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
🇵🇭 Philippines and 6 moreMaundy ThursdayDies Cenae Domini
A Christian feast marking the start of Easter observances with foot washing and communion services.Spiritual
🇯🇵 JapanMiyamairi宮参り
A first visit to a Shinto shrine, about a month after a baby is bornRite of passage
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreAncestor veneration
Honouring dead relatives with offerings, meals and prayers, kept in cultures worldwideSpiritual
🇮🇹 Florence, ItalyScoppio del Carro
An Easter Sunday fireworks display ignited by a flying dove in FlorenceFestival
🇯🇵 JapanShikoku Pilgrimage四国遍路
A long circuit of 88 temples on Japan's Shikoku island, kept by pilgrims called henroSpiritual
🇮🇷 Iran and 5 moreEid al-Ghadirعید الغدیر
A Shia Muslim festival of prayer, gifts and shared meals, kept on 18 Dhu al-HijjahSpiritual
🇨🇳 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
🇧🇪 Mons, BelgiumDucasse de Mons
An eight-day festival in Mons featuring a golden carriage and a dragon combatFestival
🇱🇰 Sri LankaPoya
A monthly full moon Buddhist holiday of observance and fasting in Sri LankaSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇰🇷 Seoul, South KoreaJongmyo jerye종묘 제례
Ancestral rite for Korea's Joseon kings, with court music and a line dance, held in SeoulSpiritual
🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreEpiphany
A January feast of the Magi, the Jordan baptism and the Cana miracle, kept by ChristiansSpiritual
🇹🇭 ThailandWai khruพิธีไหว้ครู
A Thai ceremony of thanks to teachers, held in schools and in the artsSpiritual
🇧🇩 BangladeshEid prayersصلاة العيد
The yearly festival prayer of the two Eids, offered in the morning by MuslimsSpiritual
🇮🇹 Naples, Italy and 5 moreNativity scene
A seasonal set of figures showing Jesus's birth, put up by Christians at ChristmasFestival
🇹🇷 Edirne, Turkey and 3 moreOil wrestlingYağlı güreş
Oiled wrestlers in leather trousers: Turkey's national sport, centred on KırkpınarGame
🇰🇷 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
🇪🇸 Spain and 2 moreLas arras
Thirteen gold coins, blessed at a wedding and given by the groom to the brideRite of passage
🇹🇭 Bangkok, ThailandSongkranสงกรานต์
The three-day Thai New Year festival marked by water rituals and blessings for eldersFestival
🇹🇼 TaiwanFlying Fish Festival飛魚祭
A months-long seasonal fishing observance kept by the Tao people of Orchid IslandSeasonal
🇮🇷 Iran and 5 moreWinter solstice
The shortest day and longest night of the year, marked with fire, feasting and poetrySeasonal
🇹🇷 Turkey and 2 moreSufi whirling
A Sufi meditation in which dervishes spin in circles to turn toward GodSpiritual
🇨🇳 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
🇮🇸 Iceland and 2 moreYuleġēol (Old English); jól (Old Norse)
The Germanic midwinter festival that Christmas grew out of, kept today by HeathensSpiritual
🇱🇦 Laos and 3 moreRocket Festivalບຸນບັ້ງໄຟ
A rainy-season festival of merit-making, music, parades and homemade rocketsFestival
🇮🇹 Venice, ItalyFesta del RedentoreFesta del Redentor
Venice's July festival of fireworks over the water, kept in thanks for the plague's endFestival
🇿🇦 South AfricaUlwaluko
A Xhosa rite that takes a boy into manhood through seclusion and teachingRite of passage
🇮🇳 Mumbai, India and 1 moreDhoti
A long unstitched cloth men wrap like trousers, for worship and formal daysDress
🇪🇹 Ethiopia and 1 moreFasikaፋሲካ
The celebration of Easter and the end of Lent across Ethiopia and EritreaSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇹🇭 Thailand and 5 moreAsalha Pujaอาสาฬหบูชา
A Theravada festival marking the Buddha's first sermon and the monastic orderSpiritual
🇵🇭 Manila, PhilippinesHoly Week in the PhilippinesMahal na Araw
An eight-day observance of the Passion, death, and resurrection of Christ in the Philippines.Spiritual
🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanKanda Matsuri神田祭
A major Shinto festival with massive parades through the streets of central TokyoFestival
🇮🇱 IsraelKiddushקידוש
A blessing over wine or grape juice that marks Shabbat and festivals as holySpiritual · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇹🇭 Thailand and 3 moreVassa
A three-month rainy-season retreat of meditation, study, and discipline for BuddhistsSpiritual
🇲🇾 Kelantan, Malaysia and 2 moreMak yongTarian Mak Yong (Jawi: مق يوڠ)
A dance-drama of Kelantan and Patani, told in song, music and improvised speechPerformance
🇲🇽 Mexico City, MexicoOfrenda
A home altar of food, flowers and candles that welcomes the dead home at Día de MuertosSpiritual
🇲🇼 Malawi and 2 moreGule Wamkulu
A masked Chewa dance of the Nyau society, danced at funerals and chief installationsPerformance
🇮🇳 IndiaAhoi Ashtami
