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
🇱🇺 Echternach, LuxembourgDancing procession of EchternachIechternacher Sprangprëssioun
A Roman Catholic hopping pilgrimage honouring Saint Willibrord in eastern LuxembourgSpiritual
🇲🇰 Ohrid, North MacedoniaOhrid Summer FestivalОхридско лето
A summer season of concerts and theatre in Ohrid, running from mid-July to late AugustFestival
🇲🇹 Valletta, MaltaMaltese Carnivalil-Karnival ta' Malta
A lively week of costumed parades, dancing, satirical floats and sweets across Malta.Festival · Sweets given and shared
🇪🇸 Valencia, SpainFallasFalles de València
Valencia's five-day March fiesta of giant paper figures and bonfiresFestival
🇨🇭 Basel, SwitzerlandCarnival of BaselBasler Fasnacht
A 72-hour masked carnival of drums, flutes and satire in northern SwitzerlandFestival
🇷🇸 Guča, SerbiaGuča Trumpet FestivalФестивал трубача у Гучи
A weekend brass band competition and folk festival in western SerbiaFestival
🇪🇸 Alicante, SpainBonfires of Saint John in AlicanteFogueres de Sant Joan
A midsummer festival of towering satirical monuments, music and fire in AlicanteFestival
🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreMaypole
A tall wooden pole, garlanded and danced around, raised at May Day, Whitsun or MidsummerFestival
🇪🇸 Seville, Spain and 5 moreAzulejo
Painted, tin-glazed ceramic tiles that cover walls and floors across Portugal and SpainCraft
🇪🇸 Barcelona, Spain and 1 moreSardana
A Catalan circle dance, danced hand in hand to an eleven-player cobla bandPerformance
🇷🇺 Russia and 2 moreKhorovodхоровод
A Slavic circle dance with singing, danced with linked hands or little fingersPerformance
🇦🇹 Vienna, AustriaVienna New Year's ConcertNeujahrskonzert der Wiener Philharmoniker
A morning of waltzes and polkas on 1 January, played by the Vienna PhilharmonicPerformance
🇬🇧 United KingdomTwmpath
The Welsh word for a village dancing green, now used for a social dance eveningPerformance
🇭🇷 Omiš, CroatiaKlapa
Unaccompanied harmony singing from Dalmatia, built by groups of friendsPerformance
🇸🇰 SlovakiaFujara
A tall Slovak flute played by shepherds, with a deep voice built from overtonesPerformance
🇱🇹 Lithuania and 1 moreLithuanian folk songsliaudies dainos
Songs of love, weddings, work and war, sung in unison or in harmony across LithuaniaPerformance
🇳🇱 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
🇬🇷 GreeceSymposiumσυμπόσιον
An ancient Greek post-meal gathering for diluted wine, debate, music and lively gamesTable custom · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreYuri's Night
An annual global celebration on April 12 marking milestones in space explorationFestival
🇬🇷 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
🇧🇬 Bulgaria and 5 moreKoledariколядники
A Slavic winter caroling custom of visiting homes with songs, masks and blessingsFestival
🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreTauroctonyταυροκτόνος
The sacred bull-slaying imagery at the heart of the ancient Roman Mithraic mysteriesSpiritual
🇺🇦 Ukraine and 8 moreVechornytsiвечорниці
Evening gatherings of Ukrainian youth, with songs, jokes, games and winter divinationSeasonal
🇺🇦 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
🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreDelphic Games of the modern era
Global competitions and exhibitions across the arts, modelled on ancient Greek gamesPerformance
🇮🇪 Galway, IrelandSeachtain na Gaeilge
Seventeen days of Irish-language events, from 1 March to St Patrick's DayFestival
🇧🇪 Ghent, BelgiumGentse Feesten
Ten days of free music, theatre and street performance across central Ghent every JulyFestival
🇬🇷 Athens, GreeceDionysiaΔιονύσια
Ancient Athenian festivals of theatre, processions and sacrifices in honour of the god Dionysus.Festival · Feasts and festival meals
🇬🇷 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
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreFlyting
A ritual contest of poetic insults exchanged between two parties in verse.Performance
🇷🇸 Serbia and 3 moreLazariceлазарице
A spring procession of girls in flower wreaths, singing door to door before Palm SundaySpiritual
🇬🇧 United KingdomGarland dance
