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
🇮🇳 Chandigarh, India and 3 moreGuru Nanak Gurpurabਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ ਗੁਰਪੁਰਬ
The birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, kept with processions, hymns and a shared mealSpiritual
🇵🇰 PakistanDefence Dayیومِ دفاع
Pakistan's national day for its soldiers, kept each 6 September with parades and tributesCeremony
🇮🇳 Delhi, IndiaChildren's Day
An annual Indian celebration of children and their welfare held on 14 NovemberCeremony
🇵🇰 PakistanSindhi Cultural Dayسنڌي ثقافتي ڏھاڙو
An annual December celebration of Sindhi heritage, music, and traditional attireFestival
🇮🇳 Thrissur, IndiaPooram
An annual Kerala temple festival with percussion orchestras, elephants and fireworksFestival
🇮🇳 Imphal, India and 2 moreLai Haraobaꯂꯥꯏ ꯍꯔꯥꯎꯕ
A ritual dance and music festival kept by the Meitei people to please their deities.Festival
🇮🇳 Santiniketan, India and 1 moreRabindra Jayanti
An annual Bengali festival celebrating Rabindranath Tagore with music, drama and verseFestival
🇮🇳 IndiaVidyarambhamविद्यारम्भ
A Hindu rite of passage introducing young children to reading, writing and the artsRite of passage
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreJur Sitalजुड़ शीतल
The first day of the Maithil year, kept with a rice meal, gifts and water blessingsSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreFirst haircut
A rite of passage marking a child's first shave or trim across many cultures and faiths.Rite of passage
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreMayian
A pre-wedding cleansing ritual in Punjabi traditions, using turmeric paste to prepare the couple for marriage.Rite of passage
🇮🇳 IndiaShamianaশামিয়ানা (Bengali); شامیانہ (Urdu)
A ceremonial tent of cloth and wooden poles, raised for weddings, feasts and partiesFestival
🇮🇳 Chabbi (Chebbi), IndiaChabbi Ganapathi
A three-day Ganesha festival kept by seven households in a Karnataka village since 1827Festival
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreMadhushravaniमधुश्रावणी
A fifteen-day Mithila festival of fasting, worship and song for newly married bridesSpiritual
🇮🇳 Thiruvananthapuram, IndiaPongala
A harvest offering of sweet rice porridge prepared by millions of women in South IndiaFestival · Sweets given and shared
🇮🇳 Chennai, IndiaMadras Music Season
Nine weeks of Carnatic concerts in Chennai, from mid-November to JanuaryPerformance
🇮🇳 IndiaJiuntia
An autumn festival of western Odisha, kept in two forms by mothers and by sistersSpiritual
🇮🇳 IndiaDhundhढुन्ढ
A Hindu ritual in Rajasthan where infants are symbolically married to Holika on Holi to ward off mischief.Festival
🇮🇳 Thiruvananthapuram, IndiaAttukal Pongala
A ten-day Hindu festival in Kerala where millions of women cook rice offerings in earthen pots for the goddess.Festival
🇮🇳 IndiaKaradaiyan Nonbuகாரடையான் நோன்பு
A Tamil Hindu festival where women fast and pray for the long life of their husbands.Festival · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇮🇳 Mumbai, IndiaWeddings in India
Marriage rites and festive gatherings celebrated across the diverse communities of India.Rite of passage
🇮🇳 Chennai, IndiaIndian Christian DayYeshu Bhakti Divas
An annual Indian day of remembrance for the arrival of Christianity in 52 AD and the life of Jesus Christ.Festival
🇮🇳 IndiaPrathamastami
An Odia ritual blessing the firstborn child for long life and good fortuneRite of passage
🇮🇳 India and 1 morePunjabi wedding traditions
The multi-day marriage customs and rituals of Hindu and Sikh Punjabi familiesRite of passage · Sweets given and shared
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreUrs-e-Razaviعرس اعلی حضرت
A three-day annual Sufi gathering honouring the legacy of Imam Ahmad Raza KhanSpiritual
🇮🇳 IndiaIndian wedding clothes
Traditional attire worn by couples and guests during Indian wedding ceremonies across various regions.Dress
🇱🇰 Colombo, Sri LankaColombo Pride
An annual LGBTQ+ pride parade and festival held in Colombo, Sri Lanka.Festival
🇮🇳 Palani, India and 1 moreSurasamharamSūrasaṃhāram
A temple performance of Murugan's victory, ending the week-long Kanda Shashti fastSpiritual
🇳🇵 NepalPatukaपटुका
A traditional Nepalese cloth sash worn for core support, carrying items and festivitiesDress
🇧🇹 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
🇮🇳 IndiaParashurama Jayantiपरशुरामजयंती (Paraśurāmajayantī)
A Hindu day of fasting and worship marking Parashurama's birth on Akshaya TritiyaSpiritual
🇮🇳 Mumbai, IndiaAgeraआगेरा
Mumbai's East Indian Catholics give thanks for the harvest on the first Sunday of OctoberFestival
🇮🇳 Lucknow, IndiaBada Mangal
A Tuesday festival in Lucknow dedicated to Hanuman, known for communal feasts and interfaith participation.Festival · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇳 Khatushyam, IndiaPhalguna Mela
A temple fair before Holi, kept with flags, bhajans and shared foodSpiritual
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Defence Day: Faizanbokhari at English Wikipedia (I shot this picture myself.), Public domain, source
- Pongala: Sreeraj Krishna, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kavadi Aattam: Raja Ravi Varma, Public domain, source
- Madras Music Season: Martin spaink, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Lai Haraoba: Kullachandra Singh, Ngariyambam, CC0, source
- Jur Sital: PCNWorld at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Shamiana: Badri Seshadri, CC BY 2.0, source
- Parashurama Jayanti: Rajasekhar1961, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Pooram: Augustus Binu : flickr, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- First haircut: https://www.flickr.com/people/69061470@N05, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mayian: Rakzika, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Attukal Pongala: Maheshsudhakar, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Weddings in India: Jaisingh Rathore, CC BY 2.5, source
- Indian Christian Day: Aadhanvendhan, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Prathamastami: Swetabiswal, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Punjabi wedding traditions: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Indian wedding clothes: Lee Jordan, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Guru Nanak Gurpurab: Giridhar Appaji Nag Y, CC BY 2.0, source
- Children's Day: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Rabindra Jayanti: Generalstabens litografiska anstalt, Public domain, source
- Sindhi Cultural Day: Jogi don, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Agera: Tiven Gonsalves, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Bada Mangal: Prabhat1729, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Chabbi Ganapathi: Reema Jalihal, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Madhushravani: Monika Jha, CC0, source