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All traditions

2,237 traditions so far, best known first. 12,423 more are on the list to be written. Filter by region, kind and meal.

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RegionSouth AsiaSoutheast AsiaEast AsiaCentral Asia and the CaucasusMiddle EastNorth AfricaSub-Saharan AfricaEuropeNorth AmericaLatin America and the CaribbeanOceania
KindSpiritualFestivalRite of passageTable customSeasonalDressPerformanceEtiquetteCraftGameFolkloreHomeCeremony
MealBreakfastLunchDinnerSupperTea-time and snacking customsTea, coffee and drinking ceremoniesSweets given and sharedFeasts and festival mealsFasting and breaking the fast
🇧🇷 BrazilBaião A syncopated folk rhythm and partnered dance from northeastern BrazilPerformance 🇺🇦 Kyiv, UkraineBanduraБандура A Ukrainian plucked string instrument played to accompany epic songs and folk balladsPerformance 🇺🇸 Fairbanks, United States and 2 moreWorld Eskimo-Indian Olympics An annual Arctic gathering of traditional survival games, athletics, and cultural artsGame 🇹🇷 Kayseri, Turkey and 4 moreHalay A traditional line and circle folk dance kept across Turkey, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Iran, and Syria.Performance 🇳🇿 Auckland, New ZealandPoi A Māori performing art of swinging tethered weights in rhythmical patterns.Performance 🇵🇭 Philippines and 1 morePangalay A traditional fingernail dance of the Tausūg and Bajau peoples in the Sulu Archipelago and Sabah.Performance 🇵🇱 Kraków, PolandSt. Mary's Trumpet CallHejnał mariacki A five-note bugle call played hourly from the tower of St. Mary's Church in Kraków, Poland.Performance 🇮🇳 Jammu, IndiaBhangra A Punjabi harvest dance, first kept by farmers and now performed worldwidePerformance 🇦🇴 Luanda, Angola and 2 moreKuduro An energetic Angolan music and dance style born in Luanda that mixes African rhythms with electronic beats.Performance 🇱🇧 Lebanon and 5 moreZajalزجل Half-sung Arabic poetry in colloquial speech, traded as a duel between improvising poetsPerformance 🇵🇭 Palo, Philippines and 1 moreTinikling A Philippine folk dance where dancers step between clapping bamboo polesPerformance 🇬🇭 Ghana and 2 moreEwe drumming The drum ensembles of the Ewe people, with iron bells, rattles and talking drumsPerformance 🇬🇭 Ghana and 2 moreAgbadza An Ewe music and dance, born of war songs and kept for funerals, weddings and festivalsPerformance 🇮🇳 India and 5 moreGhazalغَزَل A short rhyming poem of love and parting, recited and sung from Arabia to South AsiaPerformance 🇮🇳 Kolkata, IndiaJana Gana Mana India's national anthem, from a Bengali hymn of 1911, sung at civic occasionsCeremony 🇮🇳 Thrissur, IndiaPulikaliപുലിക്കളി Painted tigers and leopards dance through Thrissur on the fourth day of OnamPerformance 🇦🇺 AustraliaBark painting Ochre pictures on flattened tree bark, an Aboriginal art form of northern AustraliaCraft 🇯🇵 Ōmuta, JapanKarutaかるた Japanese playing cards from the 16th century, still raced over poems each New YearGame 🇨🇮 Abidjan, Ivory Coast and 3 moreZouglou A dance-led music style from Ivory Coast, sung in street slang and local languagesPerformance 🇨🇳 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 🇺🇸 New Orleans, United StatesSecond line A New Orleans parade where clubs march and a crowd dances along behind the bandFestival 🇮🇷 Shiraz, Iran and 1 moreKhatamخاتم A Persian inlay craft that builds geometric patterns from thousands of tiny cut piecesCraft 🇯🇵 Kyoto, JapanIkebana生け花 The Japanese art of arranging cut branches and flowers in a vesselPerformance 🇿🇦 South Africa and 1 moreIndlamu A Zulu war dance of two warriors in pelts, matched move for move and stamped on the beatPerformance 🇹🇷 Samsun, TurkeyHoronχορόν Line dances of Turkey's eastern Black Sea coast, danced with shaking shouldersPerformance 🇹🇷 Konya, Turkey and 4 moreMevlevi OrderMevlevilik A Sufi tradition from Konya known for its whirling ceremony and devotion to Rumi's teachings.Spiritual 🇲🇱 Bamako, Mali and 5 moreGriotjeli, ߖߋ߬ߟߌ in N'Ko script West Africa's hereditary keepers of spoken history, praise and musicPerformance 🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro, BrazilRio CarnivalCarnaval do Rio de Janeiro Five days of samba parades, costumes and street parties in Rio, ending at LentFestival 🇯🇵 Tokyo, Japan and 1 moreBonsai盆栽 A Japanese craft of keeping small trees in shallow pots, shaped for contemplationCraft 🇮🇪 Ros Muc, Ireland and 2 moreSean-nós dancedamhsa ar an sean nós An improvised solo Irish dance: low footwork, free arms and a loud battering beatPerformance 🇧🇭 Bahrain and 3 moreFann at-Tanburaفن الطنبورة A Gulf song and dance of drums and tanbura, born in healing, now stagedPerformance 🇵🇭 Manila, PhilippinesPasyon A Tagalog epic of Christ's passion, chanted without a break during Holy WeekSpiritual 🇨🇳 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 🇸🇳 Senegal and 1 moreKumpo A palm-leaf figure of the Diola, danced at village festivals to urge good conductFolklore 🇰🇮 KiribatiMusic of Kiribati Chant, body percussion, songs and dances of the islands of KiribatiPerformance 🇲🇿 Island of Mozambique, MozambiqueTufo A women's dance of northern Mozambique, performed at Islamic feasts to drums and songPerformance 🇱🇨 Saint Lucia and 1 moreJounen Kwéyòl A day of Creole food, music and dress in Saint Lucia and Dominica, kept each OctoberFestival · Feasts and festival meals 🇵🇰 Islamabad, Pakistan and 2 moreQawwaliقَوّالی Devotional Sufi singing from South Asia, led by hereditary parties at shrinesPerformance 🇧🇷 BrazilForró Music, dance and party from Brazil's Northeast, with accordion, triangle and zabumba drumPerformance 🇦🇴 Luanda, Angola and 4 moreKizomba A close, slow couple dance from Angola, named after a Kimbundu word for partyPerformance 🇧🇮 Gitega, BurundiKaryenda A sacred drum of Burundi that symbolized the monarchy and announced royal events.Performance 🇺🇸 Boise, United States and 3 moreBasque festivalEuskal jaiak Gatherings of dance, sport and food that keep Basque culture alive far from homeFestival 🇫🇷 Paris, FranceCoupé-décalé Ivorian dance music of club nights, flamboyant dress and money thrown to the crowdPerformance 🇮🇳 IndiaSatsangसत्सङ्ग Sitting in the company of truth, to hear, sing and meditate in northern IndiaSpiritual 🇨🇳 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 🇱🇰 Kandy, Sri LankaKandyan danceඋඩරට නැටුම් The sacred dance of Sri Lanka's hill country, kept in temple and on the stagePerformance 🇹🇴 TongaTauʻolunga A Tongan dance of hand gestures and steady eyes, performed by young women at weddingsPerformance 🇵🇾 ParaguayParaguayan harp Paraguay's national harp, strung with 32 to 46 strings and plucked with long fingernailsPerformance
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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.