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
🇽🇰 Prizren, KosovoAutostrada Biennale
A biennial contemporary art festival and cultural exhibition in Prizren, KosovoPerformance
🇽🇰 Gjilan, KosovoFlaka e Janarit
A winter arts festival in Kosovo honoring national martyrs through music, drama and verseFestival
🇷🇺 RussiaPodvorotnichokподворотничок
A detachable white fabric strip sewn inside military uniform collars for hygieneDress
🇳🇱 Amsterdam, NetherlandsKoningsmantel
The Dutch royal cloak of red velvet and ermine, brought out when a monarch is sworn inDress
🇬🇷 GreeceTablionταβλίον
An embroidered panel on the ceremonial mantle of Byzantine courtiers.Dress
🇬🇧 London, United KingdomQueen Charlotte's Ball
A historic coming-of-age gala where young women curtsey to an ornate birthday cakeRite of passage
🇷🇺 RussiaOctobering
A short-lived Soviet naming rite that put the Red Star in place of the baptismal crossRite of passage
🇩🇪 Munich, GermanyO'zapft is!
The civic barrel-tapping ceremony that officially launches Munich's OktoberfestCeremony · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇫🇷 Paris, FranceParis CarnivalCarnaval de Paris
An annual street celebration and costume procession across ParisFestival
🇮🇹 Palermo, ItalyFeast of Saint RosaliaFestino di Santa Rosalia
An annual July festival in Palermo honouring the patron saint who ended the plague.Festival
🇬🇧 United KingdomChurch parade
A formal military procession held to attend a religious serviceCeremony
🇬🇧 Palace of Westminster, United KingdomParliamentary snuff box
A wooden box of free snuff kept at the door of the House of CommonsCeremony
🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreBride-showсмотр невест
A court custom in which emperors and tsars chose a wife from young women brought before themCeremony
🇮🇹 Montepulciano, ItalyBravio delle botti
An annual uphill wine barrel race between the eight historic districts of MontepulcianoGame
🇫🇷 Paris, FranceNyansapo Festival
A French festival celebrating Black feminism and empowering diasporic women.Festival
🇪🇸 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
🇱🇹 Vilnius, LithuaniaLithuania Independence Restoration Day
A Lithuanian national holiday on 11 March celebrating the 1990 return of sovereign ruleCeremony
🇱🇺 Luxembourg City, Luxembourg and 3 moreOktavMuttergottesoktav
A two-week annual Marian pilgrimage and festival in Luxembourg CitySpiritual · Tea-time and snacking customs
🇬🇧 York, United KingdomYorkshire Day
A yearly civic observance on 1 August to honour the historic county of Yorkshire and its people.Festival
🇱🇻 Riga, Latvia and 2 moreBaltic Pride
An annual Baltic festival and human rights march rotating between Riga, Tallinn, and VilniusFestival
🇲🇹 MaltaFestival Kanzunetta IndipendenzaKonkors Kanzunetta Indipendenza
An annual music contest in Malta celebrating native songwriting around Independence DayPerformance
🇷🇺 Moscow, RussiaSpartakiad of the Peoples of the USSRСпартакиада народов СССР
A massive multi-sport festival that brought together Soviet republics every four yearsGame
🇬🇧 London, United Kingdom and 2 moreOyez
A traditional ceremonial call chanted to open court sessions and civic assembliesCeremony
🇬🇧 United KingdomLincolnshire Day
An annual county day on 1 October honouring the history and culture of LincolnshireCeremony
🇧🇪 BelgiumMarches of Entre-Sambre-et-MeuseMarches de l'Entre-Sambre-et-Meuse
Folk processions with armed escorts in Belgian villages, kept from May to OctoberSpiritual · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Yorkshire Day: Buttons0603, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Fiesta de las Cruces: Michelangelo-36, Public domain, source
- Bride-show: Publisher: Χρωμολιθογραφείον Ε. Λοβέρδου & Γ. Γρύσπου (1893-ca. 1914), Public domain, source
- Octobering: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Autostrada Biennale: Lajmmoore, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Flaka e Janarit: E Sadiku, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Koningsmantel: Thérèse Schwartze, Public domain, source
- Tablion: Ввласенко, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Queen Charlotte's Ball: The Illustrated London News, Public domain, source
- O'zapft is!: Michael Lucan, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, source
- Paris Carnival: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Feast of Saint Rosalia: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Church parade: Boris Kustodiev, Public domain, source
- Lithuania Independence Restoration Day: Lithuania Post Office / Scanned and processed by Vizu, Public domain, source
- Oktav: Daderot, CC0, source
- Baltic Pride: IDAHOT, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR: Scanning Dmitry Makeev , scan date - 2020 year., Public domain, source
- Oyez: Bryan Ledgard, CC BY 2.0, source
- Marches of Entre-Sambre-et-Meuse: Hoebele, CC BY-SA 4.0, source