All traditions
2,291 traditions so far, best known first. 12,311 more are on the list to be written. Filter by region, kind and meal.
RegionSouth AsiaSoutheast AsiaEast AsiaCentral Asia and the CaucasusMiddle EastNorth AfricaSub-Saharan AfricaEuropeNorth AmericaLatin America and the CaribbeanOceania
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreRangoliरंगोली
Floor patterns of rice flour, sand or petals, drawn at the doorstep for festivalsCraft
🇮🇳 Kuchipudi, IndiaKuchipudi
A classical dance-drama from Andhra Pradesh, with roots in temple and bhakti performance.Performance
🇳🇱 Landgraaf, NetherlandsPinkpop
A three-day pop and rock festival in the Netherlands, held on the Pentecost weekendFestival
🇩🇰 Roskilde, DenmarkRoskilde Festival
A week-long Danish music festival south of Roskilde, run by volunteers since 1971Festival
🇮🇳 Varanasi, IndiaHanuman Chalisaहनुमान चालीसा
A forty-stanza Awadhi hymn praising Hanuman, said by Hindus each daySpiritual
🇮🇳 India and 3 moreBhajanभजनम् (bhajanam)
Devotional songs of South Asia, sung alone or together with drums and cymbalsPerformance
🇮🇳 IndiaMohiniyattam
A gentle solo dance from Kerala, once a temple art and now taught in dance schoolsPerformance
🇮🇳 Imphal, India and 1 moreManipuri danceJagoi Raas, Raas Jagoi
A classical dance from Manipur, danced as an offering to Radha and KrishnaPerformance
🇮🇳 IndiaSattriya
A classical dance from Assam, kept in monasteries and performed on stages worldwidePerformance
🇮🇳 Udupi, IndiaYakshaganaಯಕ್ಷಗಾನ (Kannada)
A night-long dance-drama from coastal Karnataka, with sung dialogue and drummingPerformance
🇮🇳 Trivandrum, IndiaKathakaliകഥകളി
A classical dance-drama from Kerala featuring elaborate makeup and costumes to tell epic stories.Performance
🇪🇬 Egypt and 4 moreOudعُود (ʿūd)
A fretless, pear-shaped Middle Eastern lute, plucked with a plectrum called a rishaPerformance
🇬🇷 GreeceSymposiumσυμπόσιον
An ancient Greek post-meal gathering for diluted wine, debate, music and lively gamesTable custom · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇮🇶 Kufa, Iraq and 5 moreArabic calligraphykhatt (خَطّ)
Artistic handwriting of the Arabic script, practiced as a sacred craft and a living visual tradition.Craft
🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreYuri's Night
An annual global celebration on April 12 marking milestones in space explorationFestival
🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanCulture Day文化の日 (Bunka no Hi)
Japan's 3 November holiday for the arts, learning and the Order of CultureFestival
🇮🇱 Jerusalem, IsraelJerusalem Film Festivalפסטיבל הקולנוע ירושלים / مهرجان القدس السينمائي
Ten summer days of films from around the world, held in Jerusalem since 1984Performance
🇬🇷 Athens, Greece and 2 moreDionysian Mysteries
Ancient Greek and Roman initiation rites of wine, ecstatic dance and spiritual rebirthSpiritual · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇪🇪 Tartu, Estonia and 5 moreEuropeade
An annual gathering of folk dancers, musicians and singers across EuropeFestival
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreAnastenariaΑναστενάρια
A barefoot firewalking and dance rite honouring Saint Constantine and Saint HelenSpiritual
🇮🇶 Karbala, Iraq and 5 moreMourning of Muharramعَزَاءُ ٱلْمُحَرَّمِ
Annual rites of grief and remembrance for Imam Husayn and his companionsSpiritual
🇧🇬 Bulgaria and 5 moreKoledariколядники
A Slavic winter caroling custom of visiting homes with songs, masks and blessingsFestival
🇹🇭 Thailand and 4 moreVessantara JatakaVessantara Jātaka
A Buddhist festival celebrating the last life of the Buddha as a generous prince.Festival
🇵🇪 Mito, PeruHuaconada
A three-day January ritual dance in Mito, Peru, led by masked men called huaconesPerformance
🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreTauroctonyταυροκτόνος
The sacred bull-slaying imagery at the heart of the ancient Roman Mithraic mysteriesSpiritual
🇮🇳 IndiaGuru-shishya traditionपरम्परा
The lineage system passing spiritual and artistic knowledge from master to discipleSpiritual
🇺🇦 Ukraine and 8 moreVechornytsiвечорниці
Evening gatherings of Ukrainian youth, with songs, jokes, games and winter divinationSeasonal
🇹🇷 Turkey and 2 moreHadraحضرة
A collective Sufi ritual of chanted divine remembrance, sacred poetry and rhythmic movementSpiritual
🇺🇦 Ukraine and 10 moreEgg decorating
Decorating eggs with dye, wax and carving, kept at Easter, Nowruz and springCraft
🇧🇬 BulgariaJuly Morning
A Bulgarian summer gathering where crowds watch the first sunrise of July with music and song.Festival
🇸🇳 Dakar, Senegal and 4 moreWorld Festival of Black ArtsFestival Mondial des Arts Nègres
A recurring month-long gathering of arts, music and writing from Africa and its diasporaFestival
🇸🇾 Syria and 6 moreKha b'Nisanܚܕ ܒܢܝܣܢ
A spring new year on 1 April, kept with parades, poems and dancing by AssyriansFestival
🇮🇪 Galway, IrelandSeachtain na Gaeilge
Seventeen days of Irish-language events, from 1 March to St Patrick's DayFestival
🇮🇱 Jerusalem, Israel and 1 moreSimchat Beit HaShoeivahשמחת בית השואבה
