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EveryParampara

Spiritual and religious

Rites, prayers, pilgrimages, fasts and sacred days.

Spiritual and religious traditions are the rites that people keep to connect with the sacred: prayers, pilgrimages, fasts, blessings, holy days and the ceremonies of temples, churches, mosques, synagogues and shrines. They are among the oldest traditions in the world and often the most deeply felt. Here they are described as those who keep them would describe them, with care for what is sacred, and without ranking one faith above another. Browse by country, faith or season to see how the same human need is met in many ways.

Worship in daily life

For many people, the spiritual life is lived at home and in small acts: a morning prayer, a lit lamp, grace before a meal, a head covered or shoes removed at a door. Shrines in the kitchen, a prayer mat, a mezuzah on the doorpost and a rosary in the pocket all belong here. The big public rites rest on this quiet daily practice, and it is often a grandmother or a parent who teaches it, by doing it every day without comment.

Sacred time and place

Every faith marks sacred time: a weekly day of rest or prayer, a month of fasting, a festival of light, a season of penitence. Each also marks sacred places, from a river bank to a mountain, a cathedral to a village shrine. Pilgrims travel to them, and the journey itself is part of the rite. Calendars differ, some tied to the moon, others to the sun, so the dates move from year to year and are listed on the EveryParampara calendar.

Meeting across faiths

People of different faiths live side by side, and many traditions overlap or borrow. Neighbours share each other's festival sweets, attend each other's weddings and join in public celebrations such as Christmas markets or Diwali fairs. EveryParampara writes about each tradition on its own terms and cites the people who keep it. Where beliefs are contested, the page says so, and sacred matters are treated with respect.

