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
🇬🇷 Athens, GreeceDionysiaΔιονύσια
Ancient Athenian festivals of theatre, processions and sacrifices in honour of the god Dionysus.Festival · Feasts and festival meals
🇬🇷 Nicopolis, Greece and 1 moreActiaἌκτια
A festival of music, sport, and naval displays kept in ancient times to honor a Roman emperor's victory.Festival
🇷🇴 RomaniaCapra
A New Year's ritual in Romania where a masked dancer visits homes to bring luck and predict the weather.Festival
🇦🇹 Austria and 2 morePerchten
Masked midwinter walks in the Alps, with carved wooden masks and sheepskinFolklore
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreMischief Night
An informal autumn evening of neighbourhood tricks, practical jokes and street pranksFestival
🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreRäucherkerze
A scented incense cone burned in German and Czech homes during the Christmas season to fill rooms with fragrance.Festival
🇵🇱 Poland and 3 morePodłaźniczka
A decorated evergreen branch hung over the Christmas Eve table in Poland and SlovakiaFestival
🇷🇴 Bucharest, Romania and 2 moreCaloian
A Romanian rainmaking and fertility ritual centered on the creation, funeral, and rebirth of a clay effigy.Festival
🇬🇧 Worldham, United Kingdom and 5 moreJalsa Salanaجلسہ سالانہ
A three-day annual assembly for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, featuring lectures, prayers and communal meals.Festival · Feasts and festival meals
🇸🇪 Sweden and 2 moreSaint Knut's DayTjugondag Knut
A Nordic holiday marking the twentieth and final day of Christmas each JanuarySeasonal · Sweets given and shared
🇮🇹 Italy and 2 moreFeast of Saint Thomas Aquinas
An annual Christian feast day honouring the medieval theologian Saint Thomas AquinasSpiritual
🇮🇹 Avezzano, ItalyFeast of the Madonna di PietraquariaMadonna di Pietraquaria
A three-day spring festival in Avezzano marked by neighborhood bonfires, a street fair, and a mountain-to-city processioFestival
🇪🇸 Córdoba, Spain and 5 moreFiesta de las Cruces
A May festival where communities decorate crosses with flowers and crafts to celebrate faith and local heritage.Festival
🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreSaint Nicholas
Boots out on 6 December: sweets for good children, a switch for the restFestival · Sweets given and shared
🇱🇺 Luxembourg City, Luxembourg and 3 moreOktavMuttergottesoktav
A two-week annual Marian pilgrimage and festival in Luxembourg CitySpiritual · Tea-time and snacking customs
🇩🇰 Copenhagen, DenmarkCopenhagen Distortion
A week of street parties, club nights and a rave in Copenhagen celebrating new dance music.Festival
🇫🇷 Paris, FranceNyansapo Festival
A French festival celebrating Black feminism and empowering diasporic women.Festival
🇽🇰 Prizren, KosovoDokuFest
An annual summer gathering in Prizren dedicated to non-fiction cinema and short filmsFestival
🇮🇹 Gubbio, Italy and 1 moreSaint Ubaldo DayFesta dei Ceri
A May procession in Gubbio where three teams carry tall wooden ceri to a hilltop basilicaSpiritual
🇬🇧 United KingdomHarvest Festival
An autumn thanksgiving for the crops, kept in churches and schools across the UKSeasonal · Supper
🇮🇹 Montepulciano, ItalyBravio delle botti
An annual uphill wine barrel race between the eight historic districts of MontepulcianoGame
🇬🇧 Ashbourne, United Kingdom and 1 moreRoyal Shrovetide Football
A medieval mob football game played in Ashbourne on Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday.Game
🇭🇺 Miskolc, HungaryKocsonya FestivalKocsonyafesztivál
An annual winter food and culture festival held in Miskolc, HungaryFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇬🇧 United KingdomWelsh danceDawns Gymreig
Traditional dances of Wales, known for their athletic steps and revival after a period of decline.Performance
🇭🇷 CroatiaBadnjakBadnji dan
A Christmas Eve oak log burned in the hearth across Croatia to welcome the holiday.Festival · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇮🇹 Pantelleria, ItalyVite ad alberello of Pantelleria
A traditional low-bush vine training system kept on the Italian island of Pantelleria for thousands of years.Craft
🇪🇪 Kuremaa, EstoniaJõgevatreff
An annual international motorcycle festival held in Kuremaa, EstoniaFestival
🇨🇿 Prague, CzechiaPrague SoundsStruny podzimu
An annual music festival in Prague presenting jazz, classical and electronic artistsFestival
🇭🇷 Hvar, CroatiaZa križen
A night procession on Hvar island where six villages walk simultaneously to honor the cross.Spiritual
🇩🇰 Copenhagen, DenmarkNatFilm Festival
An annual Danish cinema gathering held around Easter from 1990 to 2008Performance
🇪🇸 Madrid, Spain and 4 moreFeast of Saint Isidore the LaborerFiestas de San Isidro Labrador
A May festival honoring the patron saint of farmers, marked by processions and harvest gratitude in Spain and former colFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇩🇪 Weingarten, Germany and 1 moreBlutritt
An equestrian pilgrimage across southern Germany honoring a relic of the Holy BloodSpiritual
🇪🇪 Tartu, EstoniaTartuff
An open-air romance film festival held in the town hall square of Tartu, EstoniaPerformance
🇩🇪 Munich, GermanyO'zapft is!
