All traditions
2,287 traditions so far, best known first. 12,328 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
🇮🇹 Rome, Italy and 4 moreChristmas
A festival of Jesus's birth, kept on 25 December with gifts, lights and shared mealsFestival
🇮🇪 Ireland and 5 moreHalloween
An annual observance on 31 October marking the eve of All Saints' Day, rooted in Christian tradition and Celtic heritageFestival · Sweets given and shared
🇮🇹 Rome, Italy and 4 moreValentine's Day
A Christian feast day and cultural celebration of love kept on February 14 in many countries.Festival
🇹🇷 Turkey and 5 moreEid al-Fitrعيد الفطر
The feast that ends Ramadan, opened with morning prayers, sweets and visits homeFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇦🇺 Australia and 5 moreGood Friday
A solemn Christian holy day commemorating the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ.Spiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇮🇳 Ayodhya, India and 10 moreDiwaliदीपावली (Dīpāvalī)
A five-day festival of lights celebrated across India and its diaspora to mark the victory of light over darkness.Festival · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇷 Iran and 21 moreNowruzنوروز
The Iranian new year at the March equinox, kept with fire, greenery and picnicsSeasonal
🇮🇱 Jerusalem, IsraelPassoverפסח
A Jewish spring festival celebrating freedom from slavery with ritual mealsSpiritual · Dinner
🇵🇭 Philippines and 5 moreHoly WeekἉγία καὶ Μεγάλη Ἑβδομάς
The solemn seven days leading to Easter, recalling the final week and Passion of JesusSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇮🇱 Jerusalem, Israel and 1 moreHanukkahחֲנֻכָּה
An eight-day Jewish festival marking the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem and the miracle of a single day'Festival
🇪🇬 Egypt and 6 moreMawlidمولد (Mawlid)
An annual festival marking the birth of the Prophet Muhammad, marked by poetry, processions and feasts.Festival · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇳 Mathura, India and 5 moreHoliहोली (Hindi)
A spring festival of colours and bonfires that marks the end of winter and the triumph of good over evil.Festival
🇵🇱 Poland and 5 moreChristmas Eve
The evening before Christmas, marked by church services, family meals, and gift preparations across Christian cultures.Festival · Dinner
🇮🇱 Jerusalem, IsraelYom Kippurיוֹם כִּפּוּר
The holiest day in Judaism, dedicated to fasting, prayer and atonementSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇮🇱 IsraelRosh Hashanahרֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה
The Jewish New Year marked by shofar horn blasts, prayer and sweet foodsSpiritual
🇺🇸 New York, United States and 5 moreFeast of the Ascension
The fortieth day of Easter, when Christians remember Jesus being taken up into heavenSpiritual
🇧🇩 Bangladesh and 3 moreAs-salamu alaykumسَلَامٌ عَلَيْكُمْ
A traditional Arabic greeting of peace exchanged in daily life and prayerEtiquette
🇮🇱 Jerusalem, IsraelSukkotסוכות
A seven-day autumn Jewish festival of temporary booths, harvest prayers and hospitalitySpiritual
🇮🇱 Jerusalem, Israel and 1 morePurimפּוּרִים
A lively Jewish festival of storytelling, shared food, masks and charityFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇪🇸 Valencia, Spain and 5 moreFeast of Corpus ChristiCorpus Domini
A Christian feast celebrating the presence of Christ in the bread and wine of the EucharistSpiritual
🇲🇽 Mexico City, Mexico and 2 moreDay of the DeadDía de Muertos
A Mexican remembrance of deceased family and friends with altars, marigolds and feastsFestival · Sweets given and shared
🇫🇷 France and 5 moreCandlemas
A Christian feast of candle blessings marking the end of the Christmas seasonSpiritual
🇮🇩 Indonesia and 2 moreKenduri
A communal prayer meal and gathering shared across Indonesia, Malaysia and BruneiSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇹🇱 Timor-LesteUma Lulik
Sacred ancestral clan houses and ritual shrines in East TimorSpiritual
🇵🇪 Cusco, Peru and 4 moreIntiinti (Quechua)
The Inca sun deity, honoured with temples, offerings and the June festival Inti RaymiSpiritual
🇳🇿 Auckland, New ZealandWhakapapa
Māori genealogy, recited to place a person among ancestors, land and tribeHome
🇳🇿 New Zealand and 2 moreMarae
A cleared, sacred gathering place at the heart of Māori and Polynesian community lifeSpiritual
🇮🇳 India and 4 moreWater lantern
Small lamps floated on water to honour the dead and ask for good fortuneFestival
🇲🇽 Veracruz, Mexico and 3 moreMesoamerican ballgameōllamalīztli
An ancient Mesoamerican ball game, struck with the hips on stone courtsGame
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreGhazalغَزَل
A short rhyming poem of love and parting, recited and sung from Arabia to South AsiaPerformance
🇳🇬 Ibadan, Nigeria and 1 moreYoruba naming ceremonyÌkòlọ́pọ̀ Orúkọ Yorùbá
A rite of passage where a newborn receives a destiny name through divination and family celebration.Rite of passage · Feasts and festival meals
🇦🇺 AustraliaBark painting
Ochre pictures on flattened tree bark, an Aboriginal art form of northern AustraliaCraft
🇱🇹 LithuaniaVėlinės
