All traditions
2,169 traditions so far, best known first. 12,543 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
🇮🇹 Rome, Italy and 4 moreChristmas
A festival of Jesus's birth, kept on 25 December with gifts, lights and shared mealsFestival
🇦🇺 Australia and 5 moreGood Friday
A solemn Christian holy day commemorating the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ.Spiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreMother's Day
A worldwide annual celebration dedicated to mothers, maternal bonds and family careHome
🇮🇷 Iran and 7 moreNowruzنوروز
The Iranian new year at the March equinox, kept with fire, greenery and picnicsSeasonal
🇵🇭 Philippines and 5 moreHoly WeekἉγία καὶ Μεγάλη Ἑβδομάς
The solemn seven days leading to Easter, recalling the final week and Passion of JesusSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇮🇳 Mathura, India and 5 moreHoliहोली (Hindi)
A spring festival of colours and bonfires that marks the end of winter and the triumph of good over evil.Festival
🇮🇱 Jerusalem, IsraelYom Kippurיוֹם כִּפּוּר
The holiest day in Judaism, dedicated to fasting, prayer and atonementSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇮🇱 IsraelRosh Hashanahרֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה
The Jewish New Year marked by shofar horn blasts, prayer and sweet foodsSpiritual
🇺🇸 New York, United States and 4 moreFeast of the Ascension
The fortieth day of Easter, when Christians remember Jesus being taken up into heavenSpiritual
🇮🇱 Jerusalem, IsraelSukkotסוכות
A seven-day autumn Jewish festival of temporary booths, harvest prayers and hospitalitySpiritual
🇪🇸 Valencia, Spain and 5 moreFeast of Corpus ChristiCorpus Domini
A Christian feast celebrating the presence of Christ in the bread and wine of the EucharistSpiritual
🇫🇷 France and 5 moreCandlemas
A Christian feast of candle blessings marking the end of the Christmas seasonSpiritual
🇲🇽 Mexico City, Mexico and 1 moreDay of the DeadDía de Muertos
A Mexican remembrance of deceased family and friends with altars, marigolds and feastsFestival · Sweets given and shared
🇪🇸 Spain and 5 moreArbor Day
An annual secular observance dedicated to planting and caring for trees around the worldCeremony
🇯🇵 JapanToshikoshi soba年越し蕎麦
Buckwheat noodles eaten on New Year's Eve, cut easily to let the year goTable custom · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇱 Jerusalem, Israel and 5 moreTisha B'Avתשעה באב
A solemn fast day in July or August to mourn the destruction of the Jerusalem Temples and other Jewish tragedies.Spiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇯🇵 Kishiwada, JapanKishiwada Danjiri Matsuri岸和田だんじり祭
A high-speed festival of wooden shrine floats pulled through Kishiwada, JapanFestival
🇮🇳 Badrinath, IndiaChota Char Dham
Four Himalayan shrines in Uttarakhand, visited in one season each yearSpiritual
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreSaint Patrick's Day in the United States
An annual celebration of Irish heritage across America with parades, feasts and green dyeFestival · Dinner
🇿🇼 ZimbabweMhondoro
Territorial guardian spirits and mediums honoured in Zimbabwe for guidance and rainSpiritual
🇺🇸 New York, United StatesFlag Day
An annual American observance marking the 1777 adoption of the national flagCeremony
🇩🇿 Algeria and 3 moreBerber calendarⵜⴰⵙⵡⴰⵙⵜ ⵜⴰⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖⵜ (taswast tamaziɣt)
An agricultural timekeeping system used by the Amazigh people of North Africa to mark seasons and farming cycles.Seasonal · Dinner
🇵🇸 Jerusalem, Palestine and 2 moreStations of the CrossVia Crucis
A Christian prayer journey following fourteen moments of the Passion of JesusSpiritual
🇮🇳 Jammu, IndiaBhangra
A Punjabi harvest dance, first kept by farmers and now performed worldwidePerformance
🇱🇹 LithuaniaVėlinės
A Lithuanian remembrance day honouring deceased souls with cemetery prayers and candlesSpiritual
🇮🇳 IndiaIndian national calendar
India's official civil solar calendar, designed to bring unity to timekeepingSeasonal
🇪🇪 EstoniaJaanipäev
Estonia's midsummer night of bonfires, song and fortune-telling, on 23 and 24 JuneFestival
🇺🇸 United States and 4 moreFriday the 13th
A Western folk superstition regarding the unluckiness of a Friday falling on the 13th.Folklore
🇮🇩 IndonesiaPasola
A ritual horseback spear contest in western Sumba marking the rice-planting seasonGame
🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreMaifest
A traditional German celebration marking the arrival of spring with decorated maypolesFestival
🇲🇲 Yangon, MyanmarThadingyutသီတင်းကျွတ်
A Burmese celebration and calendar month marking the completion of Buddhist Lent.Seasonal
🇺🇾 Montevideo, UruguayNostalgia NightNoche de la Nostalgia
Uruguay's nationwide retro music and dance celebration held every 24 AugustFestival
🇴🇲 Salalah, Oman and 3 moreKhareefخَرِيْف
The monsoon season of Dhofar and Al Mahrah, welcomed with a festival in SalalahSeasonal
🇪🇸 Spain and 5 moreSiesta
