All traditions
2,350 traditions so far, best known first. 12,186 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
🇵🇱 Kraków, Poland and 5 moreDozhinkiDożynki
A Slavic harvest festival of the last sheaf, a woven wreath and a shared mealSeasonal
🇪🇪 Tartu, Estonia and 5 moreEuropeade
An annual gathering of folk dancers, musicians and singers across EuropeFestival
🇬🇧 Goodwood, United KingdomGoodwood Festival of Speed
A yearly British motorsport festival where cars and bikes race up a hill in West SussexFestival
🇩🇰 Denmark and 1 moreQuinquagesima
The last Sunday before Lent in Western Christianity, marking the start of Carnival and Shrovetide.Festival · Feasts and festival meals
🇪🇸 Spain and 4 moreDay of the Holy InnocentsDía de los Santos Inocentes
A 28 December day of pranks and fake news, kept in the Spanish-speaking worldFestival
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreAnastenariaΑναστενάρια
A barefoot firewalking and dance rite honouring Saint Constantine and Saint HelenSpiritual
🇬🇷 Greece and 2 moreAdelphopoiesisἀδελφοποίησις
A historical Christian church ceremony creating a spiritual bond of brotherhoodSpiritual
🇷🇺 RussiaAsperges
The Christian liturgical ceremony of sprinkling the faithful with blessed waterSpiritual
🇳🇱 Wageningen, NetherlandsLiberation DayBevrijdingsdag
A Dutch national holiday on 5 May marking the end of German occupation in 1945Ceremony
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreRogation days
Springtime Christian days of prayer, fasting, and parish boundary walks.Spiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇮🇹 Italy and 5 moreTranslation of relicsTranslatio
The ceremonial transfer of holy remains or relics to a new church or shrineSpiritual
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreShoe throwing
The act of hurling footwear for sport, wedding luck, protest or overhead display.Folklore
🇮🇹 Rome, ItalyAmbarvalia
An ancient Roman agricultural rite to purify farmland and ensure fertile cropsSpiritual
🇦🇱 Vlora, AlbaniaIndependence DayDita e Pavarësisë
Albania's national day on 28 November, marking the 1912 declaration of independenceCeremony
🇪🇸 Spain and 5 moreCavalcade of Magi
A parade of the Three Magi through town on Epiphany Eve, with sweets thrown to the crowdFestival
🇮🇹 Rome, Italy and 8 moreSaint Joseph's Day
A 19 March feast honouring Jesus' earthly father, kept with altars and processionsSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇪🇸 Toledo, SpainFeast of the Holy Name of Mary
A Catholic feast day honouring the name and intercession of the Virgin MarySpiritual
🇮🇹 ItalyConsualia
Ancient Roman harvest festivals honoring the god of stored grain with chariot races and decorated draft animals.Festival
🇮🇹 Rome, ItalyVinalia
Ancient Roman festivals honoring Jupiter and Venus with wine libations to bless the harvest and ensure good weather.Festival
🇧🇬 Bulgaria and 5 moreKoledariколядники
A Slavic winter caroling custom of visiting homes with songs, masks and blessingsFestival
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreKing's Official Birthday
A day when Commonwealth realms mark the monarch's birthday, seldom the real dateCeremony
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreLustratio
An ancient Greek and Roman cleansing rite using processions and animal sacrifice.Spiritual
🇦🇱 Albania and 5 moreDodolaДодoла / Dodola
A Balkan rainmaking ritual where children dressed in greenery lead processions to call for summer showers.Festival
🇫🇷 FranceMos Teutonicus
A medieval European funerary custom of boiling bones to return nobles home for burialRite of passage
🇸🇮 Idrija, SloveniaIdrija lace
A bobbin tape lace from the Slovenian mining town of Idrija, still taught there todayCraft
🇫🇷 FranceLa soule
A rough medieval ball game from Normandy and Picardy played between parishes on religious holidays.Game
🇮🇸 IcelandIcelandic National DayÞjóðhátíðardagurinn
Iceland's national day, 17 June, marking the founding of the republic in 1944Ceremony
🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreTauroctonyταυροκτόνος
The sacred bull-slaying imagery at the heart of the ancient Roman Mithraic mysteriesSpiritual
🇫🇷 France and 5 moreFeast of the Sacred HeartSollemnitas Sacratissimi Cordis Iesu
A Catholic holy day honoring Christ's love and mercy, observed in early summerSpiritual
🇮🇹 Rome, ItalyMegalesiaMegalenses Ludi
An ancient Roman spring festival of theatrical plays, races and feasts for CybeleFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇹 Italy and 6 morePatronal festivalFiesta patronal
A town's yearly feast for its patron saint, with processions, a fair and shared foodFestival
🇮🇹 Italy and 4 moreRosalia
An ancient Roman festival of decorating graves, statues, and standards with fresh flowersSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇸🇪 SwedenElevationēlevātiō
The ritