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.
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.
🇮🇳 Krishnanagar, IndiaJagaddhatri Puja
A Hindu festival for the world-bearing goddess, kept in West Bengal each autumnSpiritual
🇵🇭 Philippines and 6 moreMaundy ThursdayDies Cenae Domini
A Christian feast marking the start of Easter observances with foot washing and communion services.Spiritual
🇲🇽 Mexico and 2 moreWedding cord
A loop of white cord laid over a kneeling bride and groom in Catholic weddingsRite of passage
🇮🇹 Florence, ItalyScoppio del Carro
An Easter Sunday fireworks display ignited by a flying dove in FlorenceFestival
🇯🇵 JapanShikoku Pilgrimage四国遍路
A long circuit of 88 temples on Japan's Shikoku island, kept by pilgrims called henroSpiritual
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreAncestor veneration
Honouring dead relatives with offerings, meals and prayers, kept in cultures worldwideSpiritual
🇮🇷 Iran and 5 moreEid al-Ghadirعید الغدیر
A Shia Muslim festival of prayer, gifts and shared meals, kept on 18 Dhu al-HijjahSpiritual
🇧🇪 Mons, BelgiumDucasse de Mons
An eight-day festival in Mons featuring a golden carriage and a dragon combatFestival
🇨🇳 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
🇷🇺 RussiaRussian wedding traditions
A Russian wedding runs two days to a week, with ransom games, crowns and toastsRite of passage
🇱🇰 Sri LankaPoya
A monthly full moon Buddhist holiday of observance and fasting in Sri LankaSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇹🇭 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
🇹🇼 TaiwanFlying Fish Festival飛魚祭
A months-long seasonal fishing observance kept by the Tao people of Orchid IslandSeasonal
🇮🇱 Israel and 2 moreSukkahסוכה
A temporary hut with a branch roof, lived in for the seven days of SukkotSpiritual
🇮🇹 Naples, Italy and 5 moreNativity scene
A seasonal set of figures showing Jesus's birth, put up by Christians at ChristmasFestival
🇹🇷 Edirne, Turkey and 3 moreOil wrestlingYağlı güreş
Oiled wrestlers in leather trousers: Turkey's national sport, centred on KırkpınarGame
🇲🇾 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
🇰🇷 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
🇹🇭 Bangkok, ThailandSongkranสงกรานต์
The three-day Thai New Year festival marked by water rituals and blessings for eldersFestival
🇱🇦 Laos and 3 moreRocket Festivalບຸນບັ້ງໄຟ
A rainy-season festival of merit-making, music, parades and homemade rocketsFestival
🇹🇷 Turkey and 2 moreSufi whirling
A Sufi meditation in which dervishes spin in circles to turn toward GodSpiritual
🇪🇹 Ethiopia and 1 moreFasikaፋሲካ
The celebration of Easter and the end of Lent across Ethiopia and EritreaSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇨🇳 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
🇮🇸 Iceland and 2 moreYuleġēol (Old English); jól (Old Norse)
The Germanic midwinter festival that Christmas grew out of, kept today by HeathensSpiritual
🇮🇹 Venice, ItalyFesta del RedentoreFesta del Redentor
Venice's July festival of fireworks over the water, kept in thanks for the plague's endFestival
🇮🇹 Rome, Italy and 2 moreAssumption of Mary
A feast on 15 August, when Christians remember Mary taken up into heavenSpiritual
🇿🇦 South AfricaUlwaluko
A Xhosa rite that takes a boy into manhood through seclusion and teachingRite of passage
🇮🇳 Mumbai, India and 1 moreDhoti
A long unstitched cloth men wrap like trousers, for worship and formal daysDress
🇪🇸 Spain and 2 moreLas arras
Thirteen gold coins, blessed at a wedding and given by the groom to the brideRite of passage
🇵🇭 Manila, PhilippinesHoly Week in the PhilippinesMahal na Araw
An eight-day observance of the Passion, death, and resurrection of Christ in the Philippines.Spiritual
🇹🇭 Thailand and 3 moreVassa
A three-month rainy-season retreat of meditation, study, and discipline for BuddhistsSpiritual
🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanKanda Matsuri神田祭
A major Shinto festival with massive parades through the streets of central TokyoFestival
🇲🇽 Mexico City, MexicoOfrenda
A home altar of food, flowers and candles that welcomes the dead home at Día de MuertosSpiritual
🇮🇱 IsraelKiddushקידוש
A blessing over wine or grape juice that marks Shabbat and festivals as holySpiritual · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇷🇸 Serbia and 5 moreSerbian ChristmasБожић
A three-day midwinter observance focused on oak logs, floor straw and family gatheringsSpiritual · Dinner
🇮🇳 IndiaAhoi Ashtami
