Heritage news
SeasonsOak Mountain State Park to host annual Harvest Festival Oct. 17ArtsTwo weekends of Oktoberfest fun begin tonight at American German ClubArtsTwo weekends of Oktoberfest fun begin tonight at American German ClubArtsTwo weekends of Oktoberfest fun begin tonight at American German ClubArtsOur Delaware Cultural Festival 2026Festivals60 years of history celebrated at Autumn Leaves FestivalTableWhat’s Popping Up – The Halloween EditionSeasonsWeekly roundup: Hicks Canyon Elementary students celebrate language and culture during Mid-Autumn FestivalTableExclusive | Fuggedabout Little Italy! NYC’s hidden Italian enclaves are the real deal — from antipasto to zeppoleHoly daysBigger & Better Than Ever: Laxmi & Chef Kunal Kapur Return With ‘Diwali Delights’ Season 2SeasonsOak Mountain State Park to host annual Harvest Festival Oct. 17ArtsTwo weekends of Oktoberfest fun begin tonight at American German ClubArtsTwo weekends of Oktoberfest fun begin tonight at American German ClubArtsTwo weekends of Oktoberfest fun begin tonight at American German ClubArtsOur Delaware Cultural Festival 2026Festivals60 years of history celebrated at Autumn Leaves FestivalTableWhat’s Popping Up – The Halloween EditionSeasonsWeekly roundup: Hicks Canyon Elementary students celebrate language and culture during Mid-Autumn FestivalTableExclusive | Fuggedabout Little Italy! NYC’s hidden Italian enclaves are the real deal — from antipasto to zeppoleHoly daysBigger & Better Than Ever: Laxmi & Chef Kunal Kapur Return With ‘Diwali Delights’ Season 2
EveryParampara

Traditions of East Asia

Lunar New Year, tea ceremony, hanami, chuseok and the ancestors. 247 traditions on EveryParampara so far.

Countries

🇨🇳 China 144🇭🇰 Hong Kong 9🇯🇵 Japan 133🇲🇴 Macau 4🇲🇳 Mongolia 22🇰🇵 North Korea 22🇰🇷 South Korea 57🇹🇼 Taiwan 29