The civic barrel-tapping ceremony that officially launches Munich's OktoberfestCeremony · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇲🇰 Bitola, North MacedoniaManaki Brothers Film Festival
An annual international festival in Bitola honouring the craft of cinematographyFestival
🇷🇺 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
🇪🇸 Spain and 1 moreFlabiol
A Catalan woodwind flute played alongside a small drum in folk dancesPerformance
🇫🇷 Paris, FranceParis CarnivalCarnaval de Paris
An annual street celebration and costume procession across ParisFestival
🇪🇸 Valencia, Spain and 2 morePeineta
A curved decorative comb worn by women beneath a lace mantilla in the Hispanic worldDress
🇧🇬 BulgariaSurvakaneСурвакане
A Bulgarian New Year ritual where children tap family members with decorated branches to wish them health and prosperityFestival
🇮🇹 Palermo, ItalyFeast of Saint RosaliaFestino di Santa Rosalia
An annual July festival in Palermo honouring the patron saint who ended the plague.Festival
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreScottish folk music
Traditional ballads, fiddle tunes and bagpipe melodies from Scotland and its diasporaPerformance
🇮🇹 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
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreTsiknopemptiΤσικνοπέμπτη
A Greek Carnival feast of grilled meats held on the second to last Thursday before Lent.Festival · Dinner
🇬🇷 GreeceKalanta ChristougenonΚάλαντα Χριστουγέννων
A Greek Christmas carol, sung around the feast with triangle and guitarPerformance
🇸🇰 SlovakiaJasličkári
A Slovak Christmas custom of young men acting out the Nativity from house to houseFestival
🇵🇹 PortugalMissas do Parto
Nine morning Masses in Madeira that follow Mary through the last days of her pregnancySpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇹 Rome, ItalyVenus Verticordia
A Roman cult of Venus as the turner of hearts, kept by married womenSpiritual
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
- Venus Verticordia: kladcat, CC BY 2.0, source
- Fiesta de las Cruces: Michelangelo-36, Public domain, source
- Saint Ubaldo Day: Marco Riccardini, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Vite ad alberello of Pantelleria: Luca Volpi, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Welsh dance: Geoff Charles, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Royal Shrovetide Football: Adrian Roebuck, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mischief Night: Roseohioresident, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Dionysia: Unknown artist, Public domain, source
- Missas do Parto: Porto Bay Events, CC BY 2.0, source
- Feast of Saint Mark: No machine-readable author provided. Cremedia assumed (based on copyri, Public domain, source
- Flabiol: P0mbal, CC0, source
- Actia: Flavius Hermogenes at English Wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Capra: Michał Elwiro Andriolli, Public domain, source
- Caloian: Costică Acsinte Archive, No restrictions, source
- Jõgevatreff: Aleksei Malogin, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Za križen: E.mil.mil, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Perchten: Anita Martinz, CC BY 2.0, source
- Feast of Saint Isidore the Laborer: Ángel Lizcano Monedero, Public domain, source
- Blutritt: Joseph Bayer, Public domain, source
- Tartuff: Tusklikupreili, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Räucherkerze: Richard Huber, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- O'zapft is!: Michael Lucan, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, source
- Manaki Brothers Film Festival: US Embassy, Macedonia, Public domain, source
- George's Day in Autumn: Sergey Ivanov, Public domain, source
- Paris Carnival: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Peineta: Hiart, CC0, source
- Feast of Saint Rosalia: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Scottish folk music: Kim Traynor, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tsiknopempti: C messier, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Podłaźniczka: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Jalsa Salana: Ceddyfresse, Public domain, source
- Feast of Saint Thomas Aquinas: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Feast of the Madonna di Pietraquaria: Marica Massaro, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Saint Nicholas: Chmee2, CC BY 3.0, source
- Oktav: Daderot, CC0, source
- DokuFest: Fallbackintoreality, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Harvest Festival: Derek Harper, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Badnjak: Vidonjac, CC BY 2.0, source