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EveryParampara

Traditions of East Asia

Lunar New Year, tea ceremony, hanami, chuseok and the ancestors. 262 traditions on EveryParampara so far.

Countries

🇨🇳 China 152🇭🇰 Hong Kong 9🇯🇵 Japan 145🇲🇴 Macau 4🇲🇳 Mongolia 23🇰🇵 North Korea 22🇰🇷 South Korea 58🇹🇼 Taiwan 30

Cities and towns

Tokyo 38Kyoto 28Osaka 18Beijing 15Seoul 14Shanghai 14

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
🇯🇵 JapanYuzu bath柚子湯 A winter solstice soak in hot water with whole yuzu citrus, kept across JapanSeasonal 🇨🇳 ChinaChinese funeral rituals Traditional rites of mourning, vigils, offerings, and ancestor veneration across ChinaRite of passage 🇯🇵 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 🇰🇵 Pyongyang, North Korea and 4 moreMass games Disciplined, large-scale gymnastic spectacles celebrating unity and national prideCeremony 🇰🇷 South Korea and 2 moreHanbok한복 Korea's customary dress: a short jacket, a skirt or trousers, and a bow-tied ribbonDress 🇯🇵 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 🇨🇳 Dali, ChinaThird Month Fair三月街 A mountain-foot bazaar, festival, and sports gathering among the Bai in YunnanFestival 🇯🇵 Takayama, JapanTakayama Festival高山祭 Twin seasonal shrine festivals in Japan famed for elaborate lantern-lit floatsFestival 🇰🇷 Seoul, South KoreaYunnori윷놀이 A Korean board and stick-tossing game played with tokens during the Lunar New YearGame 🇨🇳 ChinaTorch Festival火把节 A summer fire holiday celebrated by Yi and neighbouring communities in southwest ChinaFestival · Feasts and festival meals 🇯🇵 Kyoto, JapanGion Matsuri祇園祭 A month-long Kyoto festival of grand floats, evening markets and purifying ritualsFestival 🇲🇳 Ölgii, MongoliaGolden Eagle FestivalБүргэдийн баяр An annual gathering in western Mongolia celebrating Kazakh eagle hunting and horsemanshipFestival 🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreChuseok추석 A Korean harvest festival of ancestral rites, seasonal rice cakes, and folk gamesFestival · 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 🇯🇵 Tokushima, JapanAwa Dance Festival阿波踊り A summer street dance festival held in Tokushima during the Buddhist season of ObonFestival 🇨🇳 Suzhou, China and 3 moreDongzhi冬至 A midwinter festival celebrating the return of light with family feasts and dumplingsSeasonal · Dinner 🇯🇵 JapanHigan彼岸 A Japanese Buddhist week of reflection and ancestor remembrance at the equinoxesSpiritual 🇯🇵 Osaka, JapanTenjin Matsuri天神祭 A major Shinto festival in Osaka featuring a street procession and a river boat parade on the Okawa River.Festival 🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanSanja Matsuri三社祭 A loud three-day Shinto festival in Tokyo honoring the founders of Sensō-ji temple.Festival 🇰🇷 South KoreaGimjang김장 Korea's late-autumn work of making enough kimchi to last the winterTable custom 🇯🇵 Chichibu, JapanChichibu Night Festival秩父夜祭 A December shrine gathering in Chichibu featuring historic Japanese festival floats.Festival 🇯🇵 Kyoto, JapanGozan no Okuribi五山送り火 Five giant bonfires lit across Kyoto's hills to bid farewell to ancestor spirits.Spiritual 🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanKanda Matsuri神田祭 A major Shinto festival with massive parades through the streets of central TokyoFestival 🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanJapanese New Year正月 An annual celebration of renewal, seasonal foods, and bell ringing across JapanSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals 🇯🇵 Japan and 2 moreJoya no Kane除夜の鐘 A Japanese Buddhist New Year's Eve ritual where temple bells are struck to cleanse the year of worldly desires.Spiritual 🇯🇵 Tokyo, Japan and 3 moreObonお盆 (Obon) A Japanese Buddhist festival honoring the spirits of ancestors through dance, light, and family reunion.Festival 🇨🇳 Beijing, ChinaHanfu漢服 The dress of the Han Chinese, named for the Han dynasty and worn again todayDress 🇨🇳 ChinaMuqamمۇقام A Uyghur modal system of melody types, and the twelve long cycles built on itPerformance 🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanDaijō-sai大嘗祭 The emperor's once-in-a-reign Shinto rite of thanks for the rice harvestSpiritual 🇯🇵 Tokyo, Japan and 5 moreTaiko太鼓 (taiko) Japanese drums, and the ensemble style of playing themPerformance 🇨🇳 Beijing, China and 1 moreLaba congee腊八粥 A ceremonial Chinese porridge of rice, beans and dried fruit, eaten at the Laba FestivalTable custom · Feasts and festival meals 🇯🇵 JapanShogi将棋 (shōgi) Japan's two-player strategy game, where captured pieces change sides and returnGame 🇨🇳 China and 1 moreReunion dinner團圓飯 A family gathering meal on lunar new year's eve, kept in China and VietnamTable custom · Dinner 🇯🇵 JapanTango no sekku端午の節句 A Japanese seasonal festival for children marked with carp streamers and iris leaves.Festival · Sweets given and shared 🇯🇵 Kyoto, JapanJapanese tea ceremony茶道 (Sadō / Chadō), 茶の湯 (Chanoyu) The formal serving of powdered matcha, shaped by Zen, Shinto and wabiTable custom · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies 🇯🇵 Japan and 1 moreIomanteイオマンテ An Ainu rite that sends a hand-raised bear cub's spirit home to the god-worldSpiritual 🇨🇳 Yining, China and 1 moreMeshrepمەشرەپ A Uyghur gathering of music, poetry, dance and moral counsel at harvest and weddingsPerformance 🇰🇷 Honam, South Korea and 2 morePansori판소리 A Korean art of sung storytelling, with one singer, one drummer and a listening crowdPerformance 🇭🇰 Cheung Chau, Hong KongCheung Chau Bun Festival包山節 A week of vegetarian days, bun towers and a midnight scramble on a Hong Kong islandFestival 🇯🇵 JapanKintsugi金継ぎ Mending broken pottery with lacquer and gold, so the repair stays visibleCraft 🇨🇳 Shanghai, ChinaTangzhuang唐裝 (traditional), 唐装 (simplified) A Chinese jacket with a Mandarin collar, worn for formal occasions and holidaysDress 🇨🇳 ChinaChinese paper cutting剪紙 / 剪纸 (jiǎnzhǐ) Chinese cut paper pictures, pasted on windows and doors for luck at New YearCraft 🇨🇳 China and 5 moreMoon rabbit月兔 A hare seen in the Moon's dark patches, pounding rice cakes or the elixir of lifeFolklore 🇨🇳 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 🇰🇷 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
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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.