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
🇮🇹 Turin, Italy and 5 moreMary Help of ChristiansSancta Maria Auxilium Christianorum
A Christian feast and devotion honouring Mary as a protector, observed on 24 MaySpiritual
🇸🇰 SlovakiaJasličkári
A Slovak Christmas custom of young men acting out the Nativity from house to houseFestival
🇮🇹 Rome, ItalyVenus Verticordia
A Roman cult of Venus as the turner of hearts, kept by married womenSpiritual
🇪🇸 SpainGragerגראַגער (grager)
A noisemaker used by Jewish communities to drown out the name of Haman during Purim readings.Festival
🇬🇧 Worldham, United Kingdom and 5 moreJalsa Salanaجلسہ سالانہ
A three-day annual assembly for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, featuring lectures, prayers and communal meals.Festival · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇹 Italy and 2 moreFeast of Saint Thomas Aquinas
An annual Christian feast day honouring the medieval theologian Saint Thomas AquinasSpiritual
🇬🇧 United KingdomRacial Justice Sunday
A day of prayer and action for racial justice observed by British Christian churches in February.Spiritual
🇮🇹 Avezzano, ItalyFeast of the Madonna di PietraquariaMadonna di Pietraquaria
A three-day spring festival in Avezzano marked by neighborhood bonfires, a street fair, and a mountain-to-city processioFestival
🇷🇸 Serbia and 2 moreZapisзапис
A consecrated village tree marked with a cross, venerated in Serbian folk traditionSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇷🇸 SerbiaVertepвертеп
A Serbian Orthodox Christmas Eve custom, named for the cave of the NativitySpiritual
🇭🇷 CroatiaBadnjakBadnji dan
A Christmas Eve oak log burned in the hearth across Croatia to welcome the holiday.Festival · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇱🇹 LithuaniaLithuanian cross craftingLietuvos kryždirbystė
A Lithuanian folk art of carving wooden crosses that blend Christian faith with ancient Baltic symbols.Craft
🇱🇺 Luxembourg City, Luxembourg and 3 moreOktavMuttergottesoktav
A two-week annual Marian pilgrimage and festival in Luxembourg CitySpiritual · Tea-time and snacking customs
🇷🇸 Serbia and 5 moreĐurđevdanЂурђевдан
A spring festival and feast of Saint George kept across the Balkans and Eastern EuropeFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇪 Ireland and 2 moreEmber daysQuatuor Tempora
A quarterly Western Christian rhythm of fasting, prayer and seasonal thanksgivingSeasonal · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇧🇪 BelgiumMarches of Entre-Sambre-et-MeuseMarches de l'Entre-Sambre-et-Meuse
Folk processions with armed escorts in Belgian villages, kept from May to OctoberSpiritual · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇫🇷 France and 5 moreRespite SanctuarySanctuaire à répit
A historical Catholic custom of seeking brief revival to baptise stillborn infantsSpiritual
🇮🇹 Lake Nemi, ItalyNemoralia
A three-day Roman festival of torches and garlands for the goddess DianaSpiritual
🇭🇷 Metković, CroatiaŽudije
Dalmatian guardians who watch the tomb of Christ from Holy Thursday to Easter VigilSpiritual
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Venus Verticordia: kladcat, CC BY 2.0, source
- Mary Help of Christians: Didier Descouens, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Nemoralia: Frederic Leighton, Public domain, source
- Zapis: Zblagojevic, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Badnjak: Vidonjac, CC BY 2.0, source
- Đurđevdan: Anonymous Russian icon painter (before 1917) Public domain image (acco, Public domain, source
- Ember days: Richard Symonds, CC BY 3.0, source
- Marches of Entre-Sambre-et-Meuse: Hoebele, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Respite Sanctuary: Atelier Roussel à Beauvais 1878, Public domain, source
- Grager: https://www.flickr.com/people/69061470@N05, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Jalsa Salana: Ceddyfresse, Public domain, source
- Feast of Saint Thomas Aquinas: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Racial Justice Sunday: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Feast of the Madonna di Pietraquaria: Marica Massaro, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Lithuanian cross crafting: Vilensija, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Oktav: Daderot, CC0, source