All traditions
2,237 traditions so far, best known first. 12,423 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
🇳🇬 Argungu, NigeriaArgungu Fishing Festival
A four-day gathering in Nigeria where thousands compete to land giant river fishFestival
🇮🇳 Anandpur Sahib, IndiaHola Mohallaਹੋਲਾ-ਮਹੱਲਾ
A three-day Sikh festival of martial arts, poetry, shared meals and grand processionsFestival
🇹🇳 Douz, TunisiaInternational Festival of the Sahara
A four-day gathering celebrating desert life, horse racing and poetry in Douz, TunisiaFestival
🇮🇹 Florence, ItalyCalcio storico fiorentino
A fierce Renaissance ball game played on sand between four Florentine districtsGame
🇮🇹 Siena, ItalyPalio
Traditional Italian competitions where local districts race horses, donkeys, or boats to win prizes and pride.Festival
🇮🇳 India and 2 morePehlwani
A traditional discipline of clay-pit wrestling across the Indian subcontinent.Game
🇬🇧 Brockworth, United KingdomCooper's Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake
A round of cheese, a steep hill, and runners chasing it down for the prizeGame
🇺🇿 Uzbekistan and 5 moreKurashкөрәш
Central Asian traditional upright folk wrestling using cloth belts or towelsGame
🇮🇳 Mumbai, IndiaDahi Handi
A Hindu festival sport where teams build human towers to break suspended curd potsFestival
🇲🇦 Rabat, Morocco and 5 moreFantasiaالفانتازيا
A North African equestrian display of synchronized charging and simultaneous rifle fireGame
🇵🇰 PakistanShandur Polo Festivalشندور چوگان میلہ
A three-day mountain polo competition played with freestyle rules in northern PakistanGame
🇰🇵 Pyongyang, North Korea and 4 moreMass games
Disciplined, large-scale gymnastic spectacles celebrating unity and national prideCeremony
🇨🇦 Quebec City, CanadaQuebec Winter CarnivalCarnaval de Québec
A midwinter celebration of snow, outdoor sports and caribou in Quebec City.Festival · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇪🇹 Lalibela, Ethiopia and 1 moreEthiopian Christmasገና
The Christian Nativity feast, marked by night vigils, white garments and field hockeySpiritual
🇬🇷 Patras, GreecePatras CarnivalPatrino karnavali
A winter carnival of parades, street games and satirical floats in western GreeceFestival
🇰🇷 Seoul, South KoreaYunnori윷놀이
A Korean board and stick-tossing game played with tokens during the Lunar New YearGame
🇲🇳 Ölgii, MongoliaGolden Eagle FestivalБүргэдийн баяр
An annual gathering in western Mongolia celebrating Kazakh eagle hunting and horsemanshipFestival
🇵🇰 Lahore, Pakistan and 1 moreBasant
A Punjabi spring festival marked by rooftop kite flying, yellow clothing and fairsFestival · Sweets given and shared
🇺🇸 Tahlequah, United StatesCherokee National Holiday
An annual gathering in Oklahoma marking the signing of the Cherokee ConstitutionFestival
🇲🇽 Acolman, Mexico and 1 morePiñata
A festive decorated container broken open with a stick to scatter treats and fruitFestival
🇮🇳 Pushkar, IndiaPushkar FairKartik Mela
An annual camel and livestock fair with lake pilgrimage rites in Rajasthan, IndiaFestival
🇮🇳 Kochi, IndiaVallam Kalivaḷḷaṃ kaḷi
A traditional canoe racing festival held across the waters of Kerala during OnamGame
🇮🇳 Madurai, IndiaJallikattuஜல்லிக்கட்டு
A traditional bull-embracing event held during harvest celebrations in Tamil NaduGame
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreKabaddi
A fast South Asian contact sport where solo raiders tag defenders on a single breathGame
🇦🇺 Melbourne, AustraliaBoxing Day Test
Cricket's annual Test match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, starting each 26 DecemberGame
🇹🇷 Erzurum, TurkeyJereedCirit
Riders on horseback throw blunt wooden javelins at rivals in this Turkish team sportGame
🇯🇵 JapanShogi将棋 (shōgi)
Japan's two-player strategy game, where captured pieces change sides and returnGame
🇹🇷 Edirne, TurkeyKırkpınar
A three-day Turkish oil wrestling contest near Edirne, held each June since 1360Game
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreXiangqi象棋
A two-player game of armies and cannons, played on the points of a nine-by-ten boardGame
🇹🇷 Edirne, Turkey and 3 moreOil wrestlingYağlı güreş
Oiled wrestlers in leather trousers: Turkey's national sport, centred on KırkpınarGame
🇮🇹 Foligno, ItalyGiostra della Quintana
A June and September joust in Foligno, where ten knights spear ringsFestival
🇨🇳 Ningbo, China and 2 moreMahjong麻將
A tile game from China, played by two to four people at a tableGame
🇨🇳 China and 2 moreGo圍棋 (wéiqí), 囲碁 (igo), 바둑 (baduk)
Two players surround territory with black and white stones on a lined boardGame
🇯🇵 Takasaki, JapanDaruma doll達磨 (daruma)
A round Japanese wishing doll: fill one eye to set a goal, the other to mark it done.Folklore
🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreJegichagi제기차기
A paper shuttlecock kicked and kept in the air, a winter game for Korean childrenGame
🇰🇷 South KoreaJwibullori쥐불놀이
A Korean New Year game of whirling fire-cans to clear fields and wish good luckGame
