands, asked for health, crops and protectionFolklore 🇩🇰 Denmark and 3 moreNissenisse (Danish, Norwegian); tomte (Swedish); tonttu (Finnish) A small farm spirit of Nordic folklore, given porridge at midwinterFolklore 🇯🇵 Tokyo, Japan and 2 moreManeki-neko招き猫 A lucky cat figurine, paw raised, kept by shop doors and in homes across JapanFolklore 🇩🇪 Germany and 2 moreSwabian-Alemannic FastnachtFastnacht A late-winter carnival of masks and jesters kept before Lent in the Alemannic landsFestival 🇮🇳 Baripada, IndiaChhau dance A masked dance of eastern India, blending martial steps with epic storiesPerformance 🇲🇽 Mexico and 1 moreCalaca Skull and skeleton figures made for the Day of the Dead, joyful rather than sadCraft 🇬🇷 Greece and 4 moreVasilopitaΒασιλόπιτα A New Year bread or cake with a coin baked inside, shared out slice by sliceTable custom · Sweets given and shared 🇬🇧 Llangollen, United Kingdom and 5 moreEisteddfod A Welsh festival of poetry and music competitions, featuring the chairing and crowning of winning bards.Festival 🇸🇪 Nusnäs, Sweden and 1 moreDala horseDalahäst A carved painted wooden horse from Dalarna, a children's toy that became a national symbolCraft 🇺🇦 Kyiv, Ukraine and 1 moreUkrainian embroideryвишивка (vyshyvka) A stitched folk art of Ukraine, worked into shirts, cloths and church furnishingsCraft 🇧🇾 BelarusBatlejkaБатле́йка A two-level puppet booth from Belarus, playing Nativity and folk scenes at ChristmasPerformance 🇨🇳 Meizhou Island, China and 5 moreMazu媽祖 A sea goddess of the Chinese coast, asked for calm water and a safe returnSpiritual 🇹🇷 Turkey and 5 moreNewrozنەورۆز A Kurdish spring festival and new year celebration marked by bonfires, dance, and the lighting of fires.Festival 🇮🇷 Iran and 5 moreWinter solstice The shortest day and longest night of the year, marked with fire, feasting and poetrySeasonal 🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreEvil eye A belief in harm cast by envious glares, met with protective charms and spoken blessingsFolklore 🇮🇪 Dublin, IrelandBarmbrackbairín breac A sweet Irish fruit loaf with charms baked in, eaten at Halloween and on New Year's EveTable custom · Tea-time and snacking customs 🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 4 moreTowel Day An annual worldwide celebration on 25 May honouring the author Douglas Adams.Festival 🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreKnucklebones An ancient hand game of tossing, catching, and scooping small bones or stonesGame
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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.