Cities and towns

Tokyo 35Kyoto 26Osaka 16Beijing 15Shanghai 14Seoul 13

On the calendar

VesakLosarHungry Ghost FestivalLunar New YearLantern FestivalQingming FestivalDragon Boat FestivalQixi FestivalMid-Autumn FestivalDouble Ninth FestivalDongzhi FestivalLaba Festival
KindSpiritualFestivalRite of passageTable customSeasonalDressPerformanceEtiquetteCraftGameFolkloreHomeCeremony
MealBreakfastLunchDinnerSupperTea-time and snacking customsTea, coffee and drinking ceremoniesSweets given and sharedFeasts and festival mealsFasting and breaking the fast
🇨🇳 China and 3 moreButter lampདཀར་མེ (Tibetan) A lit candle made from clarified yak butter, kept in Tibetan Buddhist temples to aid meditation and symbolize enlightenmSpiritual 🇨🇳 China and 5 moreShadow play A storytelling art using flat puppets and light to cast moving silhouettes on a screen.Performance 🇯🇵 Fukuoka, JapanHakata Gion Yamakasa博多祇園山笠 A July festival in Fukuoka featuring heavy float races through the streets of Hakata.Festival 🇯🇵 Aomori, JapanAomori Nebuta Matsuri青森ねぶた祭 A summer festival in Aomori featuring large warrior floats and dancing participants.Festival 🇯🇵 JapanPindapata𑀧𑀺𑀡𑁆𑀟𑀘𑀸𑀭 A Buddhist almsround where monks walk through towns to receive food and necessities from laypeople.Spiritual 🇯🇵 JapanEma絵馬 Small wooden plaques left at Japanese shrines and temples for prayers and wishes.Spiritual 🇨🇳 ChinaHong Kong tea culture Morning tea with dim sum and milk tea through the day, in Hong Kong's teahousesTable custom · Breakfast 🇰🇷 South KoreaJesa제사 (Jesa) A Korean ancestral memorial ceremony held on death anniversaries and major holidays.Spiritual · Feasts and festival meals 🇨🇳 China and 2 moreCuju蹴鞠 An ancient Chinese kicking game played without hands using a stuffed or air-filled ballGame 🇨🇳 Yixing, ChinaYixing clay teapot紫砂 Handcrafted Chinese purple clay teapots that season with every brewCraft · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies 🇨🇳 Hong Kong, China and 5 moreFace The shared social etiquette of honour, dignity and mutual respect across culturesEtiquette 🇲🇳 Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia and 2 moreMongolian wrestlingBökh A traditional folk wrestling style of the Mongols, kept as a central part of Naadam festivals across Mongolia and neighbGame 🇯🇵 Japan and 2 moreKyūdō弓道 The Japanese martial art of archery, practiced with an asymmetrical longbowGame 🇰🇷 Seoul, South KoreaTemplestay템플스테이 A program that invites visitors to live in South Korean Buddhist temples and join the daily routines of monastic life.Spiritual · Dinner 🇯🇵 Kyoto, JapanKyōgen狂言 A traditional Japanese comic theatre of short farces, spoken dialogue and satirePerformance 🇨🇳 Chaozhou, China and 1 moreGongfu tea工夫茶 A skilled Chinese method of brewing tea in small teaware with precise heat and timingTable custom · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies 🇯🇵 JapanJichinsai地鎮祭 A Shinto ritual to ask the land spirits for protection before building a new home or structure.Spiritual 🇨🇳 ChinaGuanxi关系 A Chinese tradition of cultivating trusted networks and reciprocal obligationsEtiquette 🇯🇵 Kishiwada, JapanKishiwada Danjiri Matsuri岸和田だんじり祭 A high-speed festival of wooden shrine floats pulled through Kishiwada, JapanFestival 🇰🇷 Seoul, South Korea and 1 moreTalchum탈춤 A Korean mask dance drama in which masked actors sing, dance and mock the powerfulPerformance 🇨🇳 China and 1 morePrayer wheelའཁོར་ལོ། A cylindrical wheel spun in Tibetan Buddhist practice to accumulate merit and wisdomSpiritual 🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanRakugo落語 Japanese solo comic storytelling told from a cushion using a fan and a clothPerformance 🇯🇵 JapanKadomatsu門松 A Japanese New Year gateway decoration of pine and bamboo where a visiting deity can restSeasonal 🇯🇵 JapanKokeshiこけし Hand-turned Japanese wooden dolls painted with floral designs and slender facesCraft 🇨🇳 China and 3 moreDragon dance舞龍 / 舞龙 A long dragon puppet on poles, danced by a team at Chinese New Year and other festivalsPerformance 🇯🇵 Kyoto, JapanYūzen友禅 A Japanese resist-dyeing craft that creates painterly patterns on fine kimonoCraft 🇯🇵 Kyoto, JapanTorii鳥居 A traditional Japanese gate marking the entrance to a Shinto shrine and separating the sacred from the mundane.Spiritual 🇯🇵 JapanMiko巫女 A woman who serves at a Shinto shrine, dancing, cleansing and helping with ritesSpiritual 🇹🇼 Yilan, Taiwan and 4 moreTaiwanese opera歌仔戲 A Taiwanese theatrical art of Hokkien balladry, stylized staging, and expressive song.Performance 🇯🇵 Kyoto, JapanIkebana生け花 The Japanese art of arranging cut branches and flowers in a vesselPerformance 🇨🇳 Tianjin, ChinaManchu-Han Imperial Feast滿漢全席 A grand multi-day banquet uniting Manchu and Han culinary traditions in ChinaTable custom · Feasts and festival meals 🇰🇷 South KoreaHanji한지 The Korean craft of making durable paper from mulberry fiber and root mucilage.Craft 🇰🇷 Jeju, South KoreaGut굿 Sacred rites of song, dance, and spirit communion performed by Korean shamansSpiritual 🇯🇵 JapanToshikoshi soba年越し蕎麦 Buckwheat noodles eaten on New Year's Eve, cut easily to let the year goTable custom · Feasts and festival meals 🇨🇳 China and 5 moreLion dance舞獅 A dynamic ritual dance featuring costumed lions, drums and martial acrobaticsPerformance 🇯🇵 Kyoto, JapanKendo剣道 A Japanese martial art of swordsmanship using bamboo swords and protective armourGame 🇨🇳 Puyang, ChinaFeng shui風水 The Chinese spatial practice of aligning homes and graves with natural energyFolklore 🇨🇳 Beijing, China and 2 moreChinese opera戲曲 / 戏曲 (xìqǔ) A sung, danced and acrobatic theatre from China, in over a hundred regional stylesPerformance 🇲🇳 Ölgii, Mongolia and 3 moreHunting with eagles The Central Asian tradition of hunting foxes and hares from horseback with golden eagles.Game 🇯🇵 Tokyo, Japan and 1 moreBonsai盆栽 A Japanese craft of keeping small trees in shallow pots, shaped for contemplationCraft 🇯🇵 Ōmuta, JapanKarutaかるた Japanese playing cards from the 16th century, still raced over poems each New YearGame 🇨🇳 Longquan, China and 4 moreCeladon青瓷 (qīngcí) Green-glazed pottery first made in China, valued for colours that echo jadeCraft 🇯🇵 JapanOmikujiおみくじ Paper fortunes drawn at Japanese shrines and temples to consult divine guidanceSpiritual 🇲🇳 Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia and 1 moreShagaiшагай Traditional ankle bone games and fortune-telling played across Central Asia.Game 🇹🇼 Taipei, TaiwanNight markets in Taiwan夜市 Street markets that open at sunset across Taiwan, selling snacks, drinks and goodsTable custom · Tea-time and snacking customs 🇨🇳 China and 5 morePostpartum confinement A period of rest, nourishment, and seclusion for mothers after giving birth.Rite of passage 🇲🇳 Mongolia and 3 moreOvooовоо (Cyrillic Mongolian); ᠣᠪᠤᠭ᠎ᠠ (Traditional Mongol) A stone cairn on a peak or pass, circled by travellers and honoured in sky worshipSpiritual 🇨🇳 China and 2 moreChinese knotting中國結 (Zhōngguó jié) A folk craft of cord tied into lucky shapes, made in China and given as charmsCraft
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The weekly EveryParampara

Every week: one tradition from somewhere new, what is being celebrated around the world this week, and one idea explained.