About this page

Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Background on Spiritual and religious (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
🇮🇳 Ahmedabad, India and 1 moreGarbaगर्भ A Gujarati circle dance performed around a sacred flame during the festival of NavratriPerformance 🇮🇳 IndiaKoodiyattamകൂടിയാട്ടം An ancient Sanskrit temple drama and dance tradition from Kerala, IndiaPerformance 🇮🇳 Barsana, IndiaLathmar Holi A playful spring festival in two Uttar Pradesh towns where women strike men with sticks to reenact a divine legend.Festival 🇮🇳 IndiaGanga Dussehra A ten-day Hindu river festival celebrating the descent of the Ganges to earthSpiritual 🇲🇲 Yangon, Myanmar and 1 moreShinbyuရှင်ပြု A Burmese Buddhist rite in which a boy goes forth as a novice monk, often at New YearRite of passage 🇮🇳 Kochi, IndiaVallam Kalivaḷḷaṃ kaḷi A traditional canoe racing festival held across the waters of Kerala during OnamGame 🇮🇳 Kanchipuram, IndiaPanguni UthiramPaṅkuṉi Uttiram A Tamil Hindu festival celebrating divine weddings and the virtues of married lifeSpiritual 🇮🇳 Puri, IndiaNabakalebaraନବ କଳେବର (Navakalevara) A rare ritual in Puri where the wooden idols of four Hindu deities are replaced with new carvings every twelve to nineteSpiritual 🇮🇳 IndiaSarhul A spring new year festival honoring nature and Sal blossoms across JharkhandSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals 🇮🇹 Rome, Italy and 5 moreAll Souls' Day A Christian observance on 2 November for prayer and remembrance of those who have died.Spiritual 🇩🇪 Germany and 3 moreTashlikhתשליך A Jewish new year rite of casting sins into flowing water, kept by the watersideSpiritual 🇯🇲 Kingston, Jamaica and 5 moreReggae A Jamaican music of the late 1960s: a slow beat, a deep bass line and Rastafari rootsPerformance 🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanDaijō-sai大嘗祭 The emperor's once-in-a-reign Shinto rite of thanks for the rice harvestSpiritual 🇪🇬 Egypt and 3 moreGreat LentΜεγάλη Τεσσαρακοστή The forty-day fast before Easter, kept by Eastern Christians as a season of prayerSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast 🇭🇺 Hungary and 1 morePentecostπεντηκοστή (pentēkostē) The Christian feast of the Holy Spirit, kept fifty days after EasterSpiritual 🇪🇹 Addis Ababa, EthiopiaIrreechaIrreessa A thanksgiving festival at sacred lakes in Oromia, Ethiopia, at the end of the rainsFestival 🇪🇸 Spain and 5 moreCompadre A ritual kinship made at a child's baptism, binding parents and godparents for lifeSpiritual 🇯🇵 Tokyo, Japan and 5 moreTaiko太鼓 (taiko) Japanese drums, and the ensemble style of playing themPerformance 🇦🇲 Armenia and 1 moreTrndezտրնդեզ An Armenian fire feast forty days after Christmas, kept with bonfires and shared sweetsSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals 🇨🇳 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 🇮🇱 Jerusalem, Israel and 1 moreSimchat Torahשִׂמְחַת תּוֹרָה The day Jewish communities finish the Torah reading and start it again, with dancingSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals 🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreKoulourakiaΚουλουράκια Sweet butter pastries baked for Greek Easter and shaped into rings and braidsTable custom · Sweets given and shared 🇮🇱 Israel and 4 moreTorah readingקריאת התורה The public reading of the Torah scroll in synagogue, chanted to a special tuneSpiritual 🇮🇳 IndiaVision quest A coming-of-age fast and vigil, kept by some Native American peoplesRite of passage 🇸🇦 Mecca, Saudi ArabiaUmrahعُمْرَة A pilgrimage to Mecca that Muslims may make at most times of year, unlike the HajjSpiritual 🇯🇵 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 🇮🇳 Ahobilam, IndiaNarasimha Jayantiनरसिंहजयंती A one-day Hindu festival marking Vishnu's man-lion avatar and the rescue of PrahladaSpiritual 🇮🇷 Mashhad, Iran and 7 moreIftarإفطار The sunset meal that breaks the Ramadan fast, eaten with family and communityTable custom · Fasting and breaking the fast 🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreHigh Holy Daysיָמִים נוֹרָאִים The Jewish year's ten days of repentance, from Rosh Hashanah to Yom KippurSpiritual 🇧🇬 Bulgaria and 4 moreKukeriкукери (kukeri) Masked and belled figures who tour Bulgarian villages at New Year to drive off harmSpiritual 🇮🇩 Bali, IndonesiaNgaben A Balinese Hindu cremation rite held to free the soul of the deadRite of passage 🇵🇱 PolandWigilia Poland's meatless Christmas Eve supper, begun when the first star appearsTable custom · Feasts and festival meals 🇮🇳 IndiaAhoi Ashtami A day of fasting by Hindu mothers before Diwali, for their children's wellbeingFestival · Fasting and breaking the fast 🇲🇼 Malawi and 2 moreGule Wamkulu A masked Chewa dance of the Nyau society, danced at funerals and chief installationsPerformance 🇮🇱 IsraelKiddushקידוש A blessing over wine or grape juice that marks Shabbat and festivals as holySpiritual · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies 🇮🇳 Mumbai, India and 1 moreDhoti A long unstitched cloth men wrap like trousers, for worship and formal daysDress 🇿🇦 South AfricaUlwaluko A Xhosa rite that takes a boy into manhood through seclusion and teachingRite of passage 🇮🇹 Venice, ItalyFesta del RedentoreFesta del Redentor Venice's July festival of fireworks over the water, kept in thanks for the plague's endFestival 🇮🇸 Iceland and 2 moreYuleġēol (Old English); jól (Old Norse) The Germanic midwinter festival that Christmas grew out of, kept today by HeathensSpiritual 🇨🇳 Lhasa, China and 5 moreButter teaབོད་ཇ་ A salted tea churned with yak butter, served to guests across the HimalayaTable custom · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies 🇹🇷 Turkey and 2 moreSufi whirling A Sufi meditation in which dervishes spin in circles to turn toward GodSpiritual 🇪🇸 Spain and 2 moreLas arras Thirteen gold coins, blessed at a wedding and given by the groom to the brideRite of passage 🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreDoljanchi돌 (dol); 돌잔치 (doljanchi) A Korean first-birthday rite where a baby picks an object that hints at the years aheadRite of passage 🇲🇾 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 🇹🇷 Edirne, Turkey and 3 moreOil wrestlingYağlı güreş Oiled wrestlers in leather trousers: Turkey's national sport, centred on KırkpınarGame 🇮🇹 Naples, Italy and 5 moreNativity scene A seasonal set of figures showing Jesus's birth, put up by Christians at ChristmasFestival 🇰🇷 Seoul, South KoreaJongmyo jerye종묘 제례 Ancestral rite for Korea's Joseon kings, with court music and a line dance, held in SeoulSpiritual 🇷🇺 RussiaRussian wedding traditions A Russian wedding runs two days to a week, with ransom games, crowns and toastsRite of passage
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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.