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.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

🇨🇳 Tianjin, China and 1 moreBa-zha八蜡 An old Chinese harvest rite of eight offerings, later a guardian against locustsSpiritual

🇻🇳 VietnamVietnamese zodiacMười hai con giáp A twelve-year cycle of animal years, kept in Vietnam on the lunar calendarFolklore 🇮🇱 IsraelTefillat Talתפילת טל A Jewish prayer for dew, recited on the opening morning of PassoverSpiritual

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreShielingÀirigh Seasonal summer pasture living and traditional dairying in the Scottish hillsSeasonal 🇨🇳 ChinaSymbolic stars神煞 Helpful and harmful influences read from the Chinese calendar's stems and branchesFolklore

🇮🇱 Jerusalem, IsraelSong of Ascentsשיר המעלות Fifteen Hebrew psalms sung by pilgrims going up to Jerusalem and by monks at prayerSpiritual

🇰🇷 Busan, South KoreaBusan Sunrise Festival부산해맞이축제 A bell rung in Busan on 31 December, then the year's first sunrise at the beachSeasonal 🇪🇹 EthiopiaGifaataaጊፋታ The annual New Year celebration of the Wolayta people in southern EthiopiaSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals

🇮🇪 Ireland and 2 moreEmber daysQuatuor Tempora A quarterly Western Christian rhythm of fasting, prayer and seasonal thanksgivingSeasonal · Fasting and breaking the fast 🇳🇪 Niger and 1 moreSitta min Shawwalستة من شوال A voluntary six-day Islamic fast observed during the month following RamadanSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast

🇩🇪 GermanySeven Sleepers' DaySiebenschläfertag A German feast day on June 27 where the weather predicts the next seven weeks of summer.Seasonal 🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreKingdomtide An autumn liturgical season focusing on Christ's reign in heaven and on earthSpiritual

🇫🇷 Lyon, France and 2 moreWeek of Prayer for Christian Unity An eight-day international period of shared prayer for reconciliation among churchesSpiritual 🇬🇧 United KingdomJack o' Lent An English Lenten custom of abusing and burning a straw figureSeasonal 🇧🇹 BhutanNgenpa Gudzomངན་པ་དགུ་འཛོམས A Bhutanese day of pause and games during an inauspicious astrological periodSeasonal

🇬🇧 United KingdomHarvest Festival An autumn thanksgiving for the crops, kept in churches and schools across the UKSeasonal · Supper

🇷🇺 Russia and 3 moreGeorge's Day in AutumnЕгорий Осенний (Yegoriy Osenniy), Юрьев день (Yuriev den); Serbian: Ђурђиц (Đurđic) The autumn feast of Saint George, kept at harvest's end in Slavic landsFestival 🇨🇦 Toronto, CanadaRamadan in Canada A month of fasting, prayer and shared evening meals, kept by Muslims across CanadaSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast

🇮🇹 Turin, Italy and 5 moreMary Help of ChristiansSancta Maria Auxilium Christianorum A Christian feast and devotion honouring Mary as a protector, observed on 24 MaySpiritual

🇮🇱 Israel and 3 moreLeil Selichotליל הסליחות A night of penitential prayers and poems recited before the Jewish New Year to seek forgiveness.Spiritual 🇬🇧 United KingdomThe Broad A Cotswold Christmas figure: a bull's head on a pole, carried by a hidden performerFolklore 🇨🇿 CzechiaName days in the Czech RepublicSvátek A daily custom where people celebrate on the calendar date assigned to their given name.Seasonal 🇨🇳 ChinaSanfutie三伏贴 A seasonal Chinese medicine practice applying herbal patches during peak summer heatSeasonal 🇰🇷 Jindo Island, South KoreaNamdo Field Songs남도 들노래 Farmers' choral work songs from South Jeolla, sung through the rice field yearPerformance 🇸🇰 SlovakiaName days in SlovakiaMeniny The Slovak tradition of celebrating personal name days alongside birthdaysSeasonal

🇸🇰 Pezinok, SlovakiaPezinok Grape Harvest FestivalPezinské vinobranie An annual autumn harvest and wine festival filling the streets of Pezinok, SlovakiaSeasonal · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies 🇪🇹 Ethiopia and 1 moreFilsetaፍልሰታ A fifteen-day fast and feast honouring the Dormition and Assumption of MarySpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast

🇫🇷 Cayenne, FranceCarnival of French Guiana A weeks-long carnival of masked balls and parades, from Epiphany to Mardi GrasFestival

