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.
🇵🇪 Cusco, Peru and 4 moreIntiinti (Quechua)
The Inca sun deity, honoured with temples, offerings and the June festival Inti RaymiSpiritual
🇨🇺 CubaAbakuá
An Afro-Cuban initiatory brotherhood rooted in West African sacred traditionsSpiritual
🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro, BrazilRio CarnivalCarnaval do Rio de Janeiro
Five days of samba parades, costumes and street parties in Rio, ending at LentFestival
🇧🇴 Potosí, BoliviaTinku
A ritual combat and dance from northern Potosí, Bolivia, honoring Pachamama through ceremonial fighting and performance.Festival
🇹🇹 Chaguanas, Trinidad and Tobago and 1 moreDivali Nagar
An annual cultural exposition in Trinidad and Tobago celebrating Hindu traditions during the Diwali season.Festival
🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro, BrazilJongo
A nightlong dance and music gathering kept by Afro-Brazilian communities in the southeast of Brazil.Performance
🇧🇷 Recife, Brazil and 1 moreMaracatu
A set of Afro-Brazilian performance traditions from Pernambuco and Ceará featuring drumming, dance, and royal pageantry.Performance
🇵🇪 Peru and 2 moreAyniAyni (Quechua and Aymara)
Giving and receiving as a duty, kept by Andean communitiesEtiquette
🇭🇹 Haiti and 1 moreRara
A Haitian street music of bamboo trumpets and drums, played in the Easter seasonPerformance
🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro, BrazilCapoeira
An Afro-Brazilian martial art and musical game played inside a circleGame
🇨🇱 ChileNgillatun
A communal Mapuche rite of prayer, sacrifice and dance to maintain cosmic balanceSpiritual
🇵🇪 Cusco, Peru and 2 moreInti Raymi
A major Andean festival honoring the sun god Inti and marking the winter solstice in Cusco.Festival
🇧🇴 Oruro, BoliviaCarnival of OruroEl carnaval de Oruro
A Bolivian festival of masked pilgrimage dances honoring the Virgin of the MineshaftFestival
🇵🇪 Lima, PeruLord of MiraclesSeñor de los Milagros
An October Catholic festival in Lima honouring a miraculous mural of ChristSpiritual · Sweets given and shared
🇵🇪 Cusco, PeruQoyllur Rit'iQuyllurit'i
An Andean mountain pilgrimage uniting indigenous star lore and Catholic devotionSpiritual
🇬🇹 Santiago Atitlán, Guatemala and 3 moreMaximón
A folk saint of the Guatemalan highlands, asked for health, crops and protectionFolklore
🇧🇴 La Paz, Bolivia and 1 moreAlasitasFeria de la Alasita
A month-long Bolivian fair where people exchange miniatures to invite good fortuneFestival
🇪🇨 Latacunga, EcuadorMama Negra
A twice-yearly festival in Latacunga blending Andean, Spanish and African heritageFestival
🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago and 3 moreHosay
An Indo-Caribbean Muharram commemoration with ornate floats, drumming and processionsSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇧🇷 Salvador, BrazilLavagem do Bonfim
An annual inter-religious procession and cleansing ritual in Salvador, BrazilSpiritual
🇧🇴 Oruro, Bolivia and 3 moreDiabladaDanza de los Diablos
An Andean masked dance depicting a battle between devils and the Archangel MichaelPerformance
🇯🇲 Kingston, Jamaica and 5 moreReggae
A Jamaican music of the late 1960s: a slow beat, a deep bass line and Rastafari rootsPerformance
🇪🇨 Quito, EcuadorFanesca
Ecuador's Holy Week soup of grains, beans and salt cod, made for Good FridayTable custom · Lunch
🇨🇱 Chile and 1 moreWe TripantuWiñoy Tripantu
The Mapuche new year, kept on the June solstice as the sun turns backFestival
🇧🇴 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
🇯🇲 JamaicaItal
A Rastafari way of eating: food from the earth, kept to raise livityTable custom
🇨🇴 ColombiaLittle Candles DayDía de las velitas
Candles and paper lanterns across Colombia on the night before the Immaculate ConceptionSpiritual
🇧🇴 San Ignacio de Moxos, BoliviaIchapekene Piesta
A four-day festival of dance, feathers and procession in San Ignacio de Moxos, BoliviaFestival
🇬🇹 Antigua Guatemala, GuatemalaHoly Week in GuatemalaSemana Santa
Street processions of floats, purple-robed penitents and sawdust carpets in GuatemalaSpiritual
🇨🇱 Tarapacá, ChileFestival of San Lorenzo
An annual festival of religious dance and pilgrimage honoring Saint Lawrence in TarapacáSpiritual
🇨🇱 ChileFiesta de La Tirana
A week-long pilgrimage and dance festival in northern Chile honoring the Virgin of Mount Carmel.Festival
🇨🇺 Cuba and 5 moreLetra del Año
Annual prophecies and guidance proclaimed by babalawo priests for the coming yearSpiritual
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Letra del Año: Ìṣẹ̀ṣeAssembly, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Inti: Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala, Public domain, source
- Inti Raymi: Cyntia Motta, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Carnival of Oruro: Pame82s, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Lord of Miracles: Miguel Chong, Public domain, source
- Qoyllur Rit'i: AgainErick, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Alasitas: Ener6, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Mama Negra: Agencia de Noticias ANDES, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Hosay: Julius Eduard Muller, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Lavagem do Bonfim: Adenilson Nunes/ AGECOM, CC BY 2.0, source
- Ayni: Sr raleigh, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Diablada: Elemaki, CC BY 3.0, source
- Rara: Lombinodr Alfonso Lomba, CC BY 3.0, source
- Capoeira: Augustus Earle, Public domain, source
- Ngillatun: Francisco Cavallo, Public domain, source
- Abakuá: M. Puente, Public domain, source
- Reggae: Thesupermat, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tinku: CassandraW1, CC BY 2.0, source
- Jongo: Vanessa Freitas, Public domain, source
- Maracatu: Prefeitura de Olinda, CC BY 2.0, source
- Rio Carnival: Sergio Luiz, CC BY 2.0, source
- We Tripantu: Lonkonao, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ekeko: Ciudades, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Maximón: Sapfan (Jan Pesula), Public domain, source
- Fanesca: Agencia de Noticias ANDES, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Ital: Chrysaora, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Little Candles Day: CarUno, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ichapekene Piesta: Viaje al corazón de Bolivia, CC BY 2.0, source
- Holy Week in Guatemala: derivative work: Sir James ( talk ) VolcanAguaPascuas.jpg :Infrogmatio, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Festival of San Lorenzo: Freddy Alexander Bugueño Tolmo, CC BY-SA 3.0, source