Traditions beginning with O
37 traditions under O.
🇵🇱 Poland and 1 moreOberek
A rapid Polish spinning dance in triple metre with athletic lifts and jumpsPerformance
🇯🇵 Tokyo, Japan and 3 moreObonお盆 (Obon)
A Japanese Buddhist festival honoring the spirits of ancestors through dance, light, and family reunion.Festival
🇷🇺 RussiaOctobering
A short-lived Soviet naming rite that put the Red Star in place of the baptismal crossRite of passage
🇮🇳 Puri, IndiaOdissiଓଡ଼ିଶୀ
A classical dance of Odisha, told through bends, gestures and sung poetryPerformance
🇬🇭 Akropong, GhanaOdwira Festival
An annual harvest and purification festival celebrated by the Akuapem in GhanaFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇲🇽 Mexico City, MexicoOfrenda
A home altar of food, flowers and candles that welcomes the dead home at Día de MuertosSpiritual
🇮🇩 IndonesiaOgoh-ogohᬳᭀᬕᭀᬄᬳᭀᬕᭀᬄ
Giant handcrafted statues paraded and burned on the eve of the Balinese Saka New YearFestival
🇬🇷 Athens, Greece and 1 moreOhi DayΕπέτειος του Όχι
A Greek national holiday on October 28 that marks the refusal of an Italian ultimatum in 1940.Ceremony
🇲🇰 Ohrid, North MacedoniaOhrid Summer FestivalОхридско лето
A summer season of concerts and theatre in Ohrid, running from mid-July to late AugustFestival
🇹🇷 Edirne, Turkey and 3 moreOil wrestlingYağlı güreş
Oiled wrestlers in leather trousers: Turkey's national sport, centred on KırkpınarGame
🇧🇧 Oistins, BarbadosOistins Fish Festival
An annual Easter celebration in Oistins, Barbados, honoring the local fishing community with food and folk games.Festival · Dinner
🇭🇷 Konavle, Croatia and 2 moreOjkanje
A throat-shaking style of folk singing from Croatia's Dinaric highlandsPerformance
🇱🇺 Luxembourg City, Luxembourg and 3 moreOktavMuttergottesoktav
A two-week annual Marian pilgrimage and festival in Luxembourg CitySpiritual · Tea-time and snacking customs
🇷🇺 Russia and 3 moreOld New YearСтарый Новый год (Russian), Стара Нова година (Macedonian), Српска Нова година (Serbian), Hen Galan (Welsh)
An informal holiday marking the start of the Julian calendar year, celebrated on 14 January in the Gregorian calendar.Festival · Dinner
🇺🇸 United StatesOld time fiddle
An American string band style played for dancing, kept alive through local contests and family teaching.Performance
🇬🇧 Sheffield, United KingdomOld Tup
A midwinter folk drama with a ram disguise from the English East MidlandsFolklore
🇪🇸 SpainOlentzero
A Basque Christmas tradition of a charcoal burner bringing presents in midwinterFestival
🇳🇦 Outapi, NamibiaOlufuko
A seven-day Aawambo initiation rite and festival held annually in Outapi, NamibiaRite of passage
🇬🇷 Olympia, Greece and 5 moreOlympic flame
A flame kindled in Greece, carried by torch to light the cauldron of each GamesCeremony
🇬🇷 Olympia, Greece and 1 moreOlympic torch relay
The ceremonial journey of the flame from Olympia to each host city of the Olympic GamesCeremony
🇯🇵 JapanOmamori御守 (omamori)
Japanese protective amulets sold at shrines and temples for luck and safety.Spiritual
🇮🇷 Kashan, IranOmar Koshanعمرکشان
A yearly carnival in Iran where social roles reverse to honor Fatima al-Zahra and remember historical figures.Festival
🇯🇵 JapanOmikujiおみくじ
Paper fortunes drawn at Japanese shrines and temples to consult divine guidanceSpiritual
🇧🇪 Antwerp, Belgium and 2 moreOmmegangommegang (Dutch)
Medieval town processions of the Low Countries, with giants, guilds and horsesCeremony
🇮🇳 Kochi, India and 5 moreOnamഓണം
A ten-day harvest festival in Kerala celebrating the return of King Mahabali with feasts, flower carpets and boat races.Festival · Feasts and festival meals
