All traditions
2,277 traditions so far, best known first. 12,331 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
🇮🇱 Jerusalem, IsraelPassoverפסח
A Jewish spring festival celebrating freedom from slavery with ritual mealsSpiritual · Dinner
🇵🇱 Poland and 5 moreChristmas Eve
The evening before Christmas, marked by church services, family meals, and gift preparations across Christian cultures.Festival · Dinner
🇺🇸 Raven's Roost, United StatesStomp dance
A ceremonial night dance kept by Eastern Woodland tribes in the United States and Oklahoma.Performance · Dinner
🇼🇸 Samoa and 3 moreWhite SundayLotu Tamaiti
A Samoan holiday honoring children with church services, white clothing, and family gatherings on the second Sunday of OFestival · Dinner
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreSaint Patrick's Day in the United States
An annual celebration of Irish heritage across America with parades, feasts and green dyeFestival · Dinner
🇰🇷 Seoul, South KoreaTemplestay템플스테이
A program that invites visitors to live in South Korean Buddhist temples and join the daily routines of monastic life.Spiritual · Dinner
🇮🇱 Jerusalem, IsraelPassover Sederסדר פסח
A ritual meal opening Passover, told over wine, matzah and symbolic foodsSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇲🇦 Morocco and 4 moreMimounaמִימוּנָה
A Maghrebi Jewish celebration marking the end of Passover with sweets and open doorsFestival · Dinner
🇯🇵 Osaka, JapanTsukimi月見 (Tsukimi) / お月見 (Otsukimi)
A Japanese autumn festival honoring the harvest moon with seasonal foods and pampas grass decorations.Festival · Dinner
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreChinese New Year's Evechúxī
A reunion day for ethnic Chinese families before the Lunar New Year, marked by feasts, rituals, and staying up late.Festival · Dinner
🇮🇩 IndonesiaSlametan
A short communal meal on Java where neighbours share food, prayer and a wish for peaceSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇷🇸 Serbia and 5 moreSerbian ChristmasБожић
A three-day midwinter observance focused on oak logs, floor straw and family gatheringsSpiritual · Dinner
🇮🇳 IndiaZoroastrian wedding
A multi-day Zoroastrian ceremony uniting two people through prayers, rituals and a shared meal.Rite of passage · Dinner
🇳🇵 NepalMha Pujaम्हपुजा
A Newar New Year ritual of self-worship, mandalas and renewal in NepalSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇱 Israel and 5 moreChallahחַלָּה
A braided Jewish bread, blessed and shared at Shabbat and holiday tablesTable custom · Feasts and festival meals
🇵🇱 PolandWigilia
Poland's meatless Christmas Eve supper, begun when the first star appearsTable custom · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇱 IsraelKiddushקידוש
A blessing over wine or grape juice that marks Shabbat and festivals as holySpiritual · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇮🇪 Dublin, Ireland and 2 moreLittle ChristmasNollaig na mBan
A January feast day marking the close of the twelve days of ChristmasSeasonal · Dinner
🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreSaint Sylvester's Day
A Christian feast day and year-end celebration marked across Europe and beyondSeasonal · Dinner
🇷🇸 Serbia and 5 moreĐurđevdanЂурђевдан
A spring festival and feast of Saint George kept across the Balkans and Eastern EuropeFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇶 IraqShabbat mealsסעודות שבת
Three ritual meals eaten across the Jewish Sabbath from Friday sunset to Saturday nightTable custom · Dinner
🇮🇱 Jerusalem, Israel and 1 moreHoshana Rabbahהוֹשַׁעְנָא רַבָּה
The seventh and final day of Sukkot, marked by seven synagogue processions and night-long study.Festival · Dinner
🇩🇿 Tlemcen, AlgeriaAshura in Algeriaيوم عاشوراء
A day of fasting, almsgiving, evening feasting and regional folk masquerades.Festival · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇸🇾 Syria and 1 moreThree Sundays of Commemoration
A Maronite Christian observance held on the three Sundays before Lent to remember the departed.Spiritual · Dinner
🇮🇱 IsraelEve of Passover on Shabbatערב פסח
Special Jewish calendar customs when the eve of Passover coincides with the SabbathSeasonal · Dinner
🇭🇷 CroatiaBadnjakBadnji dan
A Christmas Eve oak log burned in the hearth across Croatia to welcome the holiday.Festival · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇮🇱 Safed, Israel and 2 moreZemirotזמירות
Jewish table hymns sung during the three meals of Shabbat and holidaysSpiritual · Dinner
🇲🇦 Morocco and 1 moreTweezaتويزة
A North African tradition of communal voluntary work, mutual aid and shared harvestsCeremony · Dinner
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Eve of Passover on Shabbat: בעלת הזכויות - טלי אמתי, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Zemirot: ביקורת, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Shabbat meals: Yoninah, Public domain, source
- Đurđevdan: Anonymous Russian icon painter (before 1917) Public domain image (acco, Public domain, source
- Passover: User:RadRafe~commonswiki, Public domain, source
- Chinese New Year's Eve: Mickey Đại Phát, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Mha Puja: Karrattul, Public domain, source
- Tsukimi: katorisi, CC BY 3.0, source
- Serbian Christmas: Petar Milošević, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Passover Seder: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Saint Patrick's Day in the United States: White House/Chuck Kennedy, Public domain, source
- Slametan: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Templestay: (c)한국불교문화사업단, culturalcorpsofkoreanbuddhism, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mimouna: U.S. Embassy Tel Aviv, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Wigilia: Przykuta, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kiddush: Dimitri, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Hoshana Rabbah: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Ashura in Algeria: Jan Janssonius, Public domain, source
- Saint Sylvester's Day: Unknown medieval artist in Rome, Public domain, source
- Badnjak: Vidonjac, CC BY 2.0, source
- Tweeza: Demeester, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Christmas Eve: Carl Larsson, Public domain, source