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
🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreMizmarمزمار
A traditional double-reed instrument and drum ensemble for weddings and folk dancesPerformance
🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro, BrazilRio CarnivalCarnaval do Rio de Janeiro
Five days of samba parades, costumes and street parties in Rio, ending at LentFestival
🇴🇲 Salalah, Oman and 3 moreKhareefخَرِيْف
The monsoon season of Dhofar and Al Mahrah, welcomed with a festival in SalalahSeasonal
🇮🇪 Dublin, Ireland and 2 moreIrish stepdance
A percussive dance form with swift, intricate footwork and an upright torsoPerformance
🇹🇼 Yilan, Taiwan and 4 moreTaiwanese opera歌仔戲
A Taiwanese theatrical art of Hokkien balladry, stylized staging, and expressive song.Performance
🇺🇸 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
🇮🇳 Kolkata, India and 1 moreSindur Khelaসিঁদুর খেলা
A Bengali Hindu ritual where married women apply vermilion to each other on Vijayadashami.Festival
🇲🇦 Marrakesh, Morocco and 5 moreGnawa musicڭْناوة or كْناوة
A spiritual musical tradition of Morocco that blends West African rhythms with Islamic ritual to heal and connect communPerformance
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreLion dance舞獅
A dynamic ritual dance featuring costumed lions, drums and martial acrobaticsPerformance
🇲🇽 San Salvador Huixcolotla, Mexico and 1 morePapel picado
A Mexican folk art of cutting intricate designs into tissue paper for festive and spiritual displays.Festival
🇩🇲 Dominica and 4 moreBéléBèlè
A Caribbean drum, call-and-response song, and courtship dance traditionPerformance
🇵🇭 PhilippinesPandanggo
A lively Philippine folk dance of quick steps, clapping and balanced lightsPerformance
🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreMaifest
A traditional German celebration marking the arrival of spring with decorated maypolesFestival
🇼🇸 Samoa and 3 moreWhite SundayLotu Tamaiti
A Samoan holiday honoring children with church services, white clothing, and family gatherings on the second Sunday of OFestival · Dinner
🇳🇬 Osogbo, NigeriaOsun-Osogbo FestivalOsun-Osogbo
An annual Yoruba festival of cleansing, procession and sacrifice to the river goddess Osun in Osogbo, Nigeria.Festival
🇳🇿 New ZealandTivaevaetīvaevae
A traditional Polynesian art of artistic quilting made by women for gifts and ceremonies.Craft
🇧🇷 BrazilBaião
A syncopated folk rhythm and partnered dance from northeastern BrazilPerformance
🇳🇴 Bergen, NorwayBuekorps
Youth marching groups of Bergen's neighbourhoods, with drums, banners and a May paradeCeremony
🇮🇳 Jammu, IndiaBhangra
A Punjabi harvest dance, first kept by farmers and now performed worldwidePerformance
🇪🇸 Pamplona, Spain and 3 moreRunning of the bullsencierro
Runners sprint ahead of loose bulls through barricaded town streets in summerFestival
🇧🇯 Porto-Novo, Benin and 3 moreZangbeto
A traditional security institution and night-guardian cult among the Ogu people of West Africa.Ceremony
🇩🇰 Copenhagen, DenmarkFaroese chain danceFøroyskur dansur
A living medieval chain dance guided by sung ballads in the Faroe IslandsPerformance
🇹🇷 Kayseri, Turkey and 4 moreHalay
A traditional line and circle folk dance kept across Turkey, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Iran, and Syria.Performance
🇺🇸 New York, United States and 2 moreSalsa
A lively Latin partner dance rooted in Afro-Caribbean rhythms and social dance traditionsPerformance
🇬🇧 Pilton, United KingdomGlastonbury Festival
A five-day summer performing arts festival held on Somerset farmlandFestival
🇱🇨 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
🇸🇦 Saudi ArabiaArdahالعرضة
A traditional Arabian group dance of facing lines, drums, poetry, and swordsPerformance
🇲🇿 Island of Mozambique, MozambiqueTufo
A women's dance of northern Mozambique, performed at Islamic feasts to drums and songPerformance
🇸🇳 Senegal and 1 moreKumpo
A palm-leaf figure of the Diola, danced at village festivals to urge good conductFolklore
🇯🇵 Kishiwada, JapanKishiwada Danjiri Matsuri岸和田だんじり祭
A high-speed festival of wooden shrine floats pulled through Kishiwada, JapanFestival
🇧🇲 Hamilton, BermudaBermuda Day
A public holiday in Bermuda marking the start of summer activities with a parade and road race.Festival
🇮🇪 Dublin, Ireland and 2 moreIrish traditional music
A living folk practice of dance tunes, airs, songs and communal pub sessionsPerformance
🇱🇧 Lebanon and 4 moreDabkeدبكة
