Traditions beginning with W
44 traditions under W.
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreWagah Border Ceremony
A daily flag-lowering ritual at the India-Pakistan border featuring high kicks and synchronized drills.Ceremony
🇹🇭 ThailandWai khruพิธีไหว้ครู
A Thai ceremony of thanks to teachers, held in schools and in the artsSpiritual
🇳🇿 Waitangi, New Zealand and 2 moreWaitangi DayTe Rā o Waitangi
New Zealand's national day remembering the 1840 founding agreement.Ceremony · Breakfast
🇳🇿 New ZealandWaka
Traditional Māori canoes used for fishing, transport, and ceremony, built from single logs or stitched planks.Craft
🇮🇪 Ireland and 2 moreWake
A gathering before a funeral, where family and friends keep watch over the deadRite of passage
🇦🇺 AustraliaWalkabout
A rite of passage involving travel through the Australian landscape to learn ancestral lore.Rite of passage
🇺🇸 New York, United StatesWampum
Shell beads woven into belts by Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands for record-keeping and ceremony.Folklore
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreWangala
A post-harvest thanksgiving festival of drums, dance and song among the Garo peopleFestival · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇮🇳 IndiaWarli painting
Sacred white rice paste murals made on red clay walls in western IndiaCraft
🇮🇳 India and 4 moreWater lantern
Small lamps floated on water to honour the dead and ask for good fortuneFestival
🇪🇸 Valencia, SpainWater Tribunal of the plain of ValenciaTribunal de les Aigües de la Vega de València
A weekly outdoor gathering of Valencian farmers settling irrigation disputes by word of mouthCeremony
🇮🇩 Yogyakarta, IndonesiaWayangꦮꦪꦁ
A night-long puppet theatre from Java, where a dalang tells epics behind a lit screenPerformance
🇲🇽 Mexico and 2 moreWedding cord
A loop of white cord laid over a kneeling bride and groom in Catholic weddingsRite of passage
🇪🇹 EthiopiaWedding customs in Ethiopia
Weddings across Ethiopia's many peoples, arranged by families and sealed in local ritesRite of passage
🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreWedding reception
The party after a wedding, where the couple greet guests over food, cake and dancingFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇳 Mumbai, IndiaWeddings in India
Weddings across India, each shaped by faith, region and familyRite of passage
🇮🇳 Mumbai, IndiaWeddings in India
Marriage rites and festive gatherings celebrated across the diverse communities of India.Rite of passage
🇫🇷 Lyon, France and 2 moreWeek of Prayer for Christian Unity
An eight-day international period of shared prayer for reconciliation among churchesSpiritual
🇬🇧 United KingdomWelsh danceDawns Gymreig
Traditional dances of Wales, known for their athletic steps and revival after a period of decline.Performance
🇺🇸 New York City, United StatesWest Indian Day Parade
A lively Caribbean street procession held every September in Brooklyn, New YorkFestival
🇨🇱 Chile and 1 moreWe TripantuWiñoy Tripantu
The Mapuche new year, kept on the June solstice as the sun turns backFestival
🇩🇿 AlgeriaWezeeaوزيعة
A communal meat-sharing custom fostering rural solidarity across AlgeriaSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇳🇿 Auckland, New ZealandWhakapapa
Māori genealogy, recited to place a person among ancestors, land and tribeHome
🇳🇿 Auckland, New ZealandWharenui
A Māori carved communal meeting house at the centre of tribal life in New ZealandHome
🇯🇵 Fukuoka, Japan and 4 moreWhite Dayホワイトデー
A day on 14 March when men give a return gift to the women who gave them chocolateFestival
🇼🇸 Samoa and 3 moreWhite SundayLotu Tamaiti
A Samoan holiday honoring children with church services, white clothing, and family gatherings on the second Sunday of OFestival · Dinner
🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreWhit Monday
The Christian feast and public holiday held on the day after PentecostSpiritual
🇵🇱 PolandWigilia
Poland's meatless Christmas Eve supper, begun when the first star appearsTable custom · Feasts and festival meals
🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreWikipedia Day
An annual gathering and birthday party for the Wikipedia community every JanuaryFestival
🇧🇴 Tiwanaku, Bolivia and 2 moreWillkakuti
An Aymara new year at the June solstice, marking the sun's returnSeasonal
🇨🇾 Limassol, CyprusWine Festival of CyprusΓιορτή του Κρασιού
An annual autumn celebration of winemaking, folklore and food in Limassol, CyprusFestival · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇮🇷 Iran and 5 moreWinter solstice
