All traditions
2,256 traditions so far, best known first. 12,378 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
🇮🇹 Rome, Italy and 4 moreChristmas
A festival of Jesus's birth, kept on 25 December with gifts, lights and shared mealsFestival
🇮🇪 Ireland and 5 moreHalloween
An annual observance on 31 October marking the eve of All Saints' Day, rooted in Christian tradition and Celtic heritageFestival · Sweets given and shared
🇮🇹 Rome, Italy and 4 moreValentine's Day
A Christian feast day and cultural celebration of love kept on February 14 in many countries.Festival
🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreChristmas tree
A decorated evergreen or artificial tree placed indoors to mark the Christmas season.Festival
🇵🇱 Poland and 5 moreChristmas Eve
The evening before Christmas, marked by church services, family meals, and gift preparations across Christian cultures.Festival · Dinner
🇪🇸 Valencia, Spain and 5 moreFeast of Corpus ChristiCorpus Domini
A Christian feast celebrating the presence of Christ in the bread and wine of the EucharistSpiritual
🇫🇷 France and 5 moreCandlemas
A Christian feast of candle blessings marking the end of the Christmas seasonSpiritual
🇩🇪 Germany and 2 moreStammtisch
A weekly gathering of regulars at a reserved table in a pub or restaurant for conversation and community.Etiquette
🇵🇹 Lisbon, PortugalMarchas Populares
Neighbourhood teams march, dance and sing through Lisbon's June nights for St AnthonyFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇵🇱 Poland and 2 morePolonaisePolonez
A traditional Polish partner dance in triple metre, kept as a national custom and UNESCO heritage.Performance
🇬🇧 Hinton St George, United KingdomPunkie Night
A Somerset Halloween custom where children carry mangelwurzel lanterns and sing for candles.Festival
🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreMaifest
A traditional German celebration marking the arrival of spring with decorated maypolesFestival
🇬🇧 Lerwick, United KingdomUp Helly Aa
A Shetland fire festival with torch processions and a burning Viking ship to close the winter season.Festival
🇮🇪 Ireland and 5 moreFleadh CheoilFleadh Cheoil na hÉireann
An annual gathering of Irish traditional music and dance, featuring competitions, public sessions, and concerts across IPerformance
🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreName day
A calendar tradition where people celebrate the feast day of the saint after whom they are named.Festival
🇪🇸 Seville, SpainSevillanas
A folk dance and song from Seville, kept at fairs and festivals across Andalusia.Performance
🇪🇪 EstoniaJaanipäev
An Estonian midsummer festival marking the shortest night with bonfires, songs and independence memories.Festival
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreApple bobbing
A Halloween game where players try to catch floating apples with their teeth.Game
🇬🇧 Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom and 5 moreRapper sword
A fast-paced five-person sword dance from the coalfields of North East England, kept alive by teams worldwide.Performance
🇺🇦 Chernivtsi, Ukraine and 5 moreVyshyvanka DayДень вишиванки
An annual day for wearing traditional Ukrainian embroidered shirts across the worldDress
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreMumming
A medieval European custom of masked house-to-house visits, performances and seasonal revelry.Festival
🇫🇷 Paris, France and 3 moreFête de la Musique
An annual celebration where people play music in public spaces on the summer solstice.Festival
🇳🇴 Bergen, NorwayBuekorps
Youth marching groups of Bergen's neighbourhoods, with drums, banners and a May paradeCeremony
🇬🇧 Pilton, United KingdomGlastonbury Festival
A five-day summer performing arts festival held on Somerset farmlandFestival
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreApril Fools' Day
An annual day of lighthearted pranks, hoaxes and teasing kept on the first of AprilFestival
🇩🇰 Copenhagen, DenmarkFaroese chain danceFøroyskur dansur
A living medieval chain dance guided by sung ballads in the Faroe IslandsPerformance
🇸🇪 Sweden and 3 moreAdventadventus
A four-week Christian season of waiting and preparation for Christmas and the Second Coming.Festival
🇬🇷 Athens, Greece and 1 moreSirtakiσυρτάκι
A Greek folk dance created for a 1964 film that blends slow and fast rhythms into a single performance.Performance
🇮🇪 Waterford, IrelandPatternpátrún
A parish feast honoring a patron saint, marked by prayers at holy wells and local gatherings in Ireland.Spiritual
🇮🇪 Dublin, Ireland and 2 moreIrish stepdance
A percussive dance form with swift, intricate footwork and an upright torsoPerformance
🇬🇧 South Queensferry, United KingdomThe Burryman
A man clad in burdock burrs walks a Scottish town for a day, bringing luck as he goesFolklore
🇮🇪 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
🇬🇷 Athens, Greece and 1 moreTsamikoΤσάμικος
