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
🇪🇸 Valencia, SpainCremà
The ceremonial burning of large artistic street monuments across the Valencian communityFestival
🇮🇳 IndiaGaye holudগায়ে হলুদ
A Bengali pre-wedding ceremony where turmeric paste is applied to the bride and groomRite of passage
🇷🇴 RomaniaSorcova
Children tap people with a flowered twig on New Year's morning, wishing health and luckSeasonal
🇨🇮 Ivory Coast and 1 moreAbissa
A week-long New Year festival of the Nzema people in Ivory Coast and Ghana, marked by sacred drums, dance, and forgiveneFestival
🇦🇷 ArgentinaDía de la Tradición
An annual Argentine day celebrating gaucho customs on poet José Hernández's birthdayCeremony
🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreWedding reception
The party after a wedding, where the couple greet guests over food, cake and dancingFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇱🇹 LithuaniaSaint Jonas's FestivalJoninės
A Lithuanian midsummer night of bonfires, wreaths, song and morning dewSeasonal
🇨🇳 Yining, China and 1 moreMeshrepمەشرەپ
A Uyghur gathering of music, poetry, dance and moral counsel at harvest and weddingsPerformance
🇺🇸 Hilo, United StatesMerrie Monarch Festival
A spring week of hula in Hilo, closing with three nights of competitionFestival
🇮🇳 Ahobilam, IndiaNarasimha Jayantiनरसिंहजयंती
A one-day Hindu festival marking Vishnu's man-lion avatar and the rescue of PrahladaSpiritual
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia and 1 moreHenna ceremonyليلة الحناء
A night of henna patterns on a bride's hands and feet, kept before the weddingRite of passage
🇮🇳 IndiaAhoi Ashtami
A day of fasting by Hindu mothers before Diwali, for their children's wellbeingFestival · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇨🇺 Santiago de Cuba, CubaCarnival of Santiago de CubaCarnaval
A summer street celebration of percussion troupes, dancing, and parades in eastern CubaFestival
🇧🇴 Oruro, Bolivia and 3 moreDiabladaDanza de los Diablos
An Andean masked dance depicting a battle between devils and the Archangel MichaelPerformance
🇪🇹 Addis Ababa, EthiopiaIrreechaIrreessa
A thanksgiving festival at sacred lakes in Oromia, Ethiopia, at the end of the rainsFestival
🇵🇰 PakistanShandur Polo Festivalشندور چوگان میلہ
A three-day mountain polo competition played with freestyle rules in northern PakistanGame
🇳🇵 Bhaktapur, NepalBiska Jatra𑐧𑐶𑐳𑑂𑐎𑐵𑑅 𑐖𑐵𑐟𑑂𑐬𑐵
An annual solar new year festival in Nepal with chariot pulls and tall wooden poles.Festival
🇮🇸 Iceland and 2 moreYuleġēol (Old English); jól (Old Norse)
The Germanic midwinter festival that Christmas grew out of, kept today by HeathensSpiritual
🇧🇬 Bulgaria and 5 moreMartenitsaмартеница
Red and white yarn dolls worn from 1 March until spring shows itselfFestival
🇹🇼 Taichung, TaiwanDajia Mazu Pilgrimage大甲媽祖遶境進香
A nine-day walking procession across central Taiwan honouring the sea goddess MazuSpiritual
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreSuper Bowl Sunday
The day the NFL championship is played, kept with gatherings and buffet foodFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇭🇺 Hungary and 1 morePentecostπεντηκοστή (pentēkostē)
The Christian feast of the Holy Spirit, kept fifty days after EasterSpiritual
🇱🇹 LithuaniaUžgavėnės
A Lithuanian winter-ending festival of masks, mock battles and pancakesFestival
🇮🇸 IcelandYule LadsJólasveinarnir
Thirteen mischievous brothers who visit Icelandic homes in the nights leading to Yule.Folklore
🇻🇳 Huế, VietnamTraditional Vietnamese wedding
A Vietnamese wedding: two families joined through proposal, engagement and ceremonyRite of passage
🇫🇯 Suva, FijiRatu Sir Lala Sukuna Day
An annual Fijian civic observance commemorating statesman Ratu Sir Lala SukunaCeremony
🇬🇪 GeorgiaBerikaobaბერიკაობა
An improvised Georgian folk theatre and masquerade of fertility, satire and dramaPerformance · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇳 IndiaSadyaസദ്യ
A vegetarian feast from Kerala, served on a banana leaf at Onam, Vishu and weddingsTable custom · Lunch
🇪🇸 Buñol, SpainLa Tomatina
A one-hour tomato fight in Buñol on the last Wednesday of AugustFestival
🇯🇵 Japan and 4 moreBodhi Day成道会
A Buddhist observance marking the enlightenment of Gautama Buddha under the Bodhi TreeSpiritual
🇫🇮 Helsinki, FinlandKalevala DayKalevalan päivä
A Finnish national flag day celebrating the country's epic poetry and living artsCeremony
🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago and 3 moreHosay
An Indo-Caribbean Muharram commemoration with ornate floats, drumming and processionsSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇪🇬 Thebes, EgyptBeautiful Festival of the Valleyhb nfr n jnt
An ancient Egyptian festival honouring the dead with river processions across ThebesSpiritual
🇬🇧 London, United Kingdom and 6 moreBoishakhi Melaবৈশাখী মেলা
A Bengali New Year fair in London each May, with a parade, music and food stallsFestival
🇱🇰 Mihintale, Sri LankaPoson
A Sri Lankan Buddhist festival marking the ancient arrival of Buddhism on the islandSpiritual
🇺🇦 Chernivtsi, Ukraine and 3 moreMalankaМаланка
