Traditions beginning with J
52 traditions under J.
🇪🇪 EstoniaJaanipäev
An Estonian midsummer festival marking the shortest night with bonfires, songs and independence memories.Festival
🇪🇪 EstoniaJaanipäev
Estonia's midsummer night of bonfires, song and fortune-telling, on 23 and 24 JuneFestival
🇮🇪 Ireland and 2 moreJack-o'-lantern
A carved pumpkin lantern lit with a candle to brighten and protect Halloween nightsFolklore
🇬🇧 United KingdomJack o' Lent
An English Lenten custom of abusing and burning a straw figureSeasonal
🇮🇳 Krishnanagar, IndiaJagaddhatri Puja
A Hindu festival for the world-bearing goddess, kept in West Bengal each autumnSpiritual
🇮🇳 Madurai, IndiaJallikattuஜல்லிக்கட்டு
A traditional bull-embracing event held during harvest celebrations in Tamil NaduGame
🇬🇧 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
🇯🇲 Kingston, JamaicaJamaica Independence Festival
An August festival of music, pageantry and parades marking Jamaican freedomCeremony
🇾🇪 Hadhramaut, Yemen and 1 moreJambiyaجنبية
A short curved dagger worn at the waist by Yemeni men, its handle a sign of statusDress
🇧🇩 Dhaka, Bangladesh and 1 moreJamdaniজামদানি
A fine handwoven cotton cloth of Bengal, patterned with motifs worked in by handCraft
🇮🇳 Kolkata, IndiaJana Gana Mana
India's national anthem, from a Bengali hymn of 1911, sung at civic occasionsCeremony
🇱🇻 Riga, Latvia and 4 moreJāņi
An annual Latvian summer solstice celebration of bonfires, singing and woven wreathsFestival
🇯🇵 JapanJapanese funeral葬儀 (sōgi)
A Buddhist farewell in Japan: a wake, cremation, bone-gathering and a family graveRite of passage
🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanJapanese New Year正月
An annual celebration of renewal, seasonal foods, and bell ringing across JapanSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇯🇵 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
🇸🇰 SlovakiaJasličkári
A Slovak Christmas custom of young men acting out the Nativity from house to houseFestival
🇳🇵 NepalJatjatin Dance
A Mithila folk dance performed by couples to seek rain and express the sorrow of parting.Performance
🇺🇸 New Orleans, United StatesJazz funeral
A New Orleans funeral march led by brass music, moving from mourning to joyful danceRite of passage
🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreJegichagi제기차기
A paper shuttlecock kicked and kept in the air, a winter game for Korean childrenGame
🇸🇦 Jenadriyah, Saudi ArabiaJenadriyahمهرجان الجنادرية
A two-week Saudi cultural festival of camel racing, folk dance, poetry, and craftsFestival
🇹🇷 Erzurum, TurkeyJereedCirit
Riders on horseback throw blunt wooden javelins at rivals in this Turkish team sportGame
🇮🇱 Jerusalem, IsraelJerusalem Film Festivalפסטיבל הקולנוע ירושלים / مهرجان القدس السينمائي
Ten summer days of films from around the world, held in Jerusalem since 1984Performance
🇰🇷 South KoreaJesa제사 (Jesa)
A Korean ancestral memorial ceremony held on death anniversaries and major holidays.Spiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇰🇿 Kazakhstan and 1 moreJeti ataЖеті ата
A Kazakh custom requiring knowledge of seven direct ancestors to ensure healthy marriages and tribal identity.Folklore
🇨🇳 Shanghai, China and 1 moreJiaozi餃子
Crescent Chinese dumplings filled with meat or vegetables, eaten for fortune and feastsTable custom · Breakfast
🇯🇵 JapanJichinsai地鎮祭
A Shinto ritual to ask the land spirits for protection before building a new home or structure.Spiritual
🇯🇵 Kyoto, JapanJidai Matsuri時代祭
An autumn costume procession celebrating Kyoto's imperial heritage and historyFestival
🇨🇳 China and 2 moreJi Li笄禮
The traditional Chinese coming-of-age hairpin ceremony for young womenRite of passage
🇺🇸 United StatesJingle dress
A healing dance and regalia worn by First Nations women at pow wows across North America.Performance
🇦🇫 Kabul, Afghanistan and 1 moreJirgaجرګه
A traditional consultative council of elders that settles disputes through consensusCeremony
🇸🇩 SudanJirtigالجَرْتِقْ
A Sudanese wedding ritual of regal adornment, protection, and blessings of fertilityRite of passage
🇯🇵 JapanJiuchi地打ち
The steady base beat that holds traditional Japanese music and taiko ensembles togetherPerformance
🇮🇳 IndiaJiuntia