A day of fasting by Hindu mothers before Diwali, for their children's wellbeingFestival · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇰🇷 Seoul, South KoreaJongmyo jerye종묘 제례
Ancestral rite for Korea's Joseon kings, with court music and a line dance, held in SeoulSpiritual
🇲🇼 Malawi and 2 moreGule Wamkulu
A masked Chewa dance of the Nyau society, danced at funerals and chief installationsPerformance
🇹🇭 Thailand and 5 moreAsalha Pujaอาสาฬหบูชา
A Theravada festival marking the Buddha's first sermon and the monastic orderSpiritual
🇬🇧 London, United KingdomRoyal Maundy
A Church of England service where the monarch gives silver Maundy coins to older peopleSpiritual
🇼🇸 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
🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreEpiphany
A January feast of the Magi, the Jordan baptism and the Cana miracle, kept by ChristiansSpiritual
🇱🇰 Sri LankaSanni Yakuma
A Sinhalese rite where masked dancers summon eighteen illness demons and banish themSpiritual
🇵🇱 PolandWigilia
Poland's meatless Christmas Eve supper, begun when the first star appearsTable custom · Feasts and festival meals
🇯🇵 JapanMiyamairi宮参り
A first visit to a Shinto shrine, about a month after a baby is bornRite of passage
🇮🇩 Bali, IndonesiaNgaben
A Balinese Hindu cremation rite held to free the soul of the deadRite of passage
🇵🇱 PolandEaster in Poland
A spring holiday of family breakfasts, blessed baskets, decorated eggs, and water games.Festival · Breakfast
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Sama: myself, Public domain, source
- Kanda Matsuri: Jose Fernando, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Shikoku Pilgrimage: Dokudami, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Jagaddhatri Puja: শরদিন্দু ভট্টাচার্য্য, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Easter in Poland: Silar, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Asalha Puja: Chainwit., CC BY 4.0, source
- Vassa: Chainwit., CC BY 4.0, source
- Holy Week in the Philippines: LMP 2001, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Serbian Christmas: Petar Milošević, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Rocket Festival: Takeaway, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Songkran: ผู้สร้างสรรค์ผลงาน/ส่งข้อมูลเก็บในคลังข้อมูลเสรีวิกิมีเดียคอมมอนส์ - เ, CC BY 3.0, source
- Ducasse de Mons: Jean-Pol GRANDMONT, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Maundy Thursday: Benedetto Caliari, Public domain, source
- Nyau: Hans Hillewaert, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ngaben: by kibitan, CC BY 2.0, source
- Wigilia: Przykuta, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ahoi Ashtami: आशीष भटनागर, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kiddush: Dimitri, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Dhoti: Redaloes at English Wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Ulwaluko: Dingeman, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Butter tea: Yosomono, CC BY 2.0, source
- Festa del Redentore: Photographer: Riccardo Speziari, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Yule: Robert Chambers, Public domain, source
- Las arras: penny, CC BY 2.0, source
- Doljanchi: en:User:Jamsong, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Oil wrestling: No machine-readable author provided. Math34 assumed (based on copyrigh, Public domain, source
- Nativity scene: Yvonne Bentele, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Jongmyo jerye: David McNally, USAG-Yongsan, Public domain, source
- Russian wedding traditions: GeorgeLouis, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Sky burial: FishOil at English Wikipedia, Public domain, source
- ʻAva ceremony: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Eid al-Ghadir: khamenei.ir, CC BY 4.0, source
- Ancestor veneration: Thang Nguyen, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Sanni Yakuma: Michael Gunther, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Wedding cord: Phil! Gold, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Miyamairi: I (Sakura-saku-kuni) took this photograph., Public domain, source
- Ofrenda: Eneas de Troya, CC BY 2.0, source
- Royal Maundy: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Assumption of Mary: Jebulon, CC0, source
- Epiphany: Gentile da Fabriano, Public domain, source
- Wai khru: seetefl on Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Eid prayers: Azimronnie, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sukkah: Gilabrand, CC BY-SA 3.0, source