All traditions
2,237 traditions so far, best known first. 12,423 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
🇼🇸 Samoa and 1 moreʻIe tōga
Precious woven mats exchanged in Samoan ceremonies to honor family ties and chiefly status.Dress
🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreMaifest
A traditional German celebration marking the arrival of spring with decorated maypolesFestival
🇩🇲 Dominica and 4 moreBéléBèlè
A Caribbean drum, call-and-response song, and courtship dance traditionPerformance
🇺🇬 UgandaKwanjula
A formal marriage introduction ritual of the Baganda people in Uganda, where families meet to exchange gifts and seek blRite of passage
🇫🇷 France and 4 morePicnic
A meal taken outdoors in a park or scenic spot, often shared with friends and family.Festival · Lunch
🇳🇬 Ibadan, Nigeria and 1 moreYoruba naming ceremonyÌkòlọ́pọ̀ Orúkọ Yorùbá
A rite of passage where a newborn receives a destiny name through divination and family celebration.Rite of passage · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇪 Ireland and 4 moreTrick-or-treating
A custom where children visit homes in costume to ask for treats or face a playful prank.Festival · Sweets given and shared
🇮🇩 IndonesiaOgoh-ogohᬳᭀᬕᭀᬄᬳᭀᬕᭀᬄ
Giant handcrafted statues paraded and burned on the eve of the Balinese Saka New YearFestival
🇹🇻 TuvaluMusic of Tuvalu
Rhythmic storytelling dances and choral singing from the Polynesian atolls of TuvaluPerformance
🇹🇲 Ashgabat, Turkmenistan and 2 moreTurkmen rugTürkmen haly
Handmade textiles woven by Turkmen tribes, featuring geometric patterns and natural dyes.Craft
🇰🇬 Cholpon-Ata, Kyrgyzstan and 2 moreWorld Nomad GamesДүйнөлүк көчмөндөр оюндары
A two-yearly contest of Central Asian nomadic sports, first staged in Kyrgyzstan in 2014Game
🇼🇸 Samoa and 3 moreSiva Samoa
A graceful Samoan dance marked by subtle, expressive arm and hand movementsPerformance
🇲🇦 Tan-Tan, MoroccoTan-Tan Moussem
An annual gathering of Saharan nomadic tribes with music, trading and equestrian artsFestival
🇮🇳 Thrissur, IndiaPulikaliപുലിക്കളി
Painted tigers and leopards dance through Thrissur on the fourth day of OnamPerformance
🇬🇷 Athens, Greece and 1 moreTsamikoΤσάμικος
A slow Greek folk dance performed in a line or circle to 3/4 time music.Performance
🇺🇸 United StatesNalukataq
A spring whaling festival of the Iñupiat in Northern Alaska, featuring a blanket toss and communal feast.Festival · Feasts and festival meals
🇳🇿 Auckland, New ZealandMāori Language WeekTe Wiki o te Reo Māori
An annual nationwide week promoting the learning and use of te reo across New ZealandCeremony
🇱🇨 Saint Lucia and 1 moreJounen Kwéyòl
A day of Creole food, music and dress in Saint Lucia and Dominica, kept each OctoberFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreChristmas carol
Festive songs and hymns sung during the Christmas season and door to doorPerformance
🇬🇪 Tbilisi, Georgia and 4 moreGeorgian polyphonic singing
Several voices at once, sung without instruments at Georgian feasts and weddingsPerformance
🇺🇸 Falcon Heights, United StatesMinnesota State Fair
Minnesota's twelve-day fair of farm animals, contests and food, ending on Labor DayFestival
🇪🇸 Pamplona, Spain and 3 moreRunning of the bullsencierro
Runners sprint ahead of loose bulls through barricaded town streets in summerFestival
🇵🇭 Philippines and 1 morePangalay
A traditional fingernail dance of the Tausūg and Bajau peoples in the Sulu Archipelago and Sabah.Performance
🇨🇳 China and 3 moreDragon dance舞龍 / 舞龙
A long dragon puppet on poles, danced by a team at Chinese New Year and other festivalsPerformance
🇳🇿 New ZealandTivaevaetīvaevae
A traditional Polynesian art of artistic quilting made by women for gifts and ceremonies.Craft
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreDandiya Raas
A stick dance from Gujarat performed in pairs during the festival of NavaratriPerformance
🇳🇪 In-Gall, NigerCure Salée
A yearly gathering of Tuareg and Wodaabe nomads in In-Gall to mark the end of the rainy season.Festival
🇺🇸 New Orleans, United StatesKrewe
Carnival clubs that stage parades, balls, and pageantry along the Gulf CoastFestival
🇭🇹 Haiti and 1 moreRara
A Haitian street music of bamboo trumpets and drums, played in the Easter seasonPerformance
🇺🇸 New Orleans, United StatesSecond line
A New Orleans parade where clubs march and a crowd dances along behind the bandFestival
🇯🇵 Kishiwada, JapanKishiwada Danjiri Matsuri岸和田だんじり祭
A high-speed festival of wooden shrine floats pulled through Kishiwada, JapanFestival
🇦🇴 AngolaSemba
A traditional style of music and partner dance from AngolaPerformance
🇳🇬 Calabar, NigeriaCalabar Carnival
An annual December street festival and cultural gathering held in Calabar, NigeriaFestival
🇲🇲 Bagan, MyanmarNat worshipနတ်
Veneration of guardian spirits and nature deities alongside Buddhism in MyanmarSpiritual
🇨🇱 Santiago, Chile and 3 moreCueca
