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
🇷🇺 RussiaScarlet SailsАлые паруса
A summer graduation celebration on the Neva River in Saint PetersburgFestival
🇮🇳 IndiaTulasi Vivahaतुलसी विवाह (Tulasī Vivāha)
A ritual wedding of the tulasi plant to Vishnu, kept in homes and temples across IndiaSpiritual
🇳🇴 Oslo, NorwayRussefeiring
A spring graduation rite of passage for Norwegian secondary school studentsRite of passage
🇮🇳 IndiaNamakaranaनामकरणम्
A Hindu rite that gives a baby its name, kept in the days after a birthRite of passage
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreHindu weddingVivaha (विवाह)
A traditional Hindu marriage ceremony involving sacred rituals and vows witnessed by fire.Rite of passage
🇲🇰 Galičnik, North MacedoniaGaličnik Wedding FestivalГаличка свадба
An annual village wedding festival celebrated every July in North MacedoniaFestival
🇮🇪 Ireland and 1 moreHandfastingceangal na lámh (Irish); pòsadh-bliadhna (Scottish Gaelic)
A couple's promise made with joined or bound hands, kept from betrothal to weddingRite of passage
🇦🇺 AustraliaWalkabout
A rite of passage involving travel through the Australian landscape to learn ancestral lore.Rite of passage
🇮🇩 IndonesiaSlametan
A short communal meal on Java where neighbours share food, prayer and a wish for peaceSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇬🇭 Odumase Krobo, GhanaDipo
An annual Ghanaian coming-of-age ceremony welcoming Krobo girls into womanhoodRite of passage
🇮🇳 IndiaGaye holudগায়ে হলুদ
A Bengali pre-wedding ceremony where turmeric paste is applied to the bride and groomRite of passage
🇸🇩 SudanJirtigالجَرْتِقْ
A Sudanese wedding ritual of regal adornment, protection, and blessings of fertilityRite of passage
🇲🇲 Yangon, Myanmar and 1 moreShinbyuရှင်ပြု
A Burmese Buddhist rite in which a boy goes forth as a novice monk, often at New YearRite of passage
🇷🇼 RwandaKwita Izina
Rwanda's yearly ceremony naming newborn mountain gorillas, after a baby-naming customRite of passage
🇮🇩 Bali, IndonesiaNgaben
A Balinese Hindu cremation rite held to free the soul of the deadRite of passage
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreMangalasutraमङ्गलसूत्रम् (maṅgalasūtram)
A necklace tied by the groom at a wedding, worn through married lifeDress
🇵🇭 PhilippinesFilipino wedding customsKasalan
A blend of indigenous rituals and Christian traditions marking the union of two families in the Philippines.Rite of passage
🇬🇭 GhanaAdowa
A Ghanaian Akan dance where hands and feet carry the mood of the occasionPerformance
🇺🇸 New Orleans, United StatesJazz funeral
A New Orleans funeral march led by brass music, moving from mourning to joyful danceRite of passage
🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreJumping the broom
A wedding ritual where newlyweds leap over a broom to mark their unionRite of passage
🇻🇳 Huế, VietnamTraditional Vietnamese wedding
A Vietnamese wedding: two families joined through proposal, engagement and ceremonyRite of passage
🇺🇸 United States and 4 moreBridal shower
A gift-giving party for a bride before her wedding, best known in North AmericaRite of passage
🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreBachelor party
A send-off for a groom-to-be, kept in the days and weeks before a weddingRite of passage
🇺🇸 New York, United States and 5 moreKlezmerקלעזמער
An Ashkenazi Jewish instrumental tradition of lively dance tunes and ritual melodiesPerformance
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreSweet sixteen
A North American coming-of-age celebration marking a sixteenth birthdayRite of passage
🇵🇹 Coimbra, PortugalPraxePraxe Académica
A set of student initiation rituals and traditions in Portuguese universities.Rite of passage
🇿🇦 South AfricaUlwaluko
A Xhosa rite that takes a boy into manhood through seclusion and teachingRite of passage
🇮🇳 IndiaZoroastrian wedding
A multi-day Zoroastrian ceremony uniting two people through prayers, rituals and a shared meal.Rite of passage · Dinner
🇱🇰 Sri LankaPoruwa ceremony
A Sinhalese wedding rite held on a decorated wooden platform called a PoruwaRite of passage
🇺🇸 United StatesRehearsal dinner
A meal the night before a US wedding, when the wedding party gathers to toast and thankRite of passage · Dinner
🇮🇳 Mumbai, IndiaWeddings in India
Weddings across India, each shaped by faith, region and familyRite of passage
🇹🇭 Bangkok, ThailandThai funeral
Buddhist rites in Thailand featuring water blessings, temple chanting and cremation.Rite of passage · Breakfast
🇧🇬 Bulgaria and 4 moreBabindenБабинден
A Bulgarian feast honoring midwives and new mothers with rituals of bathing, feasting, and blessing.Festival · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreFuneral
The ceremony a community holds when someone dies, from burial to cremationRite of passage
🇰🇷 South KoreaKorean traditional funeral