A day of fasting by Hindu mothers before Diwali, for their children's wellbeingFestival · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇷🇸 Serbia and 5 moreSerbian ChristmasБожић
A three-day midwinter observance focused on oak logs, floor straw and family gatheringsSpiritual · Dinner
🇵🇱 PolandWigilia
Poland's meatless Christmas Eve supper, begun when the first star appearsTable custom · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇩 Bali, IndonesiaNgaben
A Balinese Hindu cremation rite held to free the soul of the deadRite of passage
🇮🇹 Rome, Italy and 2 moreAssumption of Mary
A feast on 15 August, when Christians remember Mary taken up into heavenSpiritual
🇷🇺 RussiaRussian wedding traditions
A Russian wedding runs two days to a week, with ransom games, crowns and toastsRite of passage
🇬🇧 London, United KingdomRoyal Maundy
A Church of England service where the monarch gives silver Maundy coins to older peopleSpiritual
🇼🇸 Samoa and 1 moreʻAva ceremony
A solemn ritual of shared drink and oratory in Samoa and Tonga to mark chiefly titles and important gatherings.Festival
🇧🇬 Bulgaria and 4 moreKukeriкукери (kukeri)
Masked and belled figures who tour Bulgarian villages at New Year to drive off harmSpiritual
🇱🇰 Sri LankaSanni Yakuma
A Sinhalese rite where masked dancers summon eighteen illness demons and banish themSpiritual
🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreHigh Holy Daysיָמִים נוֹרָאִים
The Jewish year's ten days of repentance, from Rosh Hashanah to Yom KippurSpiritual
🇵🇱 PolandEaster in Poland
A spring holiday of family breakfasts, blessed baskets, decorated eggs, and water games.Festival · Breakfast
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Sama: myself, Public domain, source
- Kanda Matsuri: Jose Fernando, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Shikoku Pilgrimage: Dokudami, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Easter in Poland: Silar, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Asalha Puja: Chainwit., CC BY 4.0, source
- Vassa: Chainwit., CC BY 4.0, source
- Holy Week in the Philippines: LMP 2001, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Serbian Christmas: Petar Milošević, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Rocket Festival: Takeaway, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Songkran: ผู้สร้างสรรค์ผลงาน/ส่งข้อมูลเก็บในคลังข้อมูลเสรีวิกิมีเดียคอมมอนส์ - เ, CC BY 3.0, source
- Ducasse de Mons: Jean-Pol GRANDMONT, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Maundy Thursday: Benedetto Caliari, Public domain, source
- Nyau: Hans Hillewaert, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- High Holy Days: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Kukeri: Nenko Lazarov, CC BY 2.5, source
- Ngaben: by kibitan, CC BY 2.0, source
- Wigilia: Przykuta, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ahoi Ashtami: आशीष भटनागर, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kiddush: Dimitri, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Dhoti: Redaloes at English Wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Ulwaluko: Dingeman, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Butter tea: Yosomono, CC BY 2.0, source
- Festa del Redentore: Photographer: Riccardo Speziari, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Yule: Robert Chambers, Public domain, source
- Las arras: penny, CC BY 2.0, source
- Doljanchi: en:User:Jamsong, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Oil wrestling: No machine-readable author provided. Math34 assumed (based on copyrigh, Public domain, source
- Nativity scene: Yvonne Bentele, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Jongmyo jerye: David McNally, USAG-Yongsan, Public domain, source
- Russian wedding traditions: GeorgeLouis, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Sky burial: FishOil at English Wikipedia, Public domain, source
- ʻAva ceremony: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Eid al-Ghadir: khamenei.ir, CC BY 4.0, source
- Ancestor veneration: Thang Nguyen, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Sanni Yakuma: Michael Gunther, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Miyamairi: I (Sakura-saku-kuni) took this photograph., Public domain, source
- Ofrenda: Eneas de Troya, CC BY 2.0, source
- Royal Maundy: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Assumption of Mary: Jebulon, CC0, source
- Epiphany: Gentile da Fabriano, Public domain, source
- Wai khru: seetefl on Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Eid prayers: Azimronnie, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Winter solstice: Image by Przemyslaw " Blueshade " Idzkiewicz, CC BY-SA 2.0, source