Traditions of East Asia
Lunar New Year, tea ceremony, hanami, chuseok and the ancestors. 257 traditions on EveryParampara so far.
Countries
🇨🇳 China 148🇭🇰 Hong Kong 9🇯🇵 Japan 141🇲🇴 Macau 4🇲🇳 Mongolia 22🇰🇵 North Korea 22🇰🇷 South Korea 57🇹🇼 Taiwan 29
Cities and towns
On the calendar
🇰🇷 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
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreLion dance舞獅
A dynamic ritual dance featuring costumed lions, drums and martial acrobaticsPerformance
🇯🇵 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
🇨🇳 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
🇯🇵 Aomori, JapanAomori Nebuta Matsuri青森ねぶた祭
A summer festival in Aomori featuring large warrior floats and dancing participants.Festival
🇲🇳 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
🇯🇵 Kishiwada, JapanKishiwada Danjiri Matsuri岸和田だんじり祭
A high-speed festival of wooden shrine floats pulled through Kishiwada, JapanFestival
🇨🇳 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
🇹🇼 Yilan, Taiwan and 4 moreTaiwanese opera歌仔戲
A Taiwanese theatrical art of Hokkien balladry, stylized staging, and expressive song.Performance
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreMid-Autumn Festival中秋節
An annual harvest festival celebrating family reunions, full moons and mooncakesFestival · Sweets given and shared
🇯🇵 Kyoto, Japan and 4 moreHanami花見
A Japanese spring custom of gathering under blooming cherry trees to eat, drink, and celebrate the fleeting beauty of thFestival · Lunch
🇯🇵 Kyoto, JapanHinamatsuri雛祭り
A March festival in Japan where families display ornamental dolls to pray for the health and happiness of young girls.Festival · Sweets given and shared
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreQingming Festival清明节
A spring custom of sweeping family graves and honouring ancestors across East Asia.Spiritual
🇯🇵 Tokyo, Japan and 2 moreTanabataたなばた
A Japanese summer star festival of written wishes hung on leafy bamboo.Festival
🇨🇳 Shanghai, China and 1 moreJiaozi餃子
Crescent Chinese dumplings filled with meat or vegetables, eaten for fortune and feastsTable custom · Breakfast
🇲🇳 Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia and 1 moreNaadamнаадам
A midsummer festival of wrestling, horse racing, and archery kept by Mongols in Mongolia and neighboring regions.Festival · Feasts and festival meals
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreGhost Festival中元節 / 中元节 (Zhōngyuán jié)
A full-moon night in the seventh lunar month for feeding ghosts and guiding souls homeSpiritual
🇨🇳 China and 2 moreQixi Festival七夕
A Chinese night of romance, needlecraft wishes and stargazing for two mythic loversFestival
🇯🇵 Fukuoka, Japan and 4 moreWhite Dayホワイトデー
A day on 14 March when men give a return gift to the women who gave them chocolateFestival
🇯🇵 Sapporo, JapanSapporo Snow Festival札幌雪祭り (Sapporo Yuki-matsuri)
A week-long winter festival in Sapporo featuring hundreds of large snow and ice sculptures.Festival
🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanShichi-Go-San七五三
A Japanese festival celebrating the growth of three-year-old girls, five-year-old boys, and seven-year-old girls.Rite of passage
🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanSetsubun節分
A Japanese ritual of throwing roasted soybeans to banish evil spirits and welcome spring.Festival · Feasts and festival meals
🇯🇵 JapanChildren's Dayこどもの日
A Japanese holiday on May fifth celebrating the happiness and growth of childrenFestival
🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreGanggangsullae강강술래
A Korean harvest dance where women hold hands and sing in circles under the full moonPerformance
🇯🇵 JapanGolden Weekゴールデンウィーク (Gōruden Wīku)
A major Japanese holiday period from late April to early May featuring four public holidays and widespread travel.Festival
🇰🇵 Pyongyang, North KoreaDay of the Sun태양절
North Korea's principal holiday, marking the birth anniversary of Kim Il SungCeremony
🇰🇵 Pyongyang, North KoreaArirang Mass Games아리랑 축제
A massive civic spectacle of gymnastics, dance, and card stunts in PyongyangCeremony
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreDouble Ninth Festival重陽節
An autumn festival of mountain walks, chrysanthemum wine and ancestor remembranceSeasonal · Tea-time and snacking customs
🇲🇳 Mongolia and 2 moreTsagaan SarЦагаан сар
The Mongolian Lunar New Year festival of peace, elders, white foods and renewalSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanHatsumōde初詣
The first shrine or temple visit of the Japanese New Year to pray for good fortuneSpiritual
🇯🇵 JapanComing of Age Day成人の日
A Japanese public holiday welcoming new adults with municipal rites and celebrationsRite of passage
🇯🇵 JapanHadaka Matsuri裸祭り
Japanese festivals where participants clad in loincloths seek luck and purificationSpiritual
🇯🇵 Kyoto, JapanJidai Matsuri時代祭
An autumn costume procession celebrating Kyoto's imperial heritage and historyFestival
🇰🇷 Seoul, South KoreaYeondeunghoe연등회
A Korean lantern festival celebrating the Buddha's birthday with glowing lotus lightsSpiritual
🇹🇼 Taipei, TaiwanDouble Ten Day國慶日
The national holiday of Taiwan marking the start of the 1911 revolution.Ceremony
🇰🇵 Pyongyang, North KoreaDay of the Shining Star광명성절
A two-day national holiday in North Korea honouring the birth of Kim Jong Il.Ceremony
