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
🇧🇪 Mons, BelgiumDucasse de Mons
An eight-day festival in Mons featuring a golden carriage and a dragon combatFestival
🇮🇹 Florence, ItalyScoppio del Carro
An Easter Sunday fireworks display ignited by a flying dove in FlorenceFestival
🇬🇧 London, United KingdomRemembrance Sunday
A day of solemn remembrance for military and civilian service members in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth.Ceremony
🇳🇴 NorwayBunad
Norway's festive dress, tied to a home district and worn from weddings to 17 MayDress
🇮🇹 Foligno, ItalyGiostra della Quintana
A June and September joust in Foligno, where ten knights spear ringsFestival
🇬🇧 Lewes, United KingdomLewes Bonfire
A Sussex town marks 5 November with torchlit processions, burning crosses and bonfiresFestival
🇧🇪 Antwerp, Belgium and 2 moreOmmegangommegang (Dutch)
Medieval town processions of the Low Countries, with giants, guilds and horsesCeremony
🇬🇧 London, United KingdomRoyal Maundy
A Church of England service where the monarch gives silver Maundy coins to older peopleSpiritual
🇩🇪 Berlin, GermanyGerman Unity DayTag der Deutschen Einheit
Germany's national day, marking reunification on 3 October 1990Ceremony
🇫🇷 France and 5 moreVictory in Europe Day8 mai 1945
The day Nazi Germany's surrender was accepted, marking the end of the war in EuropeCeremony
🇷🇺 Moscow, RussiaCosmonautics DayДень космонавтики
Russia's yearly day for Yuri Gagarin's 1961 flight, kept on 12 April with memorial walksCeremony
🇺🇦 Kyiv, UkraineIndependence Day of UkraineДень Незалежності України
Ukraine's national day, kept every 24 August with parades and flagsCeremony
🇺🇦 Ukraine and 2 moreProgrammer's Day
A professional day for programmers, fixed to the 256th day of the yearCeremony
🇬🇧 St Andrews, United Kingdom and 10 moreSaint Andrew's DayLà Naomh Anndrais
The feast of Andrew the Apostle, kept on 30 November and Scotland's national daySpiritual
🇵🇱 Warsaw, PolandNational Independence DayNarodowe Święto Niepodległości
Poland's national day on 11 November, marking the 1918 return of a sovereign Polish stateCeremony
🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreYuri's Night
An annual global celebration on April 12 marking milestones in space explorationFestival
🇸🇮 SloveniaStatehood DayDan državnosti
Slovenia's one-day public holiday on 25 June, marking the 1991 move to independenceCeremony
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreRogation days
Springtime Christian days of prayer, fasting, and parish boundary walks.Spiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇳🇱 Wageningen, NetherlandsLiberation DayBevrijdingsdag
A Dutch national holiday on 5 May marking the end of German occupation in 1945Ceremony
🇦🇱 Vlora, AlbaniaIndependence DayDita e Pavarësisë
Albania's national day on 28 November, marking the 1912 declaration of independenceCeremony
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreKing's Official Birthday
A day when Commonwealth realms mark the monarch's birthday, seldom the real dateCeremony
🇮🇸 IcelandIcelandic National DayÞjóðhátíðardagurinn
Iceland's national day, 17 June, marking the founding of the republic in 1944Ceremony
🇮🇹 Rome, ItalyMegalesiaMegalenses Ludi
An ancient Roman spring festival of theatrical plays, races and feasts for CybeleFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇸🇪 Stockholm, SwedenSweden Finns' Dayruotsinsuomalaisten päivä (Finnish); sverigefinnarnas dag (Swedish)
An annual day in Sweden for the Sweden Finns, their language and their historyFestival
🇲🇨 MonacoInternational Circus Festival of Monte-CarloFestival International du Cirque de Monte-Carlo
A January circus competition in Monaco, with Clown statuettes for the finest actsFestival
🇬🇧 United KingdomWorld Osteoporosis Day
A global observance on 20 October promoting bone health and fracture preventionCeremony
🇫🇷 France and 3 moreCashiering
A ceremonial military dismissal that publicly strips an officer of rank and insigniaCeremony
🇧🇦 Bosnia and HerzegovinaDay of Republika SrpskaДан Републике Српске
An annual civic holiday observed across Republika Srpska on 9 JanuaryCeremony
🇩🇪 Berlin, GermanyRepublic DayTag der Republik
The former national holiday marking the founding of East Germany each OctoberCeremony
🇱🇻 Riga, LatviaLāčplēsis DayLāčplēša diena
Latvia's remembrance day on 11 November for the soldiers who won independence in 1919Ceremony
🇧🇦 Sarajevo, Bosnia and HerzegovinaIndependence Day of Bosnia and HerzegovinaDan nezavisnosti
A public holiday on 1 March marking the 1992 vote for independenceCeremony
🇸🇪 Stockholm, Sweden and 2 moreGustavus Adolphus DayGustav Adolfsdagen
A Swedish flag day on 6 November, marked with a pastry topped with the king's likenessCeremony · Sweets given and shared
🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreNavigium Isidis
An ancient Roman ship procession honouring Isis and the opening of sea travelSpiritual
