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
🇮🇳 New Delhi, IndiaKargil Vijay Diwas
An annual Indian observance honouring soldiers and the end of the Kargil War.Ceremony
🇻🇳 Ho Chi Minh City, VietnamReunification DayNgày Thống nhất
A public holiday in Vietnam on 30 April, marking the war's end in 1975Ceremony
🇰🇿 Astana, KazakhstanIndependence DayҚазақстан Республикасының Тәуелсіздік күні
A national holiday marking the end of Soviet rule and the birth of the modern state.Ceremony
🇮🇸 IcelandIcelandic National DayÞjóðhátíðardagurinn
Iceland's national day, 17 June, marking the founding of the republic in 1944Ceremony
🇰🇵 Pyongyang, North KoreaFatherland Liberation War Day조국해방전쟁 승리 기념일
North Korea's July 27 holiday marking the 1953 armistice that stopped the Korean WarCeremony
🇮🇩 Jakarta, IndonesiaIndonesian Independence DayHari Ulang Tahun Kemerdekaan Republik Indonesia
Indonesia's national day, marking the 1945 proclamation of independenceCeremony
🇮🇹 Rome, ItalyMegalesiaMegalenses Ludi
An ancient Roman spring festival of theatrical plays, races and feasts for CybeleFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇿🇦 Pretoria, South AfricaNational Women's Day
South Africa's public holiday on 9 August, remembering the women who marched in 1956Ceremony
🇬🇪 Tbilisi, GeorgiaSoviet Occupation Dayსაბჭოთა ოკუპაციის დღე
Georgia's annual day of remembrance, held on 25 February for victims of Soviet ruleCeremony
🇸🇪 Stockholm, SwedenSweden Finns' Dayruotsinsuomalaisten päivä (Finnish); sverigefinnarnas dag (Swedish)
An annual day in Sweden for the Sweden Finns, their language and their historyFestival
🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreArmed Forces Day
A civic holiday honouring national military services, their history and active personnelCeremony
🇲🇨 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
🇮🇳 IndiaNational Unity Dayराष्ट्रीय एकता दिवस
An annual Indian observance honouring Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on 31 OctoberCeremony
🇵🇰 PakistanDefence Dayیومِ دفاع
Pakistan's national day for its soldiers, kept each 6 September with parades and tributesCeremony
🇰🇵 Pyongyang, North KoreaDay of the Foundation of the Republic9.9절 (Inmin Jeonggwon Changgeonil)
A national holiday in North Korea marking the founding of the state on September 9.Ceremony
🇨🇦 Ottawa, CanadaNational Flag of Canada DayJour du drapeau national du Canada
Canada's annual day for the maple leaf flag, kept on 15 February since 1996Ceremony
🇹🇼 Taipei, Taiwan and 1 moreRetrocession Day臺灣光復節 / 台湾光复节 (Táiwān guāngfùjié)
A public holiday on 25 October marking the end of Japanese rule in Taiwan in 1945Ceremony
🇺🇿 Tashkent, UzbekistanIndependence DayOʻzbekiston Respublikasi Mustaqilligi kuni
A state holiday on 1 September marking Uzbekistan's break from the Soviet UnionCeremony
🇻🇳 Hanoi, VietnamNational DayNgày Quốc khánh
Vietnam's national day, marking the 1945 independence declaration read in HanoiCeremony
🇬🇧 United KingdomWorld Osteoporosis Day
A global observance on 20 October promoting bone health and fracture preventionCeremony
🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreLGBTQ History Month
An annual month of education and remembrance celebrating queer lives and civil rightsCeremony
🇧🇦 Sarajevo, Bosnia and HerzegovinaIndependence Day of Bosnia and HerzegovinaDan nezavisnosti
A public holiday on 1 March marking the 1992 vote for independenceCeremony
🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreNavigium Isidis
An ancient Roman ship procession honouring Isis and the opening of sea travelSpiritual
🇸🇪 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
🇰🇵 Pyongyang, North KoreaParty Foundation Day조선로동당 창건일
A national holiday in North Korea that marks the founding of its ruling party in 1945.Ceremony
🇩🇪 Berlin, GermanyRepublic DayTag der Republik
The former national holiday marking the founding of East Germany each OctoberCeremony
🇧🇬 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
🇳🇬 Lagos, Nigeria and 2 moreIndependence Day
Nigeria's national day, marking the end of British rule on 1 October 1960Ceremony
🇪🇸 Spain and 5 moreInternet DayDía de Internet
An annual May observance dedicated to digital access, education and online community.Ceremony
🇫🇷 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