🇯🇵 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
🇪🇬 EgyptOpening of the mouth ceremony
An ancient Egyptian rite to awaken a spirit's senses for the afterlifeRite of passage · Feasts and festival meals
🇪🇬 Luxor, EgyptOpet Festivalḥb nfr n jpt
An ancient Egyptian festival in Thebes celebrating divine kingship and the Nile floodSpiritual
🇮🇳 IndiaOran lands
Sacred groves and community-conserved pastures in Rajasthan dedicated to local deities.Spiritual
🇳🇬 Osogbo, NigeriaOsun-Osogbo FestivalOsun-Osogbo
An annual Yoruba festival of cleansing, procession and sacrifice to the river goddess Osun in Osogbo, Nigeria.Festival
🇪🇬 Egypt and 4 moreOudعُود (ʿūd)
A fretless, pear-shaped Middle Eastern lute, plucked with a plectrum called a rishaPerformance
🇲🇽 Mexico City, Mexico and 1 moreOur Lady of GuadalupeNuestra Señora de Guadalupe
A Marian apparition to Juan Diego in Mexico City in December 1531, celebrated on December 12.Spiritual
🇹🇳 La Goulette, TunisiaOur Lady of Trapani procession (Tunis)
A Catholic festival in La Goulette honoring the Virgin Mary, once shared by Christians and Muslims.Festival
🇬🇭 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
🇲🇳 Mongolia and 3 moreOvooовоо (Cyrillic Mongolian); ᠣᠪᠤᠭᠠ (Traditional Mongol)
A stone cairn on a peak or pass, circled by travellers and honoured in sky worshipSpiritual
🇬🇧 London, United Kingdom and 2 moreOyez
A traditional ceremonial call chanted to open court sessions and civic assembliesCeremony
🇩🇪 Munich, GermanyO'zapft is!
The civic barrel-tapping ceremony that officially launches Munich's OktoberfestCeremony · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Old time fiddle: Edward Washbourne (1831-1860), Public domain, source
- Oyez: Bryan Ledgard, CC BY 2.0, source
- Our Lady of Guadalupe: Sebastian Wallroth, CC BY 3.0, source
- Onam: Jiteshgt, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Opet Festival: Marc Ryckaert, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Olympic torch relay: DieselCat, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ovoo: Bouette ., CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ohi Day: Tigroinikos, CC BY 2.5, source
- Odwira Festival: Duncanoff, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Our Lady of Trapani procession (Tunis): IssamBarhoumi, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Olentzero: Josu Goñi Etxabe, Public domain, source
- Onbashira Festival: Si-take. at Japanese Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Obon: Batholith, Public domain, source
- Oberek: Józef Chełmoński, Public domain, source
- Ogoh-ogoh: Simondodit, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Omikuji: C121749n, Public domain, source
- Olympic flame: RuinDig/Yuki Uchida, CC BY 4.0, source
- Osun-Osogbo Festival: Cheeka 2.0, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Omamori: Leongboy1, Public domain, source
- Oil wrestling: No machine-readable author provided. Math34 assumed (based on copyrigh, Public domain, source
- Octobering: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Ommegang: Zorro2212, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ofrenda: Eneas de Troya, CC BY 2.0, source
- Odissi: Melolagnia28192, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Oud: Creator:Manol (Emmanuel Venios), CC0, source
- Olufuko: Pemba.mpimaji, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Oktav: Daderot, CC0, source
- Opening of the mouth ceremony: Hunefer, Public domain, source
- Old New Year: ceridwen, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- O'zapft is!: Michael Lucan, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, source
- Old Tup: Doyle of London, CC BY-SA 4.0, source