A nineteenth-century English dance tradition performed with flower-covered garlandsPerformance
🇮🇪 Ireland and 1 moreFilifilí (Irish)
Ireland's and Scotland's trained poets, storytellers and seersPerformance
🇳🇱 Amsterdam, NetherlandsTangomagia
An annual Amsterdam tango festival held in the last days of DecemberPerformance
🇪🇸 SpainThe Water of LifeL'aigua de vida
A Catalan folk tale of a quest for magic water, a fragrant branch and a talking birdPerformance
🇬🇧 United KingdomAssipattle and the Stoor Worm
An Orcadian dragon-slayer tale of a fireside daydreamer who defeats a giant sea monsterFolklore
🇲🇹 MaltaFestival Kanzunetta IndipendenzaKonkors Kanzunetta Indipendenza
An annual music contest in Malta celebrating native songwriting around Independence DayPerformance
🇬🇧 Linton, United KingdomLinton Worm
A Borders dragon killed with a burning spear, told in Roxburghshire since the 12th centuryFolklore
🇲🇹 Valletta, MaltaMużika Mużika
A national song competition in Malta that selects artists for the Eurovision contest and celebrates Maltese music.Performance
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreSelkieselkie fowk
The seal shapeshifters of Scottish and northern island folkloreFolklore
🇷🇺 RussiaRussian folk music
The village songs, choirs and instruments of Russia's ethnic Russian peoplePerformance
🇬🇧 East Kilbride, United KingdomKate Dalrymple
A traditional Scottish reel and comic Scots song about a muirland spinsterPerformance
🇺🇦 Dnipro, UkraineCossack songs of the Dnipropetrovsk RegionКозацькі пісні Дніпропетровщини
Folk songs made by Cossacks, still sung in villages of the Dnipropetrovsk regionPerformance
🇧🇪 Brussels, BelgiumKunstenfestivaldesarts
An annual May arts festival in Brussels, with theatre, dance, film and visual artPerformance
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- The Water of Life: Internet Archive Book Images, CC0, source
- Garland dance: Tim Green, CC BY 2.0, source
- Delphic Games of the modern era: Achilles Painter, Public domain, source
- Fili: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Linton Worm: Pasicles, CC0, source
- Russian folk music: Лобачев Владимир, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Roskilde Festival: Bill Ebbesen, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Pinkpop: Gianni Taranto, CC BY 3.0, source
- Egg decorating: L.Kenzel, CC BY 3.0, source
- Gentse Feesten: Gordito1869, CC BY 3.0, source
- Dionysia: Unknown artist, Public domain, 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
- Koledari: Mikhail Germashev, Public domain, source
- Tauroctony: Jastrow, Public domain, source
- Whit Tuesday: David Edgar, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Actia: Flavius Hermogenes at English Wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Europeade: Niklas Lydeen, CC BY 3.0, source
- July Morning: Sumto, Public domain, source
- Lazarice: Svetlina bov at Bulgarian Wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Vechornytsi: Гейслер, Кристиан Готфрид Генрих, Public domain, source
- Flyting: Lorenz Frølich, Public domain, source
- Maltese Carnival: Ronny Siegel, CC BY 3.0, source
- Fallas: Goodnighmoon, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Carnival of Basel: Claude TRUONG-NGOC, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Guča Trumpet Festival: svickova, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Bonfires of Saint John in Alicante: Fernando Pastor, CC BY 2.0, source
- Maypole: Uploaded by Mikael Häggström, CC0, source
- Azulejo: Dr. Thomas Liptak, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Selkie: Carolyn Emerick, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Sardana: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Khorovod: Aleksey Stepanov, Public domain, source
- Vienna New Year's Concert: Michal Osmenda, CC BY 2.0, source
- Twmpath: Geoff Charles, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Klapa: Albin Olsson, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Fujara: -jkb-, CC BY 3.0, source
- Lithuanian folk songs: Gailė Paštukaitė, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Cossack songs of the Dnipropetrovsk Region: Юрій Булка, CC BY 4.0, source