A courtship dance of Chile and the Andes where partners trace circles with handkerchiefs to mimic a rooster and hen.Performance
🇵🇷 Ponce, Puerto Rico and 1 morePlena
Puerto Rican folk songs and dance sharing community news with rhythmic frame drumsPerformance
🇮🇪 Dublin, Ireland and 2 moreIrish traditional music
A living folk practice of dance tunes, airs, songs and communal pub sessionsPerformance
🇧🇹 Thimphu, BhutanArchery in Bhutanམདའ (da)
Bhutan's national sport, played with bamboo bows at targets 145 metres awayGame
🇴🇲 Salalah, Oman and 3 moreKhareefخَرِيْف
The monsoon season of Dhofar and Al Mahrah, welcomed with a festival in SalalahSeasonal
🇧🇷 BrazilForró
Music, dance and party from Brazil's Northeast, with accordion, triangle and zabumba drumPerformance
🇹🇿 Zanzibar, TanzaniaSauti za Busara
A February meeting of musicians in Zanzibar's Old FortPerformance
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreBarn raising
A communal tradition where neighbours assemble to erect a farm barn in a few daysCraft · Lunch
🇬🇧 Cardiff, United KingdomNational Eisteddfod of WalesEisteddfod Genedlaethol Cymru
An annual week-long festival of Welsh music, poetry and culture held across different locations in Wales.Festival
🇳🇴 Bergen, NorwayBuekorps
Youth marching groups of Bergen's neighbourhoods, with drums, banners and a May paradeCeremony
🇮🇳 Mumbai, IndiaLalbaugcha Raja
A Mumbai Ganesha festival where millions seek blessings before ocean immersionSpiritual
🇺🇸 Boise, United States and 3 moreBasque festivalEuskal jaiak
Gatherings of dance, sport and food that keep Basque culture alive far from homeFestival
🇮🇪 Ireland and 2 moreJack-o'-lantern
A carved pumpkin lantern lit with a candle to brighten and protect Halloween nightsFolklore
🇮🇱 Israel and 3 moreDreidelדרײדל (Yiddish); סביבון (Hebrew)
A four-sided top spun for small stakes, most often by Jewish families at HanukkahGame
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Jack-o'-lantern: Toby Ord, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- ʻIe tōga: Sarah Kelemen, CC BY 2.0, source
- Trick-or-treating: Toyah Anette B, Public domain, source
- Pangalay: BrokenSphere, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Cure Salée: NigerTZai, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Picnic: Thomas Cole, Public domain, source
- World Nomad Games: Save the Dream, CC BY 2.0, source
- Pulikali: Felix Francis, CC BY 2.0, source
- Dragon dance: Caseman, Public domain, source
- Second line: Infrogmation of New Orleans, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Archery in Bhutan: muddum27, CC BY 2.0, source
- Running of the bulls: The original uploader was Bernard bill5 at Dutch Wikipedia . Later ver, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Chichilaki: Mostafameraji, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Buekorps: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Forró: As fotos da Virada!, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Basque festival: Ken Lund, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Barn raising: Alexander W. Galbraith, Public domain, source
- Dreidel: Adiel lo, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Rara: Lombinodr Alfonso Lomba, CC BY 3.0, source
- Khareef: May Paulose, CC BY 2.0, source
- Minnesota State Fair: Jonathunder at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Cueca: Manuel Antonio Caro, Public domain, source
- Plena: Raylaur15, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Semba: Thesupermat, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Christmas carol: Prathyush Thomas, GFDL 1.2, source
- Music of Tuvalu: Avenue, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kishiwada Danjiri Matsuri: Kounosu, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Irish traditional music: Gtapp, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Dandiya Raas: User:psubhashish, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tivaevae: John Colles Burland, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Calabar Carnival: Raji kunle, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Krewe: Tim Ross, Public domain, source
- Nat worship: Emily Khine, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ogoh-ogoh: Simondodit, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Siva Samoa: Smita Biswas, CC BY 4.0, source
- Māori Language Week: Government House (New Zealand) https://gg.govt.nz/copyright-and-licens, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Lalbaugcha Raja: ninadism, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Tan-Tan Moussem: Максим Массалитин (Maxim Massalitin), CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- National Eisteddfod of Wales: Llywelyn2000, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Turkmen rug: AltynAsyr, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Nalukataq: Floyd Davidson, CC BY-SA 3.0, source