The shortest day and longest night of the year, marked with fire, feasting and poetrySeasonal
🇮🇹 Benevento, ItalyWitches of Benevento
A southern Italian tradition of walnut-tree gatherings and protective folk charmsFolklore
🇭🇷 Marija Bistrica, CroatiaWooden toys of Hrvatsko ZagorjeDrvene igračke Hrvatskog zagorja
Hand-carved wooden toys from the Zagorje hills of Croatia, painted bright by the families who make themCraft
🇬🇧 United KingdomWooing Play
A folk performance of farm labourers in the East Midlands, featuring a sieve horse.Performance
🇨🇦 Canada and 5 moreWorkers' Memorial Day
An annual day remembering people killed, injured, or made ill by their workCeremony
🇺🇸 Fairbanks, United States and 2 moreWorld Eskimo-Indian Olympics
An annual Arctic gathering of traditional survival games, athletics, and cultural artsGame
🇸🇳 Dakar, Senegal and 4 moreWorld Festival of Black ArtsFestival Mondial des Arts Nègres
A recurring month-long gathering of arts, music and writing from Africa and its diasporaFestival
🇰🇬 Cholpon-Ata, Kyrgyzstan and 2 moreWorld Nomad GamesДүйнөлүк көчмөндөр оюндары
A two-yearly contest of Central Asian nomadic sports, first staged in Kyrgyzstan in 2014Game
🇬🇧 United KingdomWorld Osteoporosis Day
A global observance on 20 October promoting bone health and fracture preventionCeremony
🇺🇸 New York, United States and 5 moreWorld Religion Day
An annual day in January dedicated to spiritual unity and harmony across all faiths.Spiritual
🇬🇹 GuatemalaWorry dollMuñecas quitapenas
Hand-made dolls from highland Guatemala that children tell their worries to at nightFolklore
🇮🇪 Ireland and 2 moreWren DayLá an Dreoilín
A Saint Stephen's Day custom where groups parade a stuffed wren on a decorated pole through their community.Festival
🇲🇱 MaliWuduوضوء
The Islamic ritual washing with water before prayer and sacred actsSpiritual
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- World Eskimo-Indian Olympics: Andrew Otto, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Whakapapa: Jimmy Pitt, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Water lantern: 松岡明芳, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- World Nomad Games: Save the Dream, CC BY 2.0, source
- Wagah Border Ceremony: Vengolis, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Waitangi Day: Ryan762 ( talk ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Whit Monday: Eloquence, Public domain, source
- Water Tribunal of the plain of Valencia: José Jordan, CC BY-SA 3.0 igo, source
- West Indian Day Parade: Fordmadoxfraud, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Wren Day: Manx James, CC0, source
- White Day: Flickr user mersy ( Masashi Yanagiya), CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Wake: Julio Romero de Torres, Public domain, source
- Welsh dance: Geoff Charles, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Wharenui: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Warli painting: Omrmankar, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Weddings in India: Psoni2402, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Waka: W. Bulach, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Wampum: Museuvalenciaetnologia, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Wedding reception: Konstantin Makovsky, Public domain, source
- Wigilia: Przykuta, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Worry doll: Leena, CC BY 3.0, source
- Wedding cord: Phil! Gold, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Willkakuti: Tuco Quispe, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Wayang: Kevin Gessner, CC BY 2.0, source
- We Tripantu: Lonkonao, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Wooden toys of Hrvatsko Zagorje: Roberta., CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Wai khru: seetefl on Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Winter solstice: Image by Przemyslaw " Blueshade " Idzkiewicz, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Wudu: Wolfgang Sauber, CC BY 4.0, source
- Wine Festival of Cyprus: George M. Groutas, CC BY 2.0, source
- Wikipedia Day: Thejoppyloppy, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Workers' Memorial Day: Jungpionier, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Weddings in India: Jaisingh Rathore, CC BY 2.5, source
- Week of Prayer for Christian Unity: Kaihsu Tai, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Witches of Benevento: Guglielmo della Porta, CC0, source