Traditions beginning with Y
31 traditions under Y.
🇮🇱 Tiberias, Israel and 2 moreYahrzeitיאָרצײַט (yortsayt)
A Jewish death anniversary marked by prayer and a burning candle to honour the departed.Rite of passage
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreYajnaयज्ञ
A Hindu ritual of offering items into a sacred fire to honor deities and ancestors.Spiritual
🇮🇳 Udupi, IndiaYakshaganaಯಕ್ಷಗಾನ (Kannada)
A night-long dance-drama from coastal Karnataka, with sung dialogue and drummingPerformance
🇮🇷 Iran and 5 moreYaldā Nightشب یلدا
A solstice night of poetry, fruit and family, kept from Iran through Central AsiaFestival · Dinner
🇦🇲 Yerevan, ArmeniaYarkhushtaՅարխուշտա
A men's row dance from Sasun, where pairs clap palms as the lines advancePerformance
🇹🇷 Turkey and 3 moreYashmakyaşmak
A traditional face and head veil worn in Turkey, Egypt and TurkmenistanDress
🇩🇿 Algeria and 4 moreYennayerⵢⵏⵏⴰⵢⵔ
The Amazigh New Year celebrated across North Africa with feasts and blessing ritesSeasonal · Dinner
🇰🇷 Seoul, South KoreaYeondeunghoe연등회
A Korean lantern festival celebrating the Buddha's birthday with glowing lotus lightsSpiritual
🇨🇳 Luoyang, China and 1 moreYin and yang陰陽
Two opposite but complementary forces that Chinese thought sees in all thingsFolklore
🇹🇭 Chiang Mai, Thailand and 1 moreYi Pengยี่เป็ง
A northern Thai Buddhist festival of sky lanterns, clay lamps and temple sermonsSpiritual
🇨🇳 Yixing, ChinaYixing clay teapot紫砂
Handcrafted Chinese purple clay teapots that season with every brewCraft · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇨🇭 Appenzell, Switzerland and 5 moreYodeling
A singing style switching between chest voice and falsetto, kept as a folk tradition across the Alps and globally.Performance
🇲🇲 MyanmarYoke théရုပ်သေး
A classical Burmese string puppet theatre performed with complex marionettes and music.Performance
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreYom HaHatzalahיום ההצלה
A Sat Hasidic holiday marking the rescue of Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum from the Holocaust on the 21st of Kislev.Festival · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇱 IsraelYom HaZikaronיוֹם הַזִּכָּרוֹן
Israel's national day of mourning for fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism.Ceremony
🇮🇱 Jerusalem, IsraelYom Kippurיוֹם כִּפּוּר
The holiest day in Judaism, dedicated to fasting, prayer and atonementSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇬🇧 York, United KingdomYorkshire Day
A yearly civic observance on 1 August to honour the historic county of Yorkshire and its people.Festival
🇳🇬 Ibadan, Nigeria and 1 moreYoruba naming ceremonyÌkòlọ́pọ̀ Orúkọ Yorùbá
A rite of passage where a newborn receives a destiny name through divination and family celebration.Rite of passage · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇳 India and 4 moreYouth Day
A commemorative holiday honoring young people and youth movements worldwideCeremony
🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates and 1 moreYowlahاليولة (al-yawlah)
A traditional stick and sword dance of the UAE and Oman, performed at weddings and celebrations.Performance
🇮🇸 Iceland and 2 moreYuleġēol (Old English); jól (Old Norse)
The Germanic midwinter festival that Christmas grew out of, kept today by HeathensSpiritual
🇸🇪 Gävle, Sweden and 1 moreYule goatJulbocken
A straw goat of northern Christmas, once a harvest spirit, now a tree ornamentFestival
🇮🇸 IcelandYule LadsJólasveinarnir
Thirteen mischievous brothers who visit Icelandic homes in the nights leading to Yule.Folklore
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreYule log
A log kept burning on the hearth through the twelve days of Christmas, for luckSeasonal
🇨🇳 Yulin, ChinaYulin Dog Meat Festival狗肉节
A ten-day June festival in Yulin, China, where dog meat is eaten with lycheesFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreYum cha飲茶
A Cantonese breakfast of dim sum and tea, eaten slowly in large groupsTable custom · Breakfast
🇨🇳 Nanjing, ChinaYunjin brocade雲錦
A traditional Chinese silk brocade woven with coloured silk, gold and silverCraft
🇰🇷 Seoul, South KoreaYunnori윷놀이
A Korean board and stick-tossing game played with tokens during the Lunar New YearGame
🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreYuri's Night
An annual global celebration on April 12 marking milestones in space explorationFestival
🇯🇵 Kyoto, JapanYūzen友禅
A Japanese resist-dyeing craft that creates painterly patterns on fine kimonoCraft
🇯🇵 JapanYuzu bath柚子湯
A winter solstice soak in hot water with whole yuzu citrus, kept across JapanSeasonal
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Yom HaZikaron: אבישי טייכר, CC BY 2.5, source
- Yeondeunghoe: Korea.net / Korean Culture and Information Service (Jeon Han), CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Yuzu bath: Nori Norisa, CC BY 2.0, source
- Yom Kippur: Maurycy Gottlieb, Public domain, source
- Yennayer: Vermondo, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Yule Lads: Lusinemarg, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Yorkshire Day: Buttons0603, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Yunnori: 국립국어원, CC BY-SA 2.0 kr, source
- Yi Peng: Takeaway, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Yule goat: John Bauer, Public domain, source
- Yule log: Pehr Arvid Säve (1811—1887), Public domain, source
- Yūzen: Ismoon ( talk ), CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Yixing clay teapot: Commonsenses, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Yoke thé: Uthantofburma ( talk ) 05:15, 30 November 2010 (UTC), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Yowlah: Sharon Harper, CC BY 2.0, source
- Yahrzeit: Elipongo, Public domain, source
- Yule: Robert Chambers, Public domain, source
- Yodeling: Paebi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Yum cha: Infomofo, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Yajna: Chainwit., CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Yarkhushta: Hablabar, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Yin and yang: Klem, Public domain, source
- Yakshagana: Krishnamoorthy Sudhakar, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Yaldā Night: M.Sadegh Nikgostar/Tasnim News Agency, CC BY 4.0, source
- Yulin Dog Meat Festival: Maria Ly, CC BY 2.0, source
- Yuri's Night: Ryan Somma, CC BY 2.0, source
- Youth Day: Andrey Butko, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Yashmak: Jean-Léon Gérôme, Public domain, source
- Yunjin brocade: Dr. Meierhofer, CC BY-SA 3.0, source