A Levantine folk dance of linked lines and stomping steps, kept at weddings and community gatherings.Performance
🇨🇱 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
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreApril Fools' Day
An annual day of lighthearted pranks, hoaxes and teasing kept on the first of AprilFestival
🇪🇪 EstoniaJaanipäev
Estonia's midsummer night of bonfires, song and fortune-telling, on 23 and 24 JuneFestival
🇰🇷 Seoul, South KoreaTemplestay템플스테이
A program that invites visitors to live in South Korean Buddhist temples and join the daily routines of monastic life.Spiritual · Dinner
🇳🇿 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
🇬🇭 Ghana and 2 moreAgbadza
An Ewe music and dance, born of war songs and kept for funerals, weddings and festivalsPerformance
🇯🇵 Aomori, JapanAomori Nebuta Matsuri青森ねぶた祭
A summer festival in Aomori featuring large warrior floats and dancing participants.Festival
🇦🇷 Córdoba, ArgentinaCuarteto
An upbeat partner dance and music tradition born in Córdoba, ArgentinaPerformance
🇱🇦 Laos and 1 moreBaciບາສີ (Lao)
A Lao rite that calls the soul home and ties a thread on the wrist for good luckSpiritual
🇬🇪 Tbilisi, Georgia and 4 moreGeorgian polyphonic singing
Several voices at once, sung without instruments at Georgian feasts and weddingsPerformance
🇺🇸 Boise, United States and 3 moreBasque festivalEuskal jaiak
Gatherings of dance, sport and food that keep Basque culture alive far from homeFestival
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreBarn raising
A communal tradition where neighbours assemble to erect a farm barn in a few daysCraft · Lunch
🇮🇱 Jerusalem, Israel and 5 moreHoly FireἋγιον Φῶς
A fire ceremony in Jerusalem each year, kept by Orthodox Christians before EasterSpiritual
🇮🇪 Ireland and 2 moreJack-o'-lantern
A carved pumpkin lantern lit with a candle to brighten and protect Halloween nightsFolklore
🇧🇷 BrazilForró
Music, dance and party from Brazil's Northeast, with accordion, triangle and zabumba drumPerformance
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
- Halay: Post of Moldova, Public domain, source
- Bhangra: Jimmysekhon25, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Agbadza: JY midey, CC BY-SA 4.0, 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
- Rio Carnival: Sergio Luiz, CC BY 2.0, source
- Kumpo: Pietervp, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tufo: JCPBFerreira, 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
- Holy Fire: William Holman Hunt, Public domain, source
- Jaanipäev: Jaan Künnap, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Barn raising: Alexander W. Galbraith, Public domain, source
- Khareef: May Paulose, CC BY 2.0, source
- Cueca: Manuel Antonio Caro, Public domain, source
- Baci: Dalbera, CC BY 2.0, source
- Glastonbury Festival: Czampal, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kishiwada Danjiri Matsuri: Kounosu, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ardah: Abodi009, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- April Fools' Day: Lars Andersen, Public domain, source
- Irish traditional music: Gtapp, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Faroese chain dance: Eileen Sandá, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tivaevae: John Colles Burland, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Salsa: Edil Villa, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Saint Patrick's Day in the United States: White House/Chuck Kennedy, Public domain, source
- Taiwanese opera: Sean Chiu, CC BY 4.0, source
- Mizmar: dalbera, CC BY 2.0, source
- Pandanggo: John Charlton, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Irish stepdance: John Benson, CC BY 2.0, source
- Māori Language Week: Government House (New Zealand) https://gg.govt.nz/copyright-and-licens, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Papel picado: Ferfive, CC BY 4.0, source
- Lion dance: Alfresco24, CC BY 3.0, source
- Dabke: Sarah Canbel, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sindur Khela: Diganta Talukdar, CC BY 4.0, source
- Templestay: (c)한국불교문화사업단, culturalcorpsofkoreanbuddhism, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Zangbeto: Grete Howard, CC BY 3.0, source
- Gnawa music: Lucyin, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Osun-Osogbo Festival: Cheeka 2.0, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Aomori Nebuta Matsuri: Fisherman, CC BY-SA 3.0, source