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
🇦🇲 Armenia and 1 moreKochariՔոչարի
A circle dance from the Armenian Highlands, danced at weddings and gatheringsPerformance
🇺🇾 Uruguay and 3 moreTango
A social partner dance of the Río de la Plata, improvised step by stepPerformance
🇦🇱 Gjirokastër, Albania and 2 moreAlbanian iso-polyphonyIso-polifonia
Multi-part Albanian singing with a held drone, kept across the southPerformance
🇮🇷 Urmia, IranKurdish danceGovend (گۆڤەند)
Circle dances of the Kurds, led by handkerchief twirlers, for weddings and NewrozPerformance
🇮🇪 Ireland and 1 moreKeeningCaoineadh
A sung mourning cry at Gaelic funerals, once led by hired women singersRite of passage
🇱🇰 Sri LankaSanni Yakuma
A Sinhalese rite where masked dancers summon eighteen illness demons and banish themSpiritual
🇰🇪 Kenya and 1 moreAdumuEnkipaata
A Maasai warrior dance of high jumps from a circle, done at weddings and ritesPerformance
🇵🇷 Puerto Rico and 1 moreParranda
A Puerto Rican Christmas custom of night-time visits with songs, food and drinkPerformance · Supper
🇯🇵 Hiroshima, JapanKagura神楽
A sacred Shinto dance tradition in Japan that invites deities to descend and perform through human dancers.Performance
🇮🇩 Yogyakarta, IndonesiaWayangꦮꦪꦁ
A night-long puppet theatre from Java, where a dalang tells epics behind a lit screenPerformance
🇻🇳 Huế, VietnamNhã nhạcNhã nhạc (雅樂)
Vietnam's royal court music, played for palace rites from the Trần dynasty onwardPerformance
🇻🇳 VietnamCa trùCa trù (歌籌)
A Vietnamese art of sung poetry, led by a woman singer with lute and praise drumPerformance
🇦🇺 AustraliaBush dance
An Australian social dance style, usually with a live bush bandPerformance
🇲🇽 Papantla, Mexico and 1 moreDanza de los Voladores
A Mesoamerican rite of dance and rope, flown from a tall pole to ask for rainSpiritual
🇧🇭 Bahrain and 1 moreFijiriالفجيري
Songs of the Gulf pearl divers: one lead voice, a chorus, a hand drum and a clay potPerformance
🇷🇺 Palekh, RussiaPalekh miniatureПалехская миниатюра
Tiny tempera paintings on lacquered papier-mâché, made in the Russian town of PalekhCraft
🇸🇾 Aleppo, SyriaQudud Halabiyaقدود حلبية
Syrian songs of love and longing, shaped in Aleppo and set to old melodiesPerformance
🇦🇹 Vienna, AustriaViennese coffee house cultureWiener Kaffeehauskultur
A Viennese social ritual where patrons linger for hours with a single coffee and newspapers.Etiquette · Tea-time and snacking customs
🇯🇵 Kyoto, JapanNoh能 (Nō)
Japanese masked dance-drama, staged since the 14th century in family schoolsPerformance
🇲🇳 MongoliaMorin khuurморин хуур (Mongolian Cyrillic); ᠮᠣᠷᠢᠨ ᠬᠣᠭᠣᠷ (traditional Mongol script)
Mongolia's two-string horsehead fiddle, played with a horsehair bowPerformance
🇯🇵 Osaka, Japan and 1 moreBunraku文楽
Osaka's puppet theatre, with chanters, shamisen players and puppeteers in plain sightPerformance
🇮🇱 Jerusalem, Israel and 1 moreShofarשׁוֹפָר
A ram's horn blown in synagogue to mark the Jewish new year and the end of Yom KippurSpiritual
🇦🇹 Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria and 2 moreSilent NightStille Nacht, heilige Nacht
A Christmas carol composed in Austria in 1818, now sung worldwide as a symbol of peace.Performance
🇵🇹 Lisbon, PortugalFado
Portugal's song of fate and longing, sung in Lisbon and CoimbraPerformance
🇮🇳 Baripada, IndiaChhau dance
A masked dance of eastern India, blending martial steps with epic storiesPerformance
🇪🇪 EstoniaSeto leeloleelo
Polyphonic folk singing of the Setos, led by women in traditional dressPerformance
🇺🇦 UkraineTraditional Ukrainian wedding
A wedding spread over many days, with matchmaking, bread, wreaths and songRite of passage
🇨🇳 Beijing, China and 1 morePeking opera京剧 / 京劇 (Jīngjù)
China's main opera form: song, dance and acrobatics tell the story on a bare stagePerformance
🇹🇭 ThailandWai khruพิธีไหว้ครู
A Thai ceremony of thanks to teachers, held in schools and in the artsSpiritual
🇬🇧 Llangollen, United Kingdom and 5 moreEisteddfod
A Welsh festival of poetry and music competitions, featuring the chairing and crowning of winning bards.Festival
🇵🇸 Bethlehem, PalestineTatreezتَطْرِيز
Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery, stitched onto dresses and read for its regionCraft
🇦🇲 Yerevan, ArmeniaYarkhushtaՅարխուշտա
A men's row dance from Sasun, where pairs clap palms as the lines advancePerformance
🇬🇧 Cardiff, United KingdomGorsedd CymruGorsedd Cymru (yr Orsedd)
A Welsh society of poets and writers that holds ceremonies at the National Eisteddfod to honour cultural achievements.Festival
🇨🇳 China and 2 moreCantonese opera粵劇
One of the major forms of Chinese opera, sung in Cantonese in southern ChinaPerformance
🇧🇾 BelarusBatlejkaБатле́йка
A two-level puppet booth from Belarus, playing Nativity and folk scenes at ChristmasPerformance
🇿🇦 Cape Town, South AfricaCape Town Minstrel CarnivalKaapse Klopse
