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
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreLakshmi Pujaलक्ष्मीपूजा
A Hindu festival of lamps, prayers and offerings welcoming the goddess of prosperitySpiritual · Sweets given and shared
🇮🇳 Madurai, IndiaGoluபொம்மை கொலு
An autumn festival display of stepped dolls and figurines in South Indian homesFestival · Sweets given and shared
🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreKorean New Year설날
A three-day Korean festival celebrating the lunisolar new year with family and feastsSeasonal
🇻🇳 VietnamTếtTết Nguyên Đán
The Vietnamese festival of the lunar new year, welcoming spring with family gatheringsFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanKoinobori鯉のぼり
Carp-shaped windsocks flown across Japan for Children's Day in springFestival
🇷🇴 Romania and 2 morePlăcintă
A traditional thin, filled pastry baked across Romania, Moldova, and parts of Ukraine.Table custom · Sweets given and shared
🇫🇮 FinlandChristmas in Finlandjoulu
A quiet midwinter festival of saunas, grave candles and table casseroles across FinlandSeasonal · Dinner
🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreRussian tea culture
The everyday cup of Russia, brewed strong and diluted to taste, with jam and sweetsTable custom · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇷🇺 Moscow, Russia and 5 moreNovy GodНовый Год
A secular winter celebration of decorated trees, family feasts and midnight giftsFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇩🇪 Saalfeld, Germany and 5 moreEaster egg treeOstereierbaum
A German springtime custom of dressing living trees and branches with blown eggsFestival
🇻🇳 Hội An, VietnamTết Trung Thu節中秋
A mid-autumn festival of lanterns, mooncakes and folklore celebrated across VietnamFestival · Sweets given and shared
🇮🇳 IndiaVat PurnimaVaṭapūrṇimā
An annual Hindu festival where married women fast and pray around a banyan treeSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇷🇺 Khokhloma, RussiaKhokhlomaхохлома
Russian folk painting of red, black and gold flowers and berries on wooden tablewareCraft
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreMothering Sunday
A mid-Lent Christian observance and family celebration of mothers and mother churchesSeasonal · Breakfast
🇮🇷 Tabriz, IranPersian carpetفرش ایرانی
Hand-woven knotted rugs and flat textiles crafted across the towns and tribes of IranCraft
🇷🇸 Serbia and 5 moreSerbian ChristmasБожић
A three-day midwinter observance focused on oak logs, floor straw and family gatheringsSpiritual · Dinner
🇯🇵 JapanYuzu bath柚子湯
A winter solstice soak in hot water with whole yuzu citrus, kept across JapanSeasonal
🇯🇵 JapanTango no sekku端午の節句
A Japanese seasonal festival for children marked with carp streamers and iris leaves.Festival · Sweets given and shared
🇮🇱 Jerusalem, Israel and 3 moreHanukkah menorah
A nine-branched lamp that gains one more flame on each of Hanukkah's eight nightsSpiritual
🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreBread and saltхлеб-соль
Bread and salt offered to a guest: a welcome kept from Russia to AlbaniaEtiquette
🇨🇳 ChinaChinese paper cutting剪紙 / 剪纸 (jiǎnzhǐ)
Chinese cut paper pictures, pasted on windows and doors for luck at New YearCraft
🇬🇹 GuatemalaWorry dollMuñecas quitapenas
Hand-made dolls from highland Guatemala that children tell their worries to at nightFolklore
🇬🇧 London, United Kingdom and 4 moreAfternoon tea
A late-afternoon spread of tea, small sandwiches and cakes, kept across BritainTable custom · Tea-time and snacking customs
🇪🇸 Seville, Spain and 5 moreAzulejo
Painted, tin-glazed ceramic tiles that cover walls and floors across Portugal and SpainCraft
🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan and 2 moreAla kiyizала кийиз
Patterned felt carpets pressed by hand for the tents of Central Asian herdersCraft
🇦🇿 Baku, AzerbaijanAzerbaijani carpetAzərbaycan xalçası
Handwoven floor and wall coverings from Azerbaijan, made by women in regional designsCraft
🇮🇷 IranTaarofتعارف
An Iranian code of ritual politeness, where offers and refusals are traded with graceEtiquette
🇩🇰 Denmark and 3 moreNissenisse (Danish, Norwegian); tomte (Swedish); tonttu (Finnish)
A small farm spirit of Nordic folklore, given porridge at midwinterFolklore
🇹🇷 Istanbul, TurkeyTurkish tea culture
Two stacked pots, tulip glasses, and a choice of strong or weak tea in TurkeyTable custom · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇯🇵 Tokyo, Japan and 2 moreManeki-neko招き猫
A lucky cat figurine, paw raised, kept by shop doors and in homes across JapanFolklore
🇵🇭 San Fernando, Philippines and 3 moreParolparól
A Filipino star lantern of bamboo and paper, hung at Christmas from September to JanuaryFestival
🇲🇽 Mexico City, MexicoOfrenda
A home altar of food, flowers and candles that welcomes the dead home at Día de MuertosSpiritual
🇯🇵 Japan and 1 moreBento弁当
A single-portion packed meal in a lidded box, carried to school, work or on a trainTable custom · Lunch
🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreBaby shower
