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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.

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RegionSouth AsiaSoutheast AsiaEast AsiaCentral Asia and the CaucasusMiddle EastNorth AfricaSub-Saharan AfricaEuropeNorth AmericaLatin America and the CaribbeanOceania
KindSpiritualFestivalRite of passageTable customSeasonalDressPerformanceEtiquetteCraftGameFolkloreHomeCeremony
MealBreakfastLunchDinnerSupperTea-time and snacking customsTea, coffee and drinking ceremoniesSweets given and sharedFeasts and festival mealsFasting and breaking the fast
🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanDaijō-sai大嘗祭 The emperor's once-in-a-reign Shinto rite of thanks for the rice harvestSpiritual 🇯🇵 Tokyo, Japan and 5 moreTaiko太鼓 (taiko) Japanese drums, and the ensemble style of playing themPerformance 🇨🇳 Beijing, China and 1 moreLaba congee腊八粥 A ceremonial Chinese porridge of rice, beans and dried fruit, eaten at the Laba FestivalTable custom · Feasts and festival meals 🇯🇵 Japan and 1 moreIomanteイオマンテ An Ainu rite that sends a hand-raised bear cub's spirit home to the god-worldSpiritual 🇨🇳 Lhasa, China and 5 moreButter teaབོད་ཇ་ A salted tea churned with yak butter, served to guests across the HimalayaTable custom · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies 🇰🇷 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 🇰🇷 Seoul, South KoreaJongmyo jerye종묘 제례 Ancestral rite for Korea's Joseon kings, with court music and a line dance, held in SeoulSpiritual 🇨🇳 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 🇨🇳 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 🇯🇵 Hiroshima, JapanKagura神楽 A sacred Shinto dance tradition in Japan that invites deities to descend and perform through human dancers.Performance 🇨🇳 China and 5 moreAncestor worship Honouring dead relatives with offerings and prayers, kept in many cultures worldwideSpiritual 🇯🇵 JapanJapanese funeral葬儀 (sōgi) A Buddhist farewell in Japan: a wake, cremation, bone-gathering and a family graveRite of passage 🇯🇵 JapanBowing in Japanお辞儀 The Japanese bow, used to greet, thank, apologise and show respectEtiquette 🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanShinto wedding神前結婚 A short purification ceremony before the kami, sealed by three cups of sakeRite of passage 🇨🇳 Meizhou Island, China and 5 moreMazu媽祖 A sea goddess of the Chinese coast, asked for calm water and a safe returnSpiritual 🇯🇵 Suwa, JapanOnbashira Festival式年造営御柱大祭 A rite in Nagano where massive fir logs are dragged down mountains and raised at shrinesSpiritual 🇯🇵 Tokushima, JapanAwa Dance Festival阿波踊り A summer street dance festival held in Tokushima during the Buddhist season of ObonFestival 🇨🇳 ChinaChinese funeral rituals Traditional rites of mourning, vigils, offerings, and ancestor veneration across ChinaRite of passage 🇨🇳 China and 5 moreJoss paper金紙 (jīnzhǐ) Paper money burned for ancestors and gods, folded and offered in Chinese worshipSpiritual 🇭🇰 Cheung Chau, Hong KongCheung Chau Bun Festival包山節 A week of vegetarian days, bun towers and a midnight scramble on a Hong Kong islandFestival 🇨🇳 China and 3 moreCham danceའཆམ་ A masked monastery dance of Tibetan Buddhism, staged at festivals to teach and blessSpiritual 🇯🇵 Kyoto, JapanJapanese tea ceremony茶道 (Sadō / Chadō), 茶の湯 (Chanoyu) The formal serving of powdered matcha, shaped by Zen, Shinto and wabiTable custom · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies 🇲🇳 Mongolia and 5 moreThroat singing Several deep, guttural singing styles, each named and kept by its own peoplePerformance 🇨🇳 ChinaKowtow叩頭 A traditional Chinese prostration of deep respect by kneeling and bowing to the groundEtiquette 🇨🇳 China and 1 moreDajiao打醮 An annual Taoist ritual and festival seeking peace and safety for the communitySpiritual · Feasts and festival meals 🇨🇳 Taiyuan, ChinaGuan Li冠禮 The traditional Chinese coming-of-age capping ceremony for young menRite of passage 🇨🇳 China and 3 moreQimen Dunjia奇門遁甲 A classical Chinese divination system that maps time, space, and strategySpiritual 🇨🇳 China and 1 moreRed Thread of Fate姻緣紅線 An East Asian belief in an invisible cord binding two people destined for marriageFolklore 🇨🇳 China and 5 moreLife release放生 A Buddhist practice of freeing captive animals to spare their lives and gain meritSpiritual 🇨🇳 Quanzhou, China and 5 moreNanguan南管 An introspective chamber music tradition from southern Fujian and Taiwan.Performance 🇨🇳 China and 3 moreBuddhist initiation受戒 A public ceremony where a lay follower takes refuge in the Triple Gem and accepts moral precepts.Spiritual 🇨🇳 Tianjin, China and 1 moreBa-zha八蜡 An old Chinese harvest rite of eight offerings, later a guardian against locustsSpiritual 🇨🇳 China and 1 moreTaiyin Xingjun太陰星君 The Chinese moon goddess, honoured at Mid-Autumn with incense, mooncakes and prayersSpiritual · Sweets given and shared 🇨🇳 Beijing, ChinaZangfu臟腑 (simplified 脏腑; zàngfǔ) A Chinese medicine view of organs as networks of qi, blood and five phasesFolklore 🇨🇳 Ziyang, China and 1 moreThree Corpses三尸 A Daoist belief in three inner parasites that cause illness and cut life shortFolklore 🇨🇳 Luoyang, China and 1 moreYin and yang陰陽 Two opposite but complementary forces that Chinese thought sees in all thingsFolklore 🇨🇳 Dunhuang, China and 2 moreYingluo璎珞 A ring-shaped Buddhist neck ornament that became a Chinese necklace, worn again todayDress 🇨🇳 ChinaTui na推拿 A traditional Chinese hands-on therapy using pushing, grasping, and acupressure pointsFolklore 🇨🇳 Beijing, ChinaZangfu脏腑 A traditional Chinese model of internal organs as paired networks of energy and functionFolklore 🇨🇳 Beijing, ChinaZangfu脏腑 The traditional Chinese medical model of interconnected organ networks and vital energyFolklore 🇰🇷 South KoreaMusok eumak무속 음악 (巫俗音樂) Ritual music of Korean shamanism, sung and drummed to carry a shaman into trancePerformance 🇨🇳 Xi'an, ChinaXi'an guyue西安鼓乐 Ritual wind and percussion music from Xi'an, played sitting or walkingPerformance 🇨🇳 China and 1 moreFive Grains五穀 A sacred grouping of staple crops honoured as the bedrock of East Asian civilizationFolklore
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The weekly EveryParampara

Every week: one tradition from somewhere new, what is being celebrated around the world this week, and one idea explained.