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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
🇨🇳 China and 4 moreSky burialབྱ་གཏོར་ (bya gtor) A Tibetan funeral in which the dead are laid out on a rock for vulturesRite of passage 🇼🇸 Samoa and 1 moreʻAva ceremony A solemn ritual of shared drink and oratory in Samoa and Tonga to mark chiefly titles and important gatherings.Festival 🇮🇷 Iran and 5 moreEid al-Ghadirعید الغدیر A Shia Muslim festival of prayer, gifts and shared meals, kept on 18 Dhu al-HijjahSpiritual 🇱🇰 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 🇯🇵 JapanMiyamairi宮参り A first visit to a Shinto shrine, about a month after a baby is bornRite of passage 🇲🇽 Mexico and 2 moreWedding cord A loop of white cord laid over a kneeling bride and groom in Catholic weddingsRite of passage 🇯🇵 Hiroshima, JapanKagura神楽 A sacred Shinto dance tradition in Japan that invites deities to descend and perform through human dancers.Performance 🇮🇩 Yogyakarta, IndonesiaWayangꦮꦪꦁ A night-long puppet theatre from Java, where a dalang tells epics behind a lit screenPerformance 🇨🇳 China and 5 moreAncestor worship Honouring dead relatives with offerings and prayers, kept in many cultures worldwideSpiritual 🇧🇴 La Paz, Bolivia and 1 moreEkekoIqiqu A small figurine of abundance kept in Andean homes and carried at the Alasitas fair to invite prosperity.Spiritual 🇯🇵 JapanJapanese funeral葬儀 (sōgi) A Buddhist farewell in Japan: a wake, cremation, bone-gathering and a family graveRite of passage 🇪🇬 Cairo, Egypt and 1 moreNayrouzالنيروز (Arabic); ⲡⲓⲭⲗⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ⲧⲉ ϯⲣⲟⲙⲡⲓ (Coptic) A Coptic feast marking the new year and honoring martyrs, kept in Egypt and Ethiopia.Festival 🇲🇽 Papantla, Mexico and 1 moreDanza de los Voladores A Mesoamerican rite of dance and rope, flown from a tall pole to ask for rainSpiritual 🇪🇬 Thebes, EgyptAncient Egyptian funerary practices Rites for the dead in ancient Egypt: preserving the body, spells and grave goodsRite of passage 🇳🇬 Abuja, NigeriaNew Yam FestivalIri ji A yearly harvest thanksgiving across Nigeria, when the first new yams may be eatenFestival · Feasts and festival meals 🇬🇹 Santiago Atitlán, Guatemala and 3 moreMaximón A folk saint of the Guatemalan highlands, asked for health, crops and protectionFolklore 🇮🇳 Tiruvannamalai, IndiaGirivalam A barefoot walk of about 14 km around Arunachala hill, most of all on full moon nightsSpiritual 🇯🇵 JapanBowing in Japanお辞儀 The Japanese bow, used to greet, thank, apologise and show respectEtiquette 🇪🇨 Quito, EcuadorFanesca Ecuador's Holy Week soup of grains, beans and salt cod, made for Good FridayTable custom · Lunch 🇧🇪 Antwerp, Belgium and 2 moreOmmegangommegang (Dutch) Medieval town processions of the Low Countries, with giants, guilds and horsesCeremony 🇮🇱 Jerusalem, Israel and 1 moreShofarשׁוֹפָר A ram's horn blown in synagogue to mark the Jewish new year and the end of Yom KippurSpiritual 🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanShinto wedding神前結婚 A short purification ceremony before the kami, sealed by three cups of sakeRite of passage 🇲🇽 Mexico City, MexicoOfrenda A home altar of food, flowers and candles that welcomes the dead home at Día de MuertosSpiritual 🇮🇹 Rome, Italy and 2 moreAssumption of Mary A feast on 15 August, when Christians remember Mary taken up into heavenSpiritual 🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreEpiphany A January feast of the Magi, the Jordan baptism and the Cana miracle, kept by ChristiansSpiritual 🇹🇭 ThailandWai khruพิธีไหว้ครู A Thai ceremony of thanks to teachers, held in schools and in the artsSpiritual 🇧🇩 BangladeshEid prayersصلاة العيد The yearly festival prayer of the two Eids, offered in the morning by MuslimsSpiritual 🇮🇱 Israel and 2 moreSukkahסוכה A temporary hut with a branch roof, lived in for the seven days of SukkotSpiritual 🇧🇩 Dhaka, Bangladesh and 5 moreSuhurسحور The pre-dawn meal Muslims eat before a day of fasting in RamadanTable custom · Breakfast 🇮🇹 Italy and 5 moreEasterΠάσχα The day Christians mark the resurrection, kept with vigils, feasts and eggsSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals 🇨🇳 Meizhou Island, China and 5 moreMazu媽祖 A sea goddess of the Chinese coast, asked for calm water and a safe returnSpiritual 🇮🇱 Jerusalem, IsraelRosh Chodeshרֹאשׁ חֹדֶשׁ The start of each Hebrew month, marked by the new moon and kept with prayerSpiritual 🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreLast Post A bugle call sounded at military funerals and remembrance services across the Commonwealth to honour those who died in sPerformance 🇮🇷 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 🇫🇷 FranceConfirmation A Christian rite of laying on of hands that completes baptism and strengthens faithRite of passage 🇯🇵 Suwa, JapanOnbashira Festival式年造営御柱大祭 A rite in Nagano where massive fir logs are dragged down mountains and raised at shrinesSpiritual 🇱🇧 Beirut, Lebanon and 7 moreEid il-Burbaraعيد البربارة A winter feast of costumes, sweet boiled wheat, and sprouting seeds across the LevantFestival · Feasts and festival meals 🇵🇰 Pakistan and 3 moreChaand Raatचाँद रात, چاند رات The South Asian night of moon-sighting and celebration before EidFestival 🇵🇰 Lahore, PakistanMela Chiraghanمیلہ چراغاں A three-day Lahore festival honouring the sixteenth-century Sufi poet Shah Hussain.Spiritual 🇮🇳 India and 2 morePandal Temporary decorated pavilions and arches built for festivals and gatheringsFestival 🇮🇪 Ireland and 5 moreSaint Patrick's DayLá Fhéile Pádraig An annual Irish holiday of parades, church services, green dress and shamrocksFestival 🇫🇷 Lyon, FranceFestival of LightsFête des lumières A four-day festival in Lyon marking December 8 with illuminated windows and light artFestival 🇱🇰 Anuradhapura, Sri LankaSinhala New Yearඅලුත් අවුරුද්ද The April solar New Year and harvest festival celebrated across Sri LankaSeasonal 🇱🇺 Echternach, LuxembourgDancing procession of EchternachIechternacher Sprangprëssioun A Roman Catholic hopping pilgrimage honouring Saint Willibrord in eastern LuxembourgSpiritual 🇩🇿 AlgeriaMawlid in Algeriaيوم المولد النبوي The Prophet Muhammad's birthday celebration in Algeria with family feasts and prayersFestival · Feasts and festival meals 🇺🇸 United StatesGreen Corn CeremonyPuskita A Southeastern harvest and new year ceremony of fasting, dancing and renewalSeasonal
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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.