A slow Greek folk dance performed in a line or circle to 3/4 time music.Performance
🇪🇸 Ronda, Spain and 5 moreBullfightingCorrida de toros
A ritual contest between a bullfighter and a bull, kept in Spain and Latin AmericaGame
🇮🇪 Ireland and 2 moreJack-o'-lantern
A carved pumpkin lantern lit with a candle to brighten and protect Halloween nightsFolklore
🇪🇸 Seville, SpainHoly Week in SevilleSemana Santa de Sevilla
A week of solemn processions and floats through the streets of Seville to mark the Passion of Christ.Spiritual
🇪🇪 EstoniaJaanipäev
Estonia's midsummer night of bonfires, song and fortune-telling, on 23 and 24 JuneFestival
🇷🇺 Russia and 4 moreHousewarming party
A gathering held soon after moving into a new home to celebrate the space and welcome guests.Home
🇫🇷 France and 4 morePicnic
A meal taken outdoors in a park or scenic spot, often shared with friends and family.Festival · Lunch
🇮🇪 Dublin, Ireland and 2 moreIrish traditional music
A living folk practice of dance tunes, airs, songs and communal pub sessionsPerformance
🇪🇸 Spain and 5 moreArbor Day
An annual secular observance dedicated to planting and caring for trees around the worldCeremony
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreChristmas carol
Festive songs and hymns sung during the Christmas season and door to doorPerformance
🇬🇧 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
🇨🇭 SwitzerlandSchwingen
A traditional Swiss folk wrestling style fought in sawdust ringsGame
🇪🇸 Santiago de Compostela, SpainBotafumeiro
A giant swinging censer of brass and silver that fills the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral with incense during solemn fSpiritual
🇬🇧 London, United KingdomChelsea Flower Show
A five-day May horticultural festival held in London by the Royal Horticultural SocietyFestival
🇳🇴 Norway and 3 moreJulebukkingGå julebukk
A Scandinavian Christmas custom where masked visitors go door to door for songs and treats.Festival
🇪🇸 Pamplona, Spain and 3 moreRunning of the bullsencierro
Runners sprint ahead of loose bulls through barricaded town streets in summerFestival
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
- Trick-or-treating: Toyah Anette B, Public domain, source
- Christmas tree: Lechhansl, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Christmas: Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, Public domain, source
- Picnic: Thomas Cole, Public domain, source
- Running of the bulls: The original uploader was Bernard bill5 at Dutch Wikipedia . Later ver, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- The Burryman: Oliver Benton, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Feast of Corpus Christi: Fennec ., Public domain, source
- Buekorps: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Candlemas: Andrea Mantegna, Public domain, source
- Jaanipäev: Jaan Künnap, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Glastonbury Festival: Czampal, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Christmas carol: Prathyush Thomas, GFDL 1.2, source
- Vyshyvanka Day: Vladimir Yaitskiy, CC BY-SA 2.0, 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
- Irish stepdance: John Benson, CC BY 2.0, source
- Schwingen: Quejaytee, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- National Eisteddfod of Wales: Llywelyn2000, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Chelsea Flower Show: Nzfauna, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Bullfighting: No machine-readable author provided. Manuel González Olaechea assumed, CC BY 3.0, source
- Holy Week in Seville: Sevilla Congress & Convention Bureau, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Sevillanas: Anual, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Arbor Day: Jonathunder, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Advent: Jonathunder, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Julebukking: Wolfgang Sauber, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Botafumeiro: Luis Miguel Bugallo Sánchez ( Lmbuga Commons )( Lmbuga Galipedia ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Housewarming party: State Library of Queensland, Australia, No restrictions, source
- Mumming: Flemish illuminator Jehan de Grise and his workshop, 1338-1344, Public domain, source
- Sirtaki: Simon Bonaventure, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Up Helly Aa: Mike Pennington, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Fleadh Cheoil: Gfitz122, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Marchas Populares: Taisir85, CC BY 4.0, source
- Fête de la Musique: dalbera, CC BY 2.0, source
- Stammtisch: Nixalsverdruss, Public domain, source
- Name day: Sendker, Public domain, source
- Apple bobbing: Caleb Zahnd, CC BY 2.0, source
- Polonaise: Korneli Szlegel, Public domain, source
- Pattern: code poet, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Christmas Eve: Carl Larsson, Public domain, source
- Valentine's Day: Upload: Chordboard, Public domain, source