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
🇯🇵 Kyoto, JapanKendo剣道
A Japanese martial art of swordsmanship using bamboo swords and protective armourGame
🇰🇷 Seoul, South Korea and 1 moreTalchum탈춤
A Korean mask dance drama in which masked actors sing, dance and mock the powerfulPerformance
🇯🇵 Tokyo, Japan and 1 moreBonsai盆栽
A Japanese craft of keeping small trees in shallow pots, shaped for contemplationCraft
🇨🇳 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
🇨🇳 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
🇰🇵 Pyongyang, North Korea and 3 moreNaengmyeon냉면
Long buckwheat noodles in icy broth, born in North Korea and eaten most in summerTable custom · Dinner
🇲🇳 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
🇰🇷 Jeju, South KoreaHaenyeo해녀
Female free-divers of Jeju Island who harvest seafood from the ocean.Table custom
🇯🇵 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
🇨🇳 Xi'an, ChinaChinese tea culture中国茶文化 (Zhōngguó chá wénhuà)
A centuries-old practice of cultivating, brewing, and sharing tea as a social and spiritual ritual in China.Table custom · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇰🇵 Pyongyang, North KoreaDay of the Sun태양절
North Korea's principal holiday, marking the birth anniversary of Kim Il SungCeremony
🇯🇵 Kyoto, JapanKaiseki懐石
A multi-course Japanese dining tradition shaped by tea ceremonies and the seasonsTable custom · Dinner
🇨🇳 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
🇰🇵 Pyongyang, North KoreaArirang Mass Games아리랑 축제
A massive civic spectacle of gymnastics, dance, and card stunts in PyongyangCeremony
🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanHatsumōde初詣
The first shrine or temple visit of the Japanese New Year to pray for good fortuneSpiritual
🇲🇳 Mongolia and 2 moreTsagaan SarЦагаан сар
The Mongolian Lunar New Year festival of peace, elders, white foods and renewalSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇯🇵 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
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreTea culture
How tea is prepared, shared and served, from Chinese tea houses to Tibetan butter teaTable custom · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇨🇳 ChinaGolden Week黄金周
Seven- or eight-day national holiday periods in China for travel and family visitsSeasonal
🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreDaeboreum대보름
A Korean festival of the first lunar full moon, marked by fires, wishes and feastsSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇰🇵 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
🇰🇷 South KoreaNorigae노리개
A Korean pendant of knots and tassels, worn with hanbok and kept for luckDress
🇨🇳 ChinaChinese funeral rituals
Traditional rites of mourning, vigils, offerings, and ancestor veneration across ChinaRite of passage
🇨🇳 Beijing, ChinaHanfu漢服
The dress of the Han Chinese, named for the Han dynasty and worn again todayDress
🇰🇷 South KoreaGimjang김장
Korea's late-autumn work of making enough kimchi to last the winterTable custom
🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanSanja Matsuri三社祭
A loud three-day Shinto festival in Tokyo honoring the founders of Sensō-ji temple.Festival
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
- Tea culture: Georges Seguin ( Okki ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Naengmyeon: wjlee4284, CC BY 2.5, source
- Naadam: Chongkian, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Hanami: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Haenyeo: Own work, 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
- Chinese tea culture: Gary Stevens, CC BY 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
- Daeboreum: hojusaram, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Golden Week: User:czhongwu, 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
- Bonsai: Ragesoss, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kaiseki: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Coming of Age Day: moguphotos, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Hadaka Matsuri: CES, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Chinese funeral rituals: Salzmann, E.v., CC BY-SA 3.0 de, source
- Jidai Matsuri: PlusMinus, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tsukimi: katorisi, CC BY 3.0, source
- Talchum: originally by photoren, CC BY 2.0, source
- White Day: Flickr user mersy ( Masashi Yanagiya), CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Sanja Matsuri: View_of_mikoshi_from_sensoji_Sanja_Matsuri_2006-2.jpg : * View_of_miko, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Gimjang: USAG- Humphreys, CC BY 2.0, source
- Hanfu: Anonymous Song Chinese artist after the original by Gu Hongzhong, Public domain, source
- Kendo: Source: photo taken by Harald Hofer, CC BY-SA 2.0 at, source
- Norigae: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Sho Dun Festival: No machine-readable author provided. John Hill assumed (based on copyr, CC BY 2.5, source
- Double Ten Day: 總統府, CC BY 2.0, source