🇬🇷 Olympia, GreeceAncient Olympic Gamesτὰ Ὀλύμπια
A quadrennial athletic festival held in ancient Greece to honor the god ZeusGame
🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreKnucklebones
An ancient hand game of tossing, catching, and scooping small bones or stonesGame
🇬🇷 Olympia, GreeceHeraean Games
An ancient Greek festival of running races for unmarried young women at OlympiaGame
🇩🇪 Kiel, GermanyKiel WeekKieler Woche
A week of yacht racing, tall ships and waterfront music on the Kiel FjordGame
🇰🇭 Phnom Penh, Cambodia and 3 moreBokatorល្បុក្កតោ (lbŏkkâtaô)
Cambodia's battlefield martial art of strikes, locks and weapons, now a ring sportGame
🇬🇧 Goodwood, United KingdomGoodwood Festival of Speed
A yearly British motorsport festival where cars and bikes race up a hill in West SussexFestival
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreShoe throwing
The act of hurling footwear for sport, wedding luck, protest or overhead display.Folklore
🇫🇷 FranceLa soule
A rough medieval ball game from Normandy and Picardy played between parishes on religious holidays.Game
🇯🇵 Japan and 5 moreHouse
A traditional children's make-believe game of acting out domestic family rolesGame
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreMarco Polo
A swimming pool tag game where one blindfolded player uses sound to find othersGame
🇧🇦 Kupres, Bosnia and HerzegovinaMowing on KupresStrljanica
A July scythe-mowing contest on the Strljanica meadow at Kupres, kept since 1687Game
🇵🇭 Bulacan, PhilippinesLuksong baka
A traditional Filipino jumping game where players leap over a kneeling partner without touching them.Game
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Palio: faberh, Public domain, source
- Argungu Fishing Festival: Jaekel, Francis., Public domain, source
- Pehlwani: Prasanna Revan aka. Prasannare at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Cooper's Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake: Dave Farrance, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kurash: IlshatS, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Calcio storico fiorentino: Stradanus / After Giorgio Vasari, Public domain, source
- Dahi Handi: AKS.9955, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Fantasia: Jfcapdet, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Shandur Polo Festival: Addden321, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Mass games: photo: unknown file: James Steakley, Public domain, source
- Quebec Winter Carnival: Shapiros10, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ethiopian Christmas: Tanjagari, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Patras Carnival: www.infocenterpatras.gr, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Hola Mohalla: Aayush sharma 923, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Yunnori: 국립국어원, CC BY-SA 2.0 kr, source
- Golden Eagle Festival: Altaihunters, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Basant: Haseeb Ahmad Farooqi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Piñata: No machine-readable author provided. JEDIKNIGHT1970 assumed (based on, Public domain, source
- Pushkar Fair: sheetal saini, CC BY 2.0, source
- Vallam Kali: Arun Sinha, CC BY 2.0, source
- Jallikattu: Mahendrabalan, CC BY 3.0, source
- Kabaddi: Amir Hosseini, CC BY 4.0, source
- Boxing Day Test: Flickr user, mugley, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Jereed: anonymous Greek artist, ca. 1809, Public domain, source
- Shogi: Unknown author, CC BY 1.0, source
- Kırkpınar: anonymous Greek artist, ca. 1809, Public domain, source
- Xiangqi: Francesc Fort, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Oil wrestling: No machine-readable author provided. Math34 assumed (based on copyrigh, Public domain, source
- Giostra della Quintana: Alb.Maur, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Mahjong: yui*, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Go: Goban1, Public domain, source
- Daruma doll: Crisco 1492, Public domain, source
- Jegichagi: Official U.S. Navy Page, Public domain, source
- Jwibullori: KOREA.NET, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Bokator: Gary Todd, CC0, source
- Kiel Week: Arne List, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Goodwood Festival of Speed: Bruno Postle, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Mowing on Kupres: PLATFORMA SARAJEVO, CC BY 3.0, source
- Ancient Olympic Games: Bgabel, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Knucklebones: Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, Public domain, source
- Heraean Games: Ingo Mehling, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Shoe throwing: Zarateman, CC0, source
- La soule: Unknown author Unknown author illustrator (based on a sketch by M.J.L., Public domain, source
- House: Alborzagros, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Luksong baka: Free2barredo, CC BY-SA 4.0, source