A short afternoon rest or sleep taken after the midday mealHome · Lunch
🇹🇭 ThailandThai solar calendarปฏิทินสุริยคติไทย
The official solar calendar of Thailand, numbered in the Buddhist EraSeasonal
🇨🇱 ChileNgillatun
A communal Mapuche rite of prayer, sacrifice and dance to maintain cosmic balanceSpiritual
🇮🇩 Jakarta, Indonesia and 2 moreMudik
Indonesians head home to family before Lebaran, in the year's biggest journeyHome
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreApril Fools' Day
An annual day of lighthearted pranks, hoaxes and teasing kept on the first of AprilFestival
🇨🇭 Aproz, Switzerland and 2 moreCombat de Reines
An annual Swiss pushing contest where Hérens cows compete for herd dominanceGame
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreMorris dance
A rhythmic English folk dance performed in costume with bells, sticks and handkerchiefsPerformance
🇮🇳 Thrissur, IndiaPulikaliപുലിക്കളി
Painted tigers and leopards dance through Thrissur on the fourth day of OnamPerformance
🇵🇱 Auschwitz-Birkenau, Poland and 1 moreMarch of the LivingMarsz Żywych (Polish) · מצעד החיים (Hebrew)
An annual two-week journey to Poland ending in a silent walk from Auschwitz to BirkenauCeremony
🇵🇪 Cusco, Peru and 4 moreIntiinti (Quechua)
The Inca sun deity, honoured with temples, offerings and the June festival Inti RaymiSpiritual
🇬🇧 London, United KingdomChelsea Flower Show
A five-day May horticultural festival held in London by the Royal Horticultural SocietyFestival
🇰🇷 South KoreaJesa제사 (Jesa)
A Korean ancestral memorial ceremony held on death anniversaries and major holidays.Spiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇯🇵 JapanKadomatsu門松
A Japanese New Year gateway decoration of pine and bamboo where a visiting deity can restSeasonal
🇮🇱 Jerusalem, IsraelShavuotשבועות
A late-spring Jewish festival of the wheat harvest and the giving of the TorahSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreMid-Autumn Festival中秋節
An annual harvest festival celebrating family reunions, full moons and mooncakesFestival · Sweets given and shared
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Friday the 13th: Leonardo da Vinci, Public domain, source
- Combat de Reines: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Inti: Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala, Public domain, source
- Good Friday: Bellina 09, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Bhangra: Jimmysekhon25, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Christmas: Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, Public domain, source
- Holi: Jitenderasingh, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Mother's Day: Dave Parker, CC BY 2.0, source
- Pulikali: Felix Francis, CC BY 2.0, source
- Holy Week: Anonymous ( Maasland ) Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Mid-Autumn Festival: Shizhao, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Yom Kippur: Maurycy Gottlieb, Public domain, source
- March of the Living: No machine-readable author provided. Efka de~commonswiki assumed (base, CC BY 2.5, source
- Nowruz: Katzenfee50, CC0, source
- Rosh Hashanah: N100a . The original uploader was N100a at Hebrew Wikipedia ., Attribution, source
- Sukkot: Zachi Evenor, CC BY 2.0, source
- Toshikoshi soba: Osamu Iwasaki, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Kadomatsu: Nesnad, CC BY 4.0, source
- Feast of Corpus Christi: Fennec ., Public domain, source
- Mudik: Arie Basuki, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Candlemas: Andrea Mantegna, Public domain, source
- Jaanipäev: Jaan Künnap, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Khareef: May Paulose, CC BY 2.0, source
- Chuseok: by Joseph Steinberg (Baltimoron in Korea) at Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Shavuot: https://www.flickr.com/people/69061470@N05, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Morris dance: Des Blenkinsopp, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Kishiwada Danjiri Matsuri: Kounosu, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- April Fools' Day: Lars Andersen, Public domain, source
- Ngillatun: Francisco Cavallo, Public domain, source
- Siesta: Vincent van Gogh, Public domain, source
- Saint Patrick's Day in the United States: White House/Chuck Kennedy, Public domain, source
- Indian national calendar: Clemensmarabu, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Flag Day: Freekee /Kevin Hansen, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Thadingyut: Aungzawtoo, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Chelsea Flower Show: Nzfauna, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Arbor Day: Jonathunder, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tisha B'Av: shlomi kakon, CC BY 2.5, source
- Pasola: Fakhri Anindita, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Stations of the Cross: Tango7174, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Feast of the Ascension: Gebhard Fugel, Public domain, source
- Day of the Dead: RubeHM, CC BY-SA 4.0, source