A Ukrainian folk celebration of masked mummers, feasting and New Year blessingsFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇳🇴 NorwayBunad
Norway's festive dress, tied to a home district and worn from weddings to 17 MayDress
🇷🇸 Serbia and 3 moreKoloКоло
A South Slavic circle dance of linked hands, kept at weddings and gatheringsPerformance
🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreDoljanchi돌 (dol); 돌잔치 (doljanchi)
A Korean first-birthday rite where a baby picks an object that hints at the years aheadRite of passage
🇪🇨 Latacunga, EcuadorMama Negra
A twice-yearly festival in Latacunga blending Andean, Spanish and African heritageFestival
🇩🇪 Saalfeld, Germany and 5 moreEaster egg treeOstereierbaum
A German springtime custom of dressing living trees and branches with blown eggsFestival
🇻🇳 Hội An, VietnamTết Trung Thu節中秋
A mid-autumn festival of lanterns, mooncakes and folklore celebrated across VietnamFestival · Sweets given and shared
🇧🇧 BarbadosCrop Over
A Barbadian harvest festival marking the end of the sugar cane season with music and parades.Festival
🇹🇷 Edirne, TurkeyKırkpınar
A three-day Turkish oil wrestling contest near Edirne, held each June since 1360Game
🇯🇲 Montego Bay, JamaicaReggae Sumfest
An annual week-long reggae and dancehall music festival in Montego Bay, JamaicaFestival
🇱🇺 Luxembourg and 3 moreBuergbrennen
A bonfire festival marking the end of winter on the first Sunday of Lent in LuxembourgSeasonal
🇱🇻 Riga, LatviaZiemassvētki
Latvia's midwinter festival of solstice customs, mumming and tree decorationSeasonal
🇩🇪 Cologne, Germany and 2 moreGerman CarnivalKarneval
Pre-Lenten street parades, costume balls and local revels across German-speaking lands.Festival · Feasts and festival meals
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Sadya: Augustus Binu / facebook, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Cremà: Paula Ramírez Morant, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- German Carnival: Neva Micheva, CC BY 2.5, source
- Buergbrennen: luxpim, CC BY 2.0, source
- Reggae Sumfest: Psycler who is also known as AlfredMoya.com for Jamaica MAX, CC BY 3.0, source
- Tết Trung Thu: The imperial government of the Nguyễn Dynasty, French Indo-China., Public domain, source
- Easter egg tree: Frank schubert, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mama Negra: Agencia de Noticias ANDES, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Malanka: Viktoriyasechkar, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Poson: Hafiz Issadeen (YIM Hafiz), Dharga Town, Sri Lanka ( https://www.flick, CC BY 2.0, source
- Beautiful Festival of the Valley: Norman de Garis Davies, Nina Davies (2-dimensional 1 to 1 Copy of an 1, Public domain, source
- Hosay: Julius Eduard Muller, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kalevala Day: Vladimir Menkov, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Bodhi Day: Shirazibustan, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Yule Lads: Lusinemarg, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Užgavėnės: Algirdas at Lithuanian Wikipedia, GFDL, source
- Dajia Mazu Pilgrimage: Mazubobee, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Biska Jatra: Davide Mauro, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Shandur Polo Festival: Addden321, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Diablada: Elemaki, CC BY 3.0, source
- Carnival of Santiago de Cuba: Christian Pirkl, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Saint Jonas's Festival: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Día de la Tradición: GCBA, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Abissa: Michaelill16, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Boishakhi Mela: Ripon Miah, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Pentecost: See The Holy Land, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Martenitsa: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Irreecha: Mohammed Kassahun, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Super Bowl Sunday: Tech. Sgt. Steve Horton, U.S. Air Force, Public domain, source
- Kırkpınar: anonymous Greek artist, ca. 1809, Public domain, source
- Bunad: Wolfmann, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Merrie Monarch Festival: Allanbcool, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Narasimha Jayanti: anonymous, Public domain, source
- Wedding reception: Konstantin Makovsky, Public domain, source
- Meshrep: https://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingmipo/, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Henna ceremony: No author provided, CC0, source
- Traditional Vietnamese wedding: Gabrielle M. Vassal, Public domain, source
- La Tomatina: Graham McLellan, CC BY 2.0, source
- Ahoi Ashtami: आशीष भटनागर, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Yule: Robert Chambers, Public domain, source
- Kolo: Sasa.mazinjanin, Public domain, source
- Doljanchi: en:User:Jamsong, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Sorcova: The original uploader was Alex:D at Romanian Wikipedia ., Public domain, source
- Gaye holud: Arr4, CC BY-SA 4.0, source