An autumn festival of western Odisha, kept in two forms by mothers and by sistersSpiritual
🇪🇪 Kuremaa, EstoniaJõgevatreff
An annual international motorcycle festival held in Kuremaa, EstoniaFestival
🇳🇴 Norway and 2 moreJoik
A Sámi song that evokes a person, animal or place instead of telling about themPerformance
🇰🇷 Seoul, South KoreaJongmyo jerye종묘 제례
Ancestral rite for Korea's Joseon kings, with court music and a line dance, held in SeoulSpiritual
🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro, BrazilJongo
A nightlong dance and music gathering kept by Afro-Brazilian communities in the southeast of Brazil.Performance
🇯🇴 Amman, JordanJordan Short Film Festivalمهرجان الأردن للفيلم القصير
Amman's annual gathering for independent short cinema from Jordan and across the worldFestival
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreJoss paper金紙 (jīnzhǐ)
Paper money burned for ancestors and gods, folded and offered in Chinese worshipSpiritual
🇱🇨 Saint Lucia and 1 moreJounen Kwéyòl
A day of Creole food, music and dress in Saint Lucia and Dominica, kept each OctoberFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇯🇵 Japan and 2 moreJoya no Kane除夜の鐘
A Japanese Buddhist New Year's Eve ritual where temple bells are struck to cleanse the year of worldly desires.Spiritual
🇸🇪 SwedenJul
A midwinter holiday of feast tables, doorstep gift givers, and candlelit morningsSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇩🇰 DenmarkJul
Winter feasts, carols around the tree, and family gatherings across DenmarkFestival · Lunch
🇳🇴 NorwayJul
An eight-week Norwegian midwinter season of feasts, family gatherings, and gift-givingSeasonal · Lunch
🇳🇴 Norway and 2 moreJulebord
A Scandinavian Christmas banquet of traditional dishes, festive drinks and celebrationTable custom · Feasts and festival meals
🇳🇴 Norway and 3 moreJulebukkingGå julebukk
A Scandinavian Christmas custom where masked visitors go door to door for songs and treats.Festival
🇰🇷 Seoul, South KoreaJultagi줄타기 (eoreum)
A traditional Korean tightrope performance that combines acrobatics with music and storytelling.Performance
🇧🇬 BulgariaJuly Morning
A Bulgarian summer gathering where crowds watch the first sunrise of July with music and song.Festival
🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreJumping the broom
A wedding ritual where newlyweds leap over a broom to mark their unionRite of passage
🇧🇸 Bahamas and 3 moreJunkanoo
A Caribbean masquerade festival of masked dancing, goatskin drumming, and cowbellsFestival
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreJur Sitalजुड़ शीतल
The first day of the Maithil year, kept with a rice meal, gifts and water blessingsSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇰🇷 South KoreaJwibullori쥐불놀이
A Korean New Year game of whirling fire-cans to clear fields and wish good luckGame
🇪🇪 EstoniaJaanipäev
Estonia's midsummer night of bonfires, song and fortune-telling, on 23 and 24 JuneFestival
🇮🇪 Ireland and 2 moreJack-o'-lantern
A carved pumpkin lantern lit with a candle to brighten and protect Halloween nightsFolklore
🇬🇧 United KingdomJack o' Lent
An English Lenten custom of abusing and burning a straw figureSeasonal
🇮🇳 Krishnanagar, IndiaJagaddhatri Puja
A Hindu festival for the world-bearing goddess, kept in West Bengal each autumnSpiritual
🇮🇳 Madurai, IndiaJallikattuஜல்லிக்கட்டு
A traditional bull-embracing event held during harvest celebrations in Tamil NaduGame
🇬🇧 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
🇯🇲 Kingston, JamaicaJamaica Independence Festival
An August festival of music, pageantry and parades marking Jamaican freedomCeremony
🇾🇪 Hadhramaut, Yemen and 1 moreJambiyaجنبية
A short curved dagger worn at the waist by Yemeni men, its handle a sign of statusDress
🇧🇩 Dhaka, Bangladesh and 1 moreJamdaniজামদানি
A fine handwoven cotton cloth of Bengal, patterned with motifs worked in by handCraft
🇮🇳 Kolkata, IndiaJana Gana Mana
India's national anthem, from a Bengali hymn of 1911, sung at civic occasionsCeremony
🇱🇻 Riga, Latvia and 4 moreJāņi
An annual Latvian summer solstice celebration of bonfires, singing and woven wreathsFestival
🇯🇵 JapanJapanese funeral葬儀 (sōgi)
A Buddhist farewell in Japan: a wake, cremation, bone-gathering and a family graveRite of passage
🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanJapanese New Year正月
An annual celebration of renewal, seasonal foods, and bell ringing across JapanSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇯🇵 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
🇸🇰 SlovakiaJasličkári
A Slovak Christmas custom of young men acting out the Nativity from house to houseFestival
🇳🇵 NepalJatjatin Dance
A Mithila folk dance performed by couples to seek rain and express the sorrow of parting.Performance
🇺🇸 New Orleans, United StatesJazz funeral
A New Orleans funeral march led by brass music, moving from mourning to joyful danceRite of passage
🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreJegichagi제기차기
A paper shuttlecock kicked and kept in the air, a winter game for Korean childrenGame
🇸🇦 Jenadriyah, Saudi ArabiaJenadriyahمهرجان الجنادرية
A two-week Saudi cultural festival of camel racing, folk dance, poetry, and craftsFestival
🇹🇷 Erzurum, TurkeyJereedCirit
Riders on horseback throw blunt wooden javelins at rivals in this Turkish team sportGame
🇮🇱 Jerusalem, IsraelJerusalem Film Festivalפסטיבל הקולנוע ירושלים / مهرجان القدس السينمائي
Ten summer days of films from around the world, held in Jerusalem since 1984Performance
🇰🇷 South KoreaJesa제사 (Jesa)
A Korean ancestral memorial ceremony held on death anniversaries and major holidays.Spiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇰🇿 Kazakhstan and 1 moreJeti ataЖеті ата
A Kazakh custom requiring knowledge of seven direct ancestors to ensure healthy marriages and tribal identity.Folklore
🇨🇳 Shanghai, China and 1 moreJiaozi餃子
Crescent Chinese dumplings filled with meat or vegetables, eaten for fortune and feastsTable custom · Breakfast
🇯🇵 JapanJichinsai地鎮祭
A Shinto ritual to ask the land spirits for protection before building a new home or structure.Spiritual
🇯🇵 Kyoto, JapanJidai Matsuri時代祭
An autumn costume procession celebrating Kyoto's imperial heritage and historyFestival
🇨🇳 China and 2 moreJi Li笄禮
The traditional Chinese coming-of-age hairpin ceremony for young womenRite of passage
🇺🇸 United StatesJingle dress
A healing dance and regalia worn by First Nations women at pow wows across North America.Performance
🇦🇫 Kabul, Afghanistan and 1 moreJirgaجرګه
A traditional consultative council of elders that settles disputes through consensusCeremony
🇸🇩 SudanJirtigالجَرْتِقْ
A Sudanese wedding ritual of regal adornment, protection, and blessings of fertilityRite of passage
🇯🇵 JapanJiuchi地打ち
The steady base beat that holds traditional Japanese music and taiko ensembles togetherPerformance
🇮🇳 IndiaJiuntia
An autumn festival of western Odisha, kept in two forms by mothers and by sistersSpiritual
🇪🇪 Kuremaa, EstoniaJõgevatreff
An annual international motorcycle festival held in Kuremaa, EstoniaFestival
🇳🇴 Norway and 2 moreJoik
A Sámi song that evokes a person, animal or place instead of telling about themPerformance
🇰🇷 Seoul, South KoreaJongmyo jerye종묘 제례
Ancestral rite for Korea's Joseon kings, with court music and a line dance, held in SeoulSpiritual
🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro, BrazilJongo
A nightlong dance and music gathering kept by Afro-Brazilian communities in the southeast of Brazil.Performance
🇯🇴 Amman, JordanJordan Short Film Festivalمهرجان الأردن للفيلم القصير
Amman's annual gathering for independent short cinema from Jordan and across the worldFestival
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreJoss paper金紙 (jīnzhǐ)
Paper money burned for ancestors and gods, folded and offered in Chinese worshipSpiritual
🇱🇨 Saint Lucia and 1 moreJounen Kwéyòl
A day of Creole food, music and dress in Saint Lucia and Dominica, kept each OctoberFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇯🇵 Japan and 2 moreJoya no Kane除夜の鐘
A Japanese Buddhist New Year's Eve ritual where temple bells are struck to cleanse the year of worldly desires.Spiritual
🇸🇪 SwedenJul
A midwinter holiday of feast tables, doorstep gift givers, and candlelit morningsSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇩🇰 DenmarkJul
Winter feasts, carols around the tree, and family gatherings across DenmarkFestival · Lunch
🇳🇴 NorwayJul
An eight-week Norwegian midwinter season of feasts, family gatherings, and gift-givingSeasonal · Lunch
