All traditions
2,291 traditions so far, best known first. 12,311 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
🇫🇷 FranceConfirmation
A Christian rite of laying on of hands that completes baptism and strengthens faithRite 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
🇷🇺 Moscow, RussiaChristmas in RussiaРождество Христово
An Orthodox winter feast marked by church vigils, fasting suppers and festive mealsSpiritual · Supper
🇮🇳 IndiaAhimsaअहिंसा
A daily Indian discipline of doing no harm, in deed, word and thoughtSpiritual
🇮🇳 Lucknow, India and 1 moreKathak
A north Indian classical dance of stories, footwork and spins, from temples and courtsPerformance
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreKolamகோலம்
A rice-flour floor drawing made at South Indian doorsteps before sunriseCraft
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreRudrakshaरुद्राक्ष
Seeds of the Elaeocarpus tree, worn as prayer beads by devotees of ShivaSpiritual
🇯🇲 JamaicaItal
A Rastafari way of eating: food from the earth, kept to raise livityTable custom
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreRangoliरंगोली
Floor patterns of rice flour, sand or petals, drawn at the doorstep for festivalsCraft
🇮🇳 Puri, IndiaOdissiଓଡ଼ିଶୀ
A classical dance of Odisha, told through bends, gestures and sung poetryPerformance
🇮🇳 Trivandrum, IndiaKathakaliകഥകളി
A classical dance-drama from Kerala featuring elaborate makeup and costumes to tell epic stories.Performance
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreBindi
A dot worn between the eyebrows, red for marriage and devotion, worn daily by many womenDress
🇮🇳 Palani, India and 5 moreKavadi Aattamகாவடி ஆட்டம்
Tamil devotees of Murugan carry burdens as a vow during ThaipusamSpiritual
🇮🇳 Udupi, IndiaYakshaganaಯಕ್ಷಗಾನ (Kannada)
A night-long dance-drama from coastal Karnataka, with sung dialogue and drummingPerformance
🇮🇳 IndiaSattriya
A classical dance from Assam, kept in monasteries and performed on stages worldwidePerformance
🇮🇳 Imphal, India and 1 moreManipuri danceJagoi Raas, Raas Jagoi
A classical dance from Manipur, danced as an offering to Radha and KrishnaPerformance
🇮🇳 India and 4 moreSindoorसिंदूर
A red powder worn in the hair parting by many married Hindu womenDress
🇮🇳 IndiaMohiniyattam
A gentle solo dance from Kerala, once a temple art and now taught in dance schoolsPerformance
🇮🇳 India and 3 moreBhajanभजनम् (bhajanam)
Devotional songs of South Asia, sung alone or together with drums and cymbalsPerformance
🇮🇱 Israel and 3 moreKashrutכַּשְׁרוּת (Hebrew)
The Jewish dietary laws: what may be eaten, and how it is preparedTable custom
🇮🇳 Kuchipudi, IndiaKuchipudi
A classical dance-drama from Andhra Pradesh, with roots in temple and bhakti performance.Performance
🇮🇳 Delhi, IndiaLingamliṅga
The pillar-shaped image of Shiva, kept in temples and home shrinesSpiritual
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia and 2 moreHijabحجاب
A Muslim practice of modesty and dress, worn by women as a headscarf or more coveringDress
🇮🇳 India and 2 morePujaपूजा (pūjā)
Hindu worship: light, flowers and food offered to a deity or a guestSpiritual
🇮🇳 Varanasi, IndiaHanuman Chalisaहनुमान चालीसा
A forty-stanza Awadhi hymn praising Hanuman, said by Hindus each daySpiritual
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreKoothu
Tamil street theatre with dance, music and epic stories, staged at temple festivals.Performance
🇮🇳 Nadia, IndiaDhunachi
A Bengali incense burner, swung in worship and danced with at Durga PujaSpiritual
🇮🇳 Palani, IndiaPanchamritaपञ्चामृत (Sanskrit); பஞ்சாமிர்தம் (Tamil)
Five sacred foods mixed and poured over temple images in Hindu and Jain worshipSpiritual · Sweets given and shared
🇺🇸 Spokane, United States and 5 moreFather's Day
A day to honour fathers and fatherhood, kept on many different dates worldwideFestival
🇧🇩 BangladeshNight of Powerليلة القدر
The night Muslims believe the Quran first came down, sought in Ramadan's last ten nightsSpiritual
🇱🇧 Lebanon and 2 moreAnnunciationΟ Ευαγγελισμός της Θεοτόκου
A Christian feast marking the angel Gabriel's message to Mary about bearing Jesus, kept on 25 March.Festival
🇰🇪 Kenya and 5 moreBurial
Placing the dead in the ground or a structure to honor them and guide their journey.Rite of passage
🇮🇱 Israel and 6 moreHoly SaturdaySabbatum Sanctum
The closing day of Holy Week, a Saturday of waiting, fasting and vigil before EasterSpiritual
🇬🇷 Olympia, GreeceAncient Olympic Gamesτὰ Ὀλύμπια
A quadrennial athletic festival held in ancient Greece to honor the god ZeusGame
🇲🇱 MaliWuduوضوء
The Islamic ritual washing with water before prayer and sacred actsSpiritual
🇨🇦 Canada and 1 moreBeatification
A Catholic rite conferring the title Blessed and allowing local public venerationSpiritual
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreNativity of Mary
A Christian feast day honouring the birth of Mary, the mother of JesusSpiritual · Lunch
🇮🇹 Rome, ItalySaturnalia