A gift-giving party for a new or expected baby, kept in many countriesRite of passage
🇮🇱 Israel and 2 moreSukkahסוכה
A temporary hut with a branch roof, lived in for the seven days of SukkotSpiritual
🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreEvil eye
A belief in harm cast by envious glares, met with protective charms and spoken blessingsFolklore
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreKolamகோலம்
A rice-flour floor drawing made at South Indian doorsteps before sunriseCraft
🇰🇷 Seoul, South Korea and 1 moreMarriage in Korea
Weddings in Korea, from Goryeo matchmaking to Confucian rites and modern chapel vowsRite of passage
🇮🇱 Israel and 3 moreKashrutכַּשְׁרוּת (Hebrew)
The Jewish dietary laws: what may be eaten, and how it is preparedTable custom
🇦🇫 Kabul, AfghanistanBacha poshباشا بوش / بچه پوشی
An Afghan custom of dressing and raising a daughter as a sonHome
🇰🇷 South Korea and 4 moreParents' Day어버이날 (Eobeoinal)
Days set aside in several countries to thank mothers and fathersFestival
🇵🇱 Poland and 5 moreGrandparents' Day
A single-day holiday kept on different dates in many countries to honour grandparentsFestival
🇺🇸 Columbia, United States and 1 moreBreastfeeding in public
The custom of nursing an infant openly in shared and public spacesHome
🇺🇸 United StatesFestivus
A secular December observance marked by bare poles, voiced grievances, and wrestlingFestival · Dinner
🇯🇵 Japan and 5 moreHouse
A traditional children's make-believe game of acting out domestic family rolesGame
🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreNeed-fire
A ritual fire kindled by friction to ward off cattle plague, disease and harmFolklore
🇬🇷 Athens, GreeceAmphidromiaτὰ Ἀμφιδρόμια
An ancient Athenian family ritual welcoming a newborn around the household hearthRite of passage · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreRemoval of footwear indoors
The widespread custom of leaving outdoor shoes at the door for cleanliness and respectEtiquette
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Yuzu bath: Nori Norisa, CC BY 2.0, source
- Khokhloma: Dmfff, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tết Trung Thu: The imperial government of the Nguyễn Dynasty, French Indo-China., Public domain, source
- Easter egg tree: Frank schubert, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Novy God: Евгений Самарин, CC BY 4.0, source
- Christmas in Finland: Uploaded by Sigketill, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Plăcintă: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Koinobori: 663highland, CC BY 2.5, source
- Tết: vi:Lưu Ly, Public domain, source
- Korean New Year: Kang Byeong Kee, CC BY 3.0, source
- Lakshmi Puja: Subharnab Majumdar, CC BY 2.0, source
- Serbian Christmas: Petar Milošević, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Persian carpet: Jastrow, Public domain, source
- Golu: Ksiva21, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Mothering Sunday: Jonathunder, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Vat Purnima: Kiran Gopi, CC BY-SA 2.5 in, source
- Russian tea culture: Boris Kustodiev, Public domain, source
- Tango no sekku: tiseb, CC BY 2.0, source
- Korovai: Olli Niemitalo, CC0, source
- Hanukkah menorah: Musée d'art et d'histoire du Judaïsme, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Chinese paper cutting: Lanneixi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Worry doll: Leena, CC BY 3.0, source
- Afternoon tea: joyosity, CC BY 2.0, source
- Azulejo: Dr. Thomas Liptak, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ala kiyiz: https://www.flickr.com/photos/pbarry/, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Azerbaijani carpet: Dmitri Yermakov, Public domain, source
- Taarof: Oxlaey, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Nisse: AlphaZeta, CC0, source
- Turkish tea culture: henribergius, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Maneki-neko: Su--May, CC BY 2.0, source
- Parol: Ervin Malicdem, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ofrenda: Eneas de Troya, CC BY 2.0, source
- Bento: Blue Lotus, CC BY 2.0, source
- Baby shower: Goizarin, CC0, source
- Sukkah: Gilabrand, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kolam: mckaysavage, CC BY 2.0, source
- Kashrut: Daniel Ventura, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Marriage in Korea: Jérôme Banal ( Eden2004 ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Evil eye: FocalPoint, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Parents' Day: 草花写真館, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Grandparents' Day: Wendy Berry, CC BY 2.0, source
- Breastfeeding in public: carlosalbertony, CC0, source
- Festivus: en:User:DRosenbach Original uploader was DRosenbach at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- House: Alborzagros, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Need-fire: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Removal of footwear indoors: Sarang, Public domain, source