All traditions
2,247 traditions so far, best known first. 12,399 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
🇵🇹 Coimbra, PortugalPraxePraxe Académica
A set of student initiation rituals and traditions in Portuguese universities.Rite of passage
🇮🇱 Jerusalem, Israel and 5 moreBar and bat mitzvahבַּר מִצְוָה / בַּת מִצְוָה
A Jewish rite of passage marking when youth reach adulthood and take responsibility for their own actions.Rite of passage · Feasts and festival meals
🇿🇦 South AfricaUlwaluko
A Xhosa rite that takes a boy into manhood through seclusion and teachingRite of passage
🇱🇰 Sri LankaKiribathකිරිබත්
Rice cooked in coconut milk, the dish of Sinhalese New Year and family beginningsTable custom · Breakfast
🇪🇸 Spain and 2 moreLas arras
Thirteen gold coins, blessed at a wedding and given by the groom to the brideRite of passage
🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreDoljanchi돌 (dol); 돌잔치 (doljanchi)
A Korean first-birthday rite where a baby picks an object that hints at the years aheadRite of passage
🇷🇺 RussiaRussian wedding traditions
A Russian wedding runs two days to a week, with ransom games, crowns and toastsRite of passage
🇨🇳 China and 4 moreSky burialབྱ་གཏོར་ (bya gtor)
A Tibetan funeral in which the dead are laid out on a rock for vulturesRite of passage
🇮🇷 Urmia, IranKurdish danceGovend (گۆڤەند)
Circle dances of the Kurds, led by handkerchief twirlers, for weddings and NewrozPerformance
🇨🇳 China and 6 moreRed envelope紅包 / 红包 (hóngbāo)
Money in a red packet, given at Lunar New Year, weddings and other big daysEtiquette
🇮🇪 Ireland and 1 moreKeeningCaoineadh
A sung mourning cry at Gaelic funerals, once led by hired women singersRite of passage
🇩🇪 Germany and 5 morePolterabend
Guests smash porcelain the night before a wedding to wish the couple luckRite of passage
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreAncestor veneration
Honouring dead relatives with offerings, meals and prayers, kept in cultures worldwideSpiritual
🇯🇵 JapanMiyamairi宮参り
A first visit to a Shinto shrine, about a month after a baby is bornRite of passage
🇲🇽 Mexico and 2 moreWedding cord
A loop of white cord laid over a kneeling bride and groom in Catholic weddingsRite of passage
🇦🇲 Yerevan, Armenia and 5 moreKhachkarխաչքար
A carved stone cross raised as a memorial, a grave marker and a prayer in stoneCraft
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreJoss paper金紙 (jīnzhǐ)
Paper money burned for ancestors and gods, folded and offered in Chinese worshipSpiritual
🇯🇵 JapanJapanese funeral葬儀 (sōgi)
A Buddhist farewell in Japan: a wake, cremation, bone-gathering and a family graveRite of passage
🇪🇬 Thebes, EgyptAncient Egyptian funerary practices
Rites for the dead in ancient Egypt: preserving the body, spells and grave goodsRite of passage
🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 morePyebaek폐백
A Korean wedding rite where newlyweds bow to elders and share dates, chestnuts and wineRite of passage
🇪🇹 EthiopiaWedding customs in Ethiopia
Weddings across Ethiopia's many peoples, arranged by families and sealed in local ritesRite of passage
🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanShinto wedding神前結婚
A short purification ceremony before the kami, sealed by three cups of sakeRite of passage
🇮🇩 Bali, IndonesiaTumpengꦠꦸꦩ꧀ꦥꦼꦁ (Javanese); ᬢᬸᬫ᭄ᬧᭂᬂ (Balinese)
A tall cone of rice ringed with side dishes, central to Javanese ceremonies and partiesTable custom · Feasts and festival meals
🇺🇦 UkraineTraditional Ukrainian wedding
A wedding spread over many days, with matchmaking, bread, wreaths and songRite of passage
🇹🇭 ThailandWai khruพิธีไหว้ครู
A Thai ceremony of thanks to teachers, held in schools and in the artsSpiritual
🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreBaby shower
A gift-giving party for a new or expected baby, kept in many countriesRite of passage
🇮🇷 Tehran, IranIranian weddingمراسم عروسی در ایران
A wedding with courtship visits, a henna night and a spread of symbols, kept across IranRite of passage
🇫🇷 FranceConfirmation
A Christian rite of laying on of hands that completes baptism and strengthens faithRite of passage
🇮🇳 India and 2 morePujaपूजा (pūjā)
Hindu worship: light, flowers and food offered to a deity or a guestSpiritual
🇰🇷 Seoul, South Korea and 1 moreMarriage in Korea
Weddings in Korea, from Goryeo matchmaking to Confucian rites and modern chapel vowsRite of passage
🇨🇳 ChinaTraditional Chinese marriage婚姻 (hūnyīn)
A wedding rite that joins two families, arranged by a go-between and sealed with giftsRite of passage
🇵🇰 PakistanPakistani weddingپاکستانی شادی
Weddings across Pakistan: a match is found, a contract signed, two families joinedRite of passage
🇮🇳 India and 4 moreSindoorसिंदूर
A red powder worn in the hair parting by many married Hindu womenDress
🇰🇪 Kenya and 5 moreBurial
Placing the dead in the ground or a structure to honor them and guide their journey.Rite of passage
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreYajnaयज्ञ
A Hindu ritual of offering items into a sacred fire to honor deities and ancestors.Spiritual
🇸🇬 Singapore and 3 moreMatchmaking
The custom of using a trusted intermediary to introduce partners for marriageRite of passage
🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreLibation
The ceremonial gift of drink given to deities, ancestors, and the earthSpiritual · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreMarriage proposal
A ritual where one partner asks another to marry them, marking the start of engagement.Rite of passage
🇦🇱 Albania and 5 moreSworn virginburrnesha
A vow of chastity that lets a woman of the northern Balkans live as a manRite of passage
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreVigil
A purposeful watch of prayer, mourning, or reflection kept through the nightSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇬🇷 Olympia, GreeceHeraean Games
An ancient Greek festival of running races for unmarried young women at OlympiaGame
🇪🇬 EgyptOpening of the mouth ceremony
An ancient Egyptian rite to awaken a spirit's senses for the afterlifeRite of passage · Feasts and festival meals
🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreRadonitsaРа́доница (Russian), Ра́даўніца (Belarusian)
A spring day when Orthodox families visit graves, share Easter food and greet the deadSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇵🇭 Philippines and 5 moreFirst Communion
A Christian rite of passage marking a person's initial reception of the Eucharist.Rite of passage
🇮🇳 IndiaSvayamvaraस्वयंवर
An ancient Indian noble assembly where a bride chose her husband among suitorsRite of passage
🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea and 5 moreCouvade
Childbirth rituals where fathers take to bed and mimic the labor of childbirthRite of passage
🇺🇸 Columbia, United States and 1 moreBreastfeeding in public
The custom of nursing an infant openly in shared and public spacesHome
🇬🇷 Greece and 2 moreAdelphopoiesisἀδελφοποίησις
A historical Christian church ceremony creating a spiritual bond of brotherhoodSpiritual
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Queima das Fitas: Fotografía realizada por: Ángel Serrano Sánchez de León, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Bar and bat mitzvah: Peter van der Sluijs, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ulwaluko: Dingeman, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kiribath: AntanO, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Las arras: penny, CC BY 2.0, source
- Doljanchi: en:User:Jamsong, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Russian wedding traditions: GeorgeLouis, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Sky burial: FishOil at English Wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Kurdish dance: Kaiwan Moradi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Red envelope: Oldie~commonswiki, Public domain, source
- Yajna: Chainwit., CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Keening: W.H. Brooke, Public domain, source
- Polterabend: 4028mdk09, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ancestor veneration: Thang Nguyen, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Miyamairi: I (Sakura-saku-kuni) took this photograph., Public domain, source
- Wedding cord: Phil! Gold, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Khachkar: Arantz, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Joss paper: Vmenkov, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Japanese funeral: 夢の散歩, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ancient Egyptian funerary practices: Hunefer, Public domain, source
- Pyebaek: halfGoku, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Shinto wedding: Jakub Hałun, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tumpeng: brother-harahap, CC BY 2.0, source
- Traditional Ukrainian wedding: Пимоненко, Николай Корнильевич, Public domain, source
- Wai khru: seetefl on Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Baby shower: Goizarin, CC0, source
- Iranian wedding: Flickr.com user "avlxyz", CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Pakistani wedding: Rukhsana iqbal, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sindoor: Masum-al-hasan, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Traditional Chinese marriage: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Puja: Sakkhar21, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Marriage in Korea: Jérôme Banal ( Eden2004 ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Sworn virgin: Edith Durham, Public domain, source
- Radonitsa: Perohanych, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Burial: Rama , commissioned by Wikimédia France, CC BY-SA 2.0 fr, source
- Matchmaking: Pavel Fedotov, Public domain, source
- Libation: Arkady Zarubin ( Аркадий Зарубин ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Marriage proposal: Victorgrigas, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Vigil: unknown master, Public domain, source
- Opening of the mouth ceremony: Hunefer, Public domain, source
- First Communion: Fortepan adományozó URBÁN TAMÁS, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Heraean Games: Ingo Mehling, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Svayamvara: Nandalal Bose, Public domain, source
- Breastfeeding in public: carlosalbertony, CC0, source
- Confirmation: Unknown author, CC BY 2.0, source