🇳🇴 Norway and 2 moreJulebord
A Scandinavian Christmas banquet of traditional dishes, festive drinks and celebrationTable custom · Feasts and festival meals
🇳🇴 Norway and 3 moreJulebukkingGå julebukk
A Scandinavian Christmas custom where masked visitors go door to door for songs and treats.Festival
🇰🇷 Seoul, South KoreaJultagi줄타기 (eoreum)
A traditional Korean tightrope performance that combines acrobatics with music and storytelling.Performance
🇧🇬 BulgariaJuly Morning
A Bulgarian summer gathering where crowds watch the first sunrise of July with music and song.Festival
🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreJumping the broom
A wedding ritual where newlyweds leap over a broom to mark their unionRite of passage
🇧🇸 Bahamas and 3 moreJunkanoo
A Caribbean masquerade festival of masked dancing, goatskin drumming, and cowbellsFestival
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreJur Sitalजुड़ शीतल
The first day of the Maithil year, kept with a rice meal, gifts and water blessingsSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇰🇷 South KoreaJwibullori쥐불놀이
A Korean New Year game of whirling fire-cans to clear fields and wish good luckGame
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
- Jambiya: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Jalsa Salana: Ceddyfresse, Public domain, source
- Jamdani: Salim_Khandoker, CC0, source
- Jana Gana Mana: Rabindranath Tagore, Public domain, source
- Jiaozi: Bioniclepluslotr, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Jul: Holger.Ellgaard, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Jāņi: Heinrihsons, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Jenadriyah: Abodi009, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Jirtig: Alzain Mohammed, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Jultagi: Korea.net / Korean Culture and Information Service, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Junkanoo: WikiPedant, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Jidai Matsuri: PlusMinus, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Jaanipäev: Jaan Künnap, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Jul: Erik Christensen, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Julebord: Holger.Ellgaard, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Chuseok: by Joseph Steinberg (Baltimoron in Korea) at Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Jumping the broom: credited only as "Hipstamatic shots, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Jazz funeral: Photo by Infrogmation, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Japanese New Year: No machine-readable author provided. Sixgimic assumed (based on copyri, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Joya no Kane: Leung Ming Ho (Michael) (MHLeung), CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Jallikattu: Mahendrabalan, CC BY 3.0, source
- Jirga: Alpha4354747, Public domain, source
- Jagaddhatri Puja: শরদিন্দু ভট্টাচার্য্য, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Julebukking: Wolfgang Sauber, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Jichinsai: ウィキ太郎(Wiki Taro), Public domain, source
- Jingle dress: Montanabw, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Jongo: Vanessa Freitas, Public domain, source
- Jereed: anonymous Greek artist, ca. 1809, Public domain, source
- Japanese tea ceremony: Photograph taken by Stephane D'Alu ( en:User:Sdalu ) in April 2004, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Jongmyo jerye: David McNally, USAG-Yongsan, Public domain, source
- Joss paper: Vmenkov, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Japanese funeral: 夢の散歩, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Jegichagi: Official U.S. Navy Page, Public domain, source
- Jwibullori: KOREA.NET, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Jerusalem Film Festival: Gilabrand, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Jur Sital: PCNWorld at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- July Morning: Sumto, Public domain, source
- Jõgevatreff: Aleksei Malogin, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Jatjatin Dance: Ramesh Lalwani, CC BY 2.0, source