🇭🇺 Miskolc, HungaryKocsonya FestivalKocsonyafesztivál An annual winter food and culture festival held in Miskolc, HungaryFestival · Feasts and festival meals 🇬🇧 Penzance, United KingdomGuldizeGool dheys A Cornish harvest supper after the last sheaf is cut, with pork, pie, singing and gamesSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals 🇧🇹 Punakha, BhutanTraditional Day of OfferingBuelwa Phuewi Nyim A Bhutanese New Year marked by offerings to Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal and family feasts.Festival · Breakfast 🇧🇹 Bhutan and 5 moreLhabab Duchenལྷ་བབས་དུས་ཆེན་ A Buddhist festival for the day the Buddha returned to earth from a god's realmSpiritual

🇺🇸 Manhattan, United StatesJews and Thanksgiving An American national holiday kept by most US Jews, and debated by their rabbisFestival · Dinner

🇵🇭 Hungduan, PhilippinesPunnuk A tug of war in a river at harvest's end, kept by Tuwali-speaking villages in IfugaoGame

🇩🇿 Djanet, Algeria and 1 moreSebibaسبيبة (Arabic), ⵙⴱⵉⴱⴰ (Tifinagh) A Tuareg festival and dance in the Algerian Sahara marking the Islamic New Year and Ashura.Festival 🇿🇲 Lundazi, Zambia and 1 moreKulonga An annual harvest festival of thanksgiving celebrated by Tumbuka communitiesSeasonal 🇵🇸 Jerusalem, Palestine and 1 moreThursday of the Deadخميس الأموات A spring day of cemetery visits, prayer, and shared yellow breads across the LevantSpiritual · Sweets given and shared

🇱🇹 Vilnius, LithuaniaLithuania Independence Restoration Day A Lithuanian national holiday on 11 March celebrating the 1990 return of sovereign ruleCeremony

🇷🇸 Serbia and 2 moreZapisзапис A consecrated village tree marked with a cross, venerated in Serbian folk traditionSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals 🇷🇸 SerbiaVertepвертеп A Serbian Orthodox Christmas Eve custom, named for the cave of the NativitySpiritual

🇮🇹 Venice, Italy and 2 moreFeast of Saint MarkFesta di san Marco Saint Mark's day on 25 April, kept with rosebuds in Venice and harvest care in LithuaniaSpiritual 🇬🇧 United KingdomLincolnshire Day An annual county day on 1 October honouring the history and culture of LincolnshireCeremony

🇮🇳 Chennai, IndiaMadras Music Season Nine weeks of Carnatic concerts in Chennai, from mid-November to JanuaryPerformance

🇮🇹 Lake Nemi, ItalyNemoralia A three-day Roman festival of torches and garlands for the goddess DianaSpiritual

🇷🇸 Serbia and 5 moreĐurđevdanЂурђевдан A spring festival and feast of Saint George kept across the Balkans and Eastern EuropeFestival · Feasts and festival meals

🇲🇦 Morocco and 2 moreTweezaتويزة A North African tradition of communal voluntary work, mutual aid and shared harvestsCeremony · Dinner

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

Kocsonya Festival: Szalax, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Mary Help of Christians: Didier Descouens, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Seven Sleepers' Day: either an unknown master or „Frater Rufillus“, Public domain, source
Busan Sunrise Festival: Busan Metropolitan city, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Song of Ascents: No machine-readable author provided. Amoruso~commonswiki assumed (base, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
Vietnamese zodiac: Unknown (traditional painting dated back to the 17th century), Public domain, source
Nemoralia: Frederic Leighton, Public domain, source
Madras Music Season: Martin spaink, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Punnuk: Bernardguerrero, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Jews and Thanksgiving: Executive Committee of Congregation Shearith Israel., Public domain, source
Pezinok Grape Harvest Festival: Bratislavská župa, CC BY 2.0, source
Feast of Saint Mark: No machine-readable author provided. Cremedia assumed (based on copyri, Public domain, source
Đurđevdan: Anonymous Russian icon painter (before 1917) Public domain image (acco, Public domain, source
Tweeza: Demeester, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity: Kaihsu Tai, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
George's Day in Autumn: Sergey Ivanov, Public domain, source
Leil Selichot: Yael Shilo יעל שילה, CC BY 3.0, source
Lithuania Independence Restoration Day: Lithuania Post Office / Scanned and processed by Vizu, Public domain, source
Sebiba: Abderrahmane boudjenane, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Carnival of French Guiana: Didwin973, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Zapis: Zblagojevic, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Shieling: Gordon Hatton, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Ember days: Richard Symonds, CC BY 3.0, source
Harvest Festival: Derek Harper, CC BY-SA 2.0, source

All traditions

Photo credits on this page

The weekly EveryParampara