Nightly music and dancing during the intermediate days of the festival of SukkotFestival · Tea-time and snacking customs
🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreDelphic Games of the modern era
Global competitions and exhibitions across the arts, modelled on ancient Greek gamesPerformance
🇬🇭 Anloga, Ghana and 1 moreHogbetsotso festival
An Anlo Ewe festival in Anloga recalling an escape from NotsieFestival
🇮🇳 Thrissur, IndiaPooram
An annual Kerala temple festival with percussion orchestras, elephants and fireworksFestival
🇮🇳 Imphal, India and 2 moreLai Haraobaꯂꯥꯏ ꯍꯔꯥꯎꯕ
A ritual dance and music festival kept by the Meitei people to please their deities.Festival
🇮🇳 Santiniketan, India and 1 moreRabindra Jayanti
An annual Bengali festival celebrating Rabindranath Tagore with music, drama and verseFestival
🇧🇪 Ghent, BelgiumGentse Feesten
Ten days of free music, theatre and street performance across central Ghent every JulyFestival
🇧🇴 San Ignacio de Moxos, BoliviaIchapekene Piesta
A four-day festival of dance, feathers and procession in San Ignacio de Moxos, BoliviaFestival
🇬🇷 Athens, GreeceDionysiaΔιονύσια
Ancient Athenian festivals of theatre, processions and sacrifices in honour of the god Dionysus.Festival · Feasts and festival meals
🇦🇴 Angola and 2 moreLusona
Sand drawings from Angola and Zambia that carry proverbs, fables and animalsCraft
🇬🇷 Nicopolis, Greece and 1 moreActiaἌκτια
A festival of music, sport, and naval displays kept in ancient times to honor a Roman emperor's victory.Festival
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia and 2 moreCamel Heda'aحداء الإبل
Camel herders' calls that speak to the herd, kept across the Arabian PeninsulaFolklore
🇮🇳 IndiaPushpanjaliपुष्पाञ्जलि
A Hindu ritual of offering flowers with cupped hands, used in worship and as an opening dance.Spiritual
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreFlyting
A ritual contest of poetic insults exchanged between two parties in verse.Performance
🇲🇽 Tlayacapan, MexicoChinelos
Masked dancers from Morelos who spoof colonial manners at CarnivalPerformance
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Pushpanjali: Yosarian, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Delphic Games of the modern era: Achilles Painter, Public domain, source
- Raslila: https://www.flickr.com/photos/matsukin/, CC BY 2.0, source
- Guru-shishya tradition: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Rangoli: SreeramKalyan, CC0, source
- Kathakali: Paul Varuni, CC BY 2.0, source
- Yakshagana: Krishnamoorthy Sudhakar, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sattriya: User: Sattriyadance, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Mohiniyattam: Shagil Kannur, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Bhajan: Bootervijay at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Roskilde Festival: Bill Ebbesen, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Pinkpop: Gianni Taranto, CC BY 3.0, source
- Kuchipudi: Augustus Binu / facebook, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Oud: Creator:Manol (Emmanuel Venios), CC0, source
- Culture Day: Shubert Ciencia, CC BY 2.0, source
- Jerusalem Film Festival: Gilabrand, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Huaconada: Alfredo Palacios, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Egg decorating: L.Kenzel, CC BY 3.0, source
- Kha b'Nisan: Athrakado, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Lai Haraoba: Kullachandra Singh, Ngariyambam, CC0, source
- Ichapekene Piesta: Viaje al corazón de Bolivia, CC BY 2.0, source
- Gentse Feesten: Gordito1869, CC BY 3.0, source
- Camel Heda'a: Rawan92, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Chinelos: AlejandroLinaresGarcia, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Dionysia: Unknown artist, Public domain, source
- Arabic calligraphy: Aieman Khimji, CC BY 2.0, source
- Symposium: Nikias Painter, CC BY 2.5, source
- Yuri's Night: Ryan Somma, CC BY 2.0, source
- Dionysian Mysteries: Tilemahos Efthimiadis, CC BY 2.0, source
- Anastenaria: Artkostov, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Pooram: Augustus Binu : flickr, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mourning of Muharram: Naser Jafari, CC BY 4.0, source
- Koledari: Mikhail Germashev, Public domain, source
- Vessantara Jataka: Adam Jones, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Tauroctony: Jastrow, Public domain, source
- Simchat Beit HaShoeivah: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Actia: Flavius Hermogenes at English Wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Hadra: Zeinebtakouti, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Europeade: Niklas Lydeen, CC BY 3.0, source
- July Morning: Sumto, Public domain, source
- Hogbetsotso festival: JY midey, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Rabindra Jayanti: Generalstabens litografiska anstalt, Public domain, source
- Vechornytsi: Гейслер, Кристиан Готфрид Генрих, Public domain, source
- Flyting: Lorenz Frølich, Public domain, source
- Hanuman Chalisa: RahulKSaini, CC BY-SA 4.0, source