🇯🇵 Osaka, JapanTsukimi月見 (Tsukimi) / お月見 (Otsukimi)
A Japanese autumn festival honoring the harvest moon with seasonal foods and pampas grass decorations.Festival · Dinner
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreChinese New Year's Evechúxī
A reunion day for ethnic Chinese families before the Lunar New Year, marked by feasts, rituals, and staying up late.Festival · Dinner
🇨🇳 Beijing, ChinaLaba Festival臘八節
A winter porridge festival marking the start of the Chinese New Year seasonFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇰🇷 Boryeong, South KoreaBoryeong Mud Festival보령머드축제
A summer festival of mud baths, slides and music on the coast of South KoreaFestival
🇨🇳 Lhasa, China and 2 moreSho Dun Festivalཞོ་སྟོན། (Tibetan), 雪頓節 (Chinese)
A summer festival in Lhasa where a monks' retreat ends with yogurt and all-day operaFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇯🇵 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
🇹🇼 TaiwanFlying Fish Festival飛魚祭
A months-long seasonal fishing observance kept by the Tao people of Orchid IslandSeasonal
🇯🇵 Japan and 3 moreBodhi Day成道会
A Buddhist observance marking the enlightenment of Gautama Buddha under the Bodhi TreeSpiritual
🇹🇼 Taichung, TaiwanDajia Mazu Pilgrimage大甲媽祖遶境進香
A nine-day walking procession across central Taiwan honouring the sea goddess MazuSpiritual
🇯🇵 Kyoto, JapanAoi Matsuri葵祭
A classical Kyoto festival with an imperial procession and ancient shrine ritualsFestival
🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanKoinobori鯉のぼり
Carp-shaped windsocks flown across Japan for Children's Day in springFestival
🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreKorean New Year설날
A three-day Korean festival celebrating the lunisolar new year with family and feastsSeasonal
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Hatsumōde: KKPCW, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Naadam: Chongkian, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Hanami: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Hinamatsuri: Lalupa, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ghost Festival: Chong Fat, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tanabata: Laika ac, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Ganggangsullae: originally by photoren, CC BY 2.0, source
- Dragon dance: Caseman, Public domain, source
- Qingming Festival: Jacklee ., CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Double Ninth Festival: Sgerbic, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Day of the Sun: Uri Tours, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Qixi Festival: shizhao ( talk )拍摄，画者不明, Public domain, source
- Tsagaan Sar: User:Chinneeb, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Sapporo Snow Festival: Materialscientist, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Jiaozi: Bioniclepluslotr, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Arirang Mass Games: Michael Day, CC BY 2.0, source
- Mid-Autumn Festival: Shizhao, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Yeondeunghoe: Korea.net / Korean Culture and Information Service (Jeon Han), CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Shichi-Go-San: Bergmann at Japanese Wikipedia, CC BY 3.0, source
- Children's Day: Comissão de Jovens, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Day of the Shining Star: Nicor, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Chinese New Year's Eve: Mickey Đại Phát, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Setsubun: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Boryeong Mud Festival: Stinkie Pinkie, CC BY 2.0, source
- Coming of Age Day: moguphotos, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Hadaka Matsuri: CES, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Bodhi Day: Shirazibustan, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Jidai Matsuri: PlusMinus, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Dajia Mazu Pilgrimage: Mazubobee, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tsukimi: katorisi, CC BY 3.0, source
- Aoi Matsuri: Japanexperterna, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Koinobori: 663highland, CC BY 2.5, source
- Korean New Year: Kang Byeong Kee, CC BY 3.0, source
- Onbashira Festival: Si-take. at Japanese Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- White Day: Flickr user mersy ( Masashi Yanagiya), CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Kishiwada Danjiri Matsuri: Kounosu, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Manchu-Han Imperial Feast: Cara Chow ( Charlotte1125 ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Taiwanese opera: Sean Chiu, CC BY 4.0, source
- Sho Dun Festival: No machine-readable author provided. John Hill assumed (based on copyr, CC BY 2.5, source
- Lion dance: Alfresco24, CC BY 3.0, source
- Templestay: (c)한국불교문화사업단, culturalcorpsofkoreanbuddhism, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mongolian wrestling: U.S. Department of State, Public domain, source
- Aomori Nebuta Matsuri: Fisherman, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Hakata Gion Yamakasa: Pontafon, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Double Ten Day: 總統府, CC BY 2.0, source