A December festival of ancient Rome, with feasting, gifts, gambling and role reversalSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇬🇷 Eleusis, Greece and 1 moreEleusinian MysteriesἘλευσίνια Μυστήρια
Secret annual initiations in ancient Greece dedicated to Demeter and Persephone, promising a blessed afterlife.Spiritual
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreYajnaयज्ञ
A Hindu ritual of offering items into a sacred fire to honor deities and ancestors.Spiritual
🇸🇦 Mecca, Saudi Arabia and 1 moreDay of Arafahيوم عرفة
A holy day of prayer, repentance, and vigil on the second day of the Hajj pilgrimageSpiritual
🇮🇹 Rome, ItalyBacchanalia
An ancient Roman mystery festival dedicated to the god of wine and ecstasyFestival · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇷🇺 Moscow, Russia and 5 moreDormition of the Mother of God
A major feast in Eastern Christianity marking the death and heavenly ascent of Mary.Spiritual
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 6 moreSaint George's Day
A saint's feast on 23 April, kept by churches and patron nations from England to GeorgiaSpiritual
🇸🇬 Singapore and 3 moreMatchmaking
The custom of using a trusted intermediary to introduce partners for marriageRite of passage
🇩🇪 Germany and 3 moreVisitation
A Christian feast commemorating Mary's journey to visit her cousin ElizabethSpiritual
🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreLibation
The ceremonial gift of drink given to deities, ancestors, and the earthSpiritual · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇩🇪 Wittenberg, Germany and 5 moreReformation Day
An annual Christian observance marking the start of the Protestant ReformationSpiritual
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Reformation Day: 95Thesen.jpg : User:Shizhao derivative work: 6birc ( talk ), Public domain, source
- Christmas in Russia: Gzen92, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Raslila: https://www.flickr.com/photos/matsukin/, CC BY 2.0, source
- Rangoli: SreeramKalyan, CC0, source
- Rudraksha: Merasmita, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kathak: Shinjinikulkarni, CC BY 4.0, source
- Dhunachi: Amitbsws, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kolam: mckaysavage, CC BY 2.0, source
- Ital: Chrysaora, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Odissi: Melolagnia28192, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kathakali: Paul Varuni, CC BY 2.0, source
- Bindi: Vinay Sahay, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Yakshagana: Krishnamoorthy Sudhakar, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kavadi Aattam: Raja Ravi Varma, Public domain, source
- Sattriya: User: Sattriyadance, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sindoor: Masum-al-hasan, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mohiniyattam: Shagil Kannur, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Bhajan: Bootervijay at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kashrut: Daniel Ventura, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kuchipudi: Augustus Binu / facebook, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Lingam: शिव साहिल, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Night of Power: M sh شراونة محمد, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Hijab: Sophie Barat, CC BY 2.0, source
- Eleusinian Mysteries: No machine-readable author provided. Marsyas assumed (based on copyrig, Public domain, source
- Saint George's Day: Raphael, Public domain, source
- Holy Saturday: Anonymous Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Dormition of the Mother of God: El Greco, Public domain, source
- Father's Day: Jjsarto, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Burial: Rama , commissioned by Wikimédia France, CC BY-SA 2.0 fr, source
- Ancient Olympic Games: Bgabel, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Wudu: Wolfgang Sauber, CC BY 4.0, source
- Nativity of Mary: Giotto, Public domain, source
- Bacchanalia: Nicolas Poussin, Public domain, source
- Matchmaking: Pavel Fedotov, Public domain, source
- Libation: Arkady Zarubin ( Аркадий Зарубин ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Confirmation: Unknown author, CC BY 2.0, source
- Saturnalia: Themadchopper, Antoine-François Callet, CC0, source
- Annunciation: El Greco, Public domain, source
- Day of Arafah: Al Jazeera English, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Yajna: Chainwit., CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ahimsa: Jain cloud, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Hanuman Chalisa: RahulKSaini, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Puja: Sakkhar21, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Panchamrita: Skubydoo, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Koothu: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Visitation: Giotto, Public domain, source
- Beatification: Stebunik, CC BY 3.0, source