A Lithuanian remembrance day honouring deceased souls with cemetery prayers and candlesSpiritual
🇹🇷 Konya, Turkey and 4 moreMevlevi OrderMevlevilik
A Sufi tradition from Konya known for its whirling ceremony and devotion to Rumi's teachings.Spiritual
🇵🇬 Maprik, Papua New GuineaHaus Tambaran
A sacred house of the Sepik peoples, used for ancestor worship and male initiationSpiritual
🇮🇪 Galway, Ireland and 1 moreBrigid's crossCros Bhríde
A cross of woven rushes or straw, made for Saint Brigid's Day on the first of FebruaryCraft
🇲🇳 Mongolia and 3 moreOvooовоо (Cyrillic Mongolian); ᠣᠪᠤᠭᠠ (Traditional Mongol)
A stone cairn on a peak or pass, circled by travellers and honoured in sky worshipSpiritual
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreKailash Mansarovar Yatraकैलाश मानसरोवर यात्रा (Hindi); ཀཱའི་ལ་ཤ་མན་ས་རོ་ཝར་ཡ་ཏྲ། (Tibetan)
A high-altitude pilgrimage to Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar in TibetSpiritual
🇧🇭 Bahrain and 3 moreFann at-Tanburaفن الطنبورة
A Gulf song and dance of drums and tanbura, born in healing, now stagedPerformance
🇵🇭 Manila, PhilippinesPasyon
A Tagalog epic of Christ's passion, chanted without a break during Holy WeekSpiritual
🇲🇿 Island of Mozambique, MozambiqueTufo
A women's dance of northern Mozambique, performed at Islamic feasts to drums and songPerformance
🇵🇰 Islamabad, Pakistan and 2 moreQawwaliقَوّالی
Devotional Sufi singing from South Asia, led by hereditary parties at shrinesPerformance
🇵🇪 Peru and 2 moreAyniAyni (Quechua and Aymara)
Giving and receiving as a duty, kept by Andean communitiesEtiquette
🇮🇳 IndiaSatsangसत्सङ्ग
Sitting in the company of truth, to hear, sing and meditate in northern IndiaSpiritual
🇮🇱 Jerusalem, Israel and 5 moreHoly FireἋγιον Φῶς
A fire ceremony in Jerusalem each year, kept by Orthodox Christians before EasterSpiritual
🇱🇰 Kandy, Sri LankaKandyan danceඋඩරට නැටුම්
The sacred dance of Sri Lanka's hill country, kept in temple and on the stagePerformance
🇮🇱 IsraelMishloach manotמשלוח מנות
Food parcels exchanged on Purim, so everyone has plenty for the day's festive mealSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇺🇸 New York, United States and 1 moreFortune-telling
Reading cards, palms or tea leaves to tell a client what may lie aheadFolklore
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Jack-o'-lantern: Toby Ord, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Kenduri: Andreasprasetya, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Uma Lulik: Isabel Nolasco, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Inti: Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala, Public domain, source
- Whakapapa: Jimmy Pitt, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Marae: W. Bulach, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Water lantern: 松岡明芳, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Christmas: Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, Public domain, source
- Imbolc: Culnacreann, CC BY 3.0, source
- Holi: Jitenderasingh, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Eid al-Fitr: Mohammed Tawsif Salam, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Mesoamerican ballgame: Daniel Lobo (Daquella manera), CC BY 2.0, source
- Ghazal: Poem by Sa'di of Shiraz (13th century). 19th century manuscript, Public domain, source
- Bark painting: Unknown artist, Public domain, source
- Mawlid: Firdaus Latif, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Holy Week: Anonymous ( Maasland ) Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Mevlevi Order: Georges Jansoone ( JoJan ), CC BY 3.0, source
- Haus Tambaran: Sylt-Tinto, CC0, source
- Nowruz: Katzenfee50, CC0, source
- Ovoo: Bouette ., CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kailash Mansarovar Yatra: micknik, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sukkot: Zachi Evenor, CC BY 2.0, source
- Pasyon: Judgefloro, CC0, source
- Tufo: JCPBFerreira, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Qawwali: Saswat swarup mishra, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ayni: Sr raleigh, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Holy Fire: William Holman Hunt, Public domain, source
- Kandyan dance: PIERRE ANDRE LECLERCQ, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Mishloach manot: Yoninah, CC BY 2.5, source
- Fortune-telling: Taras Shevchenko, Public domain, source
- Diwali: Kalli navya, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Feast of the Ascension: Gebhard Fugel, Public domain, source
- Christmas Eve: Carl Larsson, Public domain, source
- Day of the Dead: RubeHM, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Passover: User:RadRafe~commonswiki, Public domain, source
- Hanukkah: Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 4.0, source
- Rosh Hashanah: N100a . The original uploader was N100a at Hebrew Wikipedia ., Attribution, source
- Yom Kippur: Maurycy Gottlieb, Public domain, source
- Feast of Corpus Christi: Fennec ., Public domain, source
- Purim: Unknown author, CC BY 2.5, source
- Candlemas: Andrea Mantegna, Public domain, source
- Valentine's Day: Upload: Chordboard, Public domain, source
- Good Friday: Bellina 09, CC BY-SA 4.0, source