🇮🇳 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
🇱🇻 Riga, LatviaLāčplēsis DayLāčplēša diena
Latvia's remembrance day on 11 November for the soldiers who won independence in 1919Ceremony
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreBanned Books Week
An annual autumn campaign celebrating the freedom to read and access challenged booksCeremony
🇷🇴 Bucharest, Romania and 5 moreRomanian Language DayZiua Limbii Române
A single day, 31 August, given to the Romanian language in three countriesCeremony
🇱🇧 Beirut, LebanonLebanese Independence Dayعيد الاستقلال اللبناني
Lebanon's national day, marking the end of French mandate rule in 1943Ceremony
🇪🇬 EgyptMin Festival
An ancient Egyptian royal rite for the god Min, staged by the king to renew his ruleSpiritual
🇬🇷 Amyclae, GreeceHyacinthiaὙακίνθια
A three-day ancient Spartan festival marking the death and rebirth of HyacinthusFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇲🇹 Birgu, MaltaFreedom DayJum il-Helsien
Malta's national holiday on 31 March, marking the 1979 British military departureCeremony
🇦🇷 Rosario, ArgentinaFlag DayDía de la Bandera Nacional
Argentina's national day for its flag, kept on 20 June in memory of Manuel BelgranoCeremony
🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreDelphic Games of the modern era
Global competitions and exhibitions across the arts, modelled on ancient Greek gamesPerformance
🇵🇹 Portugal and 3 moreSalting the earth
An ancient ritual of scattering salt over ruined ground to curse its future useFolklore
🇲🇪 MontenegroStatehood DayДан државности
Montenegro's national holiday on 13 July, for 1878 recognition and the 1941 revoltCeremony
🇬🇧 United KingdomVigil of the Princes
A ceremony where British royals stand guard over a relative's coffin during state funerals.Ceremony
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 4 moreHip hip hooray
A traditional celebratory cheer of call and response to honour someoneFestival
🇬🇷 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
🇪🇸 Spain and 1 moreAberri Eguna
An annual Basque nationalist gathering held on Easter Sunday to celebrate national identity and culture.Festival
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
- Delphic Games of the modern era: Achilles Painter, Public domain, source
- Aberri Eguna: Fondo Marín. Pascual Marín, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Independence Day: Ymblanter, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Independence Day: AMISOM Public Information, CC0, source
- Day of Slavonic Alphabet, Bulgarian Enlightenment and Culture: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Fatherland Liberation War Day: Stefan Krasowski, Public domain, source
- Independence Day: Вачи, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Reunification Day: HappyMidnight, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Indonesian Independence Day: Betari Ratih, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- National Women's Day: K. Kendall, CC BY 2.0, source
- Soviet Occupation Day: Jeremy Teigen, CC BY 2.0, source
- Retrocession Day: Unknown author, Public domain, 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
- Lebanese Independence Day: Adib Ibrahim, Public domain, source
- Lāčplēsis Day: Saeima, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Kargil Vijay Diwas: Ashoosaini2002, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Armed Forces Day: Presidential Press and Information Office, CC BY 4.0, 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
- Banned Books Week: carmichaellibrary, CC BY 2.0, source
- Min Festival: NebMaatRa, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Day of the Foundation of the Republic: Uri Tours, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Navigium Isidis: ArchaiOptix, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Gustavus Adolphus Day: Jacob Truedson Demitz for Ristesson, Public domain, source
- National Day: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Party Foundation Day: David Stanley, CC BY 2.0, source
- Children's Day: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Sindhi Cultural Day: Jogi don, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Salting the earth: C.W.M., Public domain, source