Cape Town's 2 January parade of minstrel troupes, ghoema drums and bright umbrellasFestival
🇨🇺 Santiago de Cuba, CubaTumba francesa
An Afro-Cuban art of dance, song and drumming kept by societies in eastern CubaPerformance
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreLast Post
A bugle call sounded at military funerals and remembrance services across the Commonwealth to honour those who died in sPerformance
🇸🇬 Singapore and 2 moreChingay Parade妝藝
A lively street procession of floats, giant flags, and performing arts in Southeast AsiaFestival
🇪🇸 Spain and 5 moreMoors and ChristiansMoros y Cristianos
Theatrical parades and mock battles staging historic clashes across Spain and beyondFestival
🇪🇸 Valencia, SpainMascletà
A daytime sound and rhythm pyrotechnic display typical of the Valencian CommunityFestival
🇧🇬 Kazanlak, BulgariaRose FestivalФестивал на розата
An annual harvest celebration of damask roses across the Rose Valley of BulgariaFestival
🇭🇷 Dubrovnik, CroatiaDubrovnik Summer FestivalDubrovačke ljetne igre
An annual summer celebration of theatre, music and dance held in the historic streets of Dubrovnik.Festival
🇫🇷 Nice, FranceNice CarnivalCarnaval de Nice
A two-week winter festival of papier-mâché floats and flower battles in Nice, FranceFestival
🇱🇺 Echternach, LuxembourgDancing procession of EchternachIechternacher Sprangprëssioun
A Roman Catholic hopping pilgrimage honouring Saint Willibrord in eastern LuxembourgSpiritual
🇵🇬 Goroka, Papua New GuineaGoroka Show
An annual cultural gathering and sing-sing in the Eastern Highlands of Papua New GuineaFestival
🇲🇰 Ohrid, North MacedoniaOhrid Summer FestivalОхридско лето
A summer season of concerts and theatre in Ohrid, running from mid-July to late AugustFestival
🇲🇦 Rabat, Morocco and 5 moreFantasiaالفانتازيا
A North African equestrian display of synchronized charging and simultaneous rifle fireGame
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- High Holy Days: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Tango: carlos luque, CC BY 2.5, source
- Kochari: Hayordi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kurdish dance: Kaiwan Moradi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Keening: W.H. Brooke, Public domain, source
- Sanni Yakuma: Michael Gunther, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Adumu: K15photos, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Parranda: Marine 69-71, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kagura: Elstner Hilton, Public domain, source
- Wayang: Kevin Gessner, CC BY 2.0, source
- Nhã nhạc: Lưu Ly ( thảo luận ), Public domain, source
- Ca trù: Michael Coghlan, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Danza de los Voladores: A01333649, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Fijiri: Kuwaitsoccer, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Palekh miniature: Ivan Ivanovich Golikov, Public domain, source
- Qudud Halabiya: Thorsten Krienke, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Viennese coffee house culture: Photo: Andreas Praefcke, CC BY 3.0, source
- Noh: Yoshiyuki Ito, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Morin khuur: Quintin Soloviev, CC BY 4.0, source
- Bunraku: 氏子, CC0, source
- Silent Night: Franz Xaver Gruber (1787–1863), Public domain, source
- Fado: Pedro Simões, CC BY 2.0, source
- Chhau dance: Skasish, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Seto leelo: Ave Maria Mõistlik, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Traditional Ukrainian wedding: Пимоненко, Николай Корнильевич, Public domain, source
- Wai khru: seetefl on Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Peking opera: Art Poskanzer, CC BY 2.0, source
- Eisteddfod: Llywelyn2000, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tatreez: Ma'moun Othman, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Gorsedd Cymru: Els Pam Pels, CC0, source
- Yarkhushta: Hablabar, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Cantonese opera: Roland Tanglao, CC BY 2.0, source
- Batlejka: user:Хомелка, CC BY 3.0, source
- Cape Town Minstrel Carnival: George Duff, Public domain, source
- Tumba francesa: Christian Pirkl, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Last Post: User:EnEdC, Public domain, source
- Whit Tuesday: David Edgar, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Chingay Parade: HundenvonPenang, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Moors and Christians: No machine-readable author provided. Jarke assumed (based on copyright, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mascletà: Pablo Enzo, Public domain, source
- Rose Festival: Animsaj, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Dubrovnik Summer Festival: Roberta F., CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Nice Carnival: Honeydew, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Fantasia: Jfcapdet, CC BY-SA 4.0, source