A multi-day ritual blending Confucian rites and shamanic practices to guide the deceased to the afterlife.Rite of passage
🇲🇬 MadagascarLamba
A rectangular cloth wrapped around the body, worn across Madagascar and at burialsDress
🇮🇳 IndiaVision quest
A coming-of-age fast and vigil, kept by some Native American peoplesRite of passage
🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreWedding reception
The party after a wedding, where the couple greet guests over food, cake and dancingFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇨🇳 ChinaChinese funeral rituals
Traditional rites of mourning, vigils, offerings, and ancestor veneration across ChinaRite of passage
🇲🇦 Tangier, MoroccoNegafaنڭافة (Arabic); ⵏⴳⴰⴼⴰ (Tamazight)
The woman who dresses a bride and guards the customs of a Moroccan weddingRite of passage
🇲🇽 Tijuana, Mexico and 1 moreBirria
A rich, seasoned meat stew from western Mexico, cooked for gatherings and holidaysTable custom · Feasts and festival meals
🇪🇸 Spain and 5 moreCompadre
A ritual kinship made at a child's baptism, binding parents and godparents for lifeSpiritual
🇫🇲 Satawal, MicronesiaPwo
An initiation that turns students of Caroline Islands wayfinding into navigatorsRite of passage
🇬🇭 GhanaOutdooringkpojiemɔ (Ga), abadinto (Akan), vihehedego (Ewe)
A Ghanaian ceremony eight days after birth, when a baby is brought outdoors and namedRite of passage · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇱 Safed, Israel and 5 moreHakafotהַקָּפוֹת
Circling the synagogue platform with the Torah scrolls, at Sukkot and Simchat TorahSpiritual
🇨🇳 Beijing, ChinaHanfu漢服
The dress of the Han Chinese, named for the Han dynasty and worn again todayDress
🇺🇦 Ukraine and 4 moreKorovaiкоровай (Ukrainian), каравай (Russian)
A round wedding bread of Eastern Europe, baked with songs and shared by all the guestsTable custom · Feasts and festival meals
🇱🇹 Lithuania and 1 moreLithuanian folk songsliaudies dainos
Songs of love, weddings, work and war, sung in unison or in harmony across LithuaniaPerformance
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Antyesti: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Scarlet Sails: Kora27, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Russefeiring: Unknown author, CC BY 2.0, source
- Mangalasutra: Ackroydman, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Galičnik Wedding Festival: IvanaKrstik, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kwita Izina: Thesmiler de, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Jirtig: Alzain Mohammed, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Dipo: FatawuY1, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Birria: Equipo 9mkt, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Negafa: Amine.elbahij, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Chinese funeral rituals: Salzmann, E.v., CC BY-SA 3.0 de, source
- Lamba: Lemurbaby at English Wikipedia, CC BY 3.0, source
- Thai funeral: Government of Thailand, CC BY 2.0, source
- Sweet sixteen: Jewish Historical Society of the Upper Midwest, No restrictions, source
- Klezmer: Unknown artist identified as "M.D.", Public domain, source
- Bridal shower: The McClouds, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Jumping the broom: credited only as "Hipstamatic shots, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Jazz funeral: Photo by Infrogmation, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Adowa: Quami43, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Shinbyu: Lionslayer, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Hanfu: Anonymous Song Chinese artist after the original by Gu Hongzhong, Public domain, source
- Tulasi Vivaha: Unknown author, CC BY 3.0, source
- Hindu wedding: Dinesh Cyanam, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Handfasting: Sander van der Wel, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Gaye holud: Arr4, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Slametan: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Weddings in India: Psoni2402, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Poruwa ceremony: A Derivative Work by MediaJet ,, CC BY 2.0, source
- Hakafot: Meir624, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Bachelor party: Derek Springer, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Lithuanian folk songs: Gailė Paštukaitė, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Korovai: Olli Niemitalo, CC0, source
- Babinden: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Wedding reception: Konstantin Makovsky, Public domain, source
- Traditional Vietnamese wedding: Gabrielle M. Vassal, Public domain, source
- Ngaben: by kibitan, CC BY 2.0, source
- Queima das Fitas: Fotografía realizada por: Ángel Serrano Sánchez de León, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Filipino wedding customs: John Ryan Cordova, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Ulwaluko: Dingeman, CC BY-SA 3.0, source