🇪🇸 Spain and 5 moreInternet DayDía de Internet
An annual May observance dedicated to digital access, education and online community.Ceremony
🇧🇬 Plovdiv, Bulgaria and 8 moreDay of Slavonic Alphabet, Bulgarian Enlightenment and CultureДен на българската просвета и култура и на славянската писменост
Bulgaria's public holiday for its alphabet, schools and culture, kept each 24 MayFestival
🇷🇴 Bucharest, Romania and 5 moreRomanian Language DayZiua Limbii Române
A single day, 31 August, given to the Romanian language in three countriesCeremony
🇲🇹 Birgu, MaltaFreedom DayJum il-Helsien
Malta's national holiday on 31 March, marking the 1979 British military departureCeremony
🇬🇷 Amyclae, GreeceHyacinthiaὙακίνθια
A three-day ancient Spartan festival marking the death and rebirth of HyacinthusFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇵🇹 Portugal and 3 moreSalting the earth
An ancient ritual of scattering salt over ruined ground to curse its future useFolklore
🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreDelphic Games of the modern era
Global competitions and exhibitions across the arts, modelled on ancient Greek gamesPerformance
🇲🇪 MontenegroStatehood DayДан државности
Montenegro's national holiday on 13 July, for 1878 recognition and the 1941 revoltCeremony
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 4 moreHip hip hooray
A traditional celebratory cheer of call and response to honour someoneFestival
🇬🇧 United KingdomVigil of the Princes
A ceremony where British royals stand guard over a relative's coffin during state funerals.Ceremony
🇪🇸 Spain and 1 moreAberri Eguna
An annual Basque nationalist gathering held on Easter Sunday to celebrate national identity and culture.Festival
🇬🇷 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
🇮🇪 Ireland and 1 moreFilifilí (Irish)
Ireland's and Scotland's trained poets, storytellers and seersPerformance
🇷🇸 Belgrade, Serbia and 2 moreMerlinka Festival
An annual queer film festival held across Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and MontenegroFestival
🇮🇸 Reykjavík, IcelandReykjavík PrideHinsegin dagar í Reykjavík
An annual festival and parade celebrating LGBT+ rights and visibility in IcelandFestival
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Victory in Europe Day: Fotograaf Onbekend / Anefo, CC0, source
- Delphic Games of the modern era: Achilles Painter, Public domain, source
- Aberri Eguna: Fondo Marín. Pascual Marín, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ducasse de Mons: Jean-Pol GRANDMONT, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Remembrance Sunday: Philip Stevens, Public domain, source
- Day of Slavonic Alphabet, Bulgarian Enlightenment and Culture: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Bunad: Wolfmann, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Fili: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Giostra della Quintana: Alb.Maur, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Lewes Bonfire: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Ommegang: Zorro2212, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Royal Maundy: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Independence Day of Ukraine: Official website of the President of Ukraine, CC BY 4.0, source
- Cosmonautics Day: The original uploader was Errabee at English Wikipedia ., CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Liberation Day: Wouter Hagens, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Independence Day of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Smooth O, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Romanian Language Day: Razvan Socol, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Lāčplēsis Day: Saeima, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- King's Official Birthday: City of Toronto, Public domain, source
- Reykjavík Pride: Helgi Halldórsson, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Yuri's Night: Ryan Somma, CC BY 2.0, source
- Rogation days: Ray Trevena, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Cashiering: Henri Meyer, Public domain, source
- Day of Republika Srpska: Ministry of Defence of Republic of Serbia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Republic Day: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Actia: Flavius Hermogenes at English Wikipedia, Public domain, source
- International Circus Festival of Monte-Carlo: GeorgePrikkel, Public domain, source
- Saint Andrew's Day: Henryk Siemiradzki, Public domain, source
- German Unity Day: Philipp Hertzog Bearbeitet von Dr. Meierhofer (beschnitten, aufgehellt, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Navigium Isidis: ArchaiOptix, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- National Independence Day: Patryk Matyjaszczyk, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Gustavus Adolphus Day: Jacob Truedson Demitz for Ristesson, Public domain, source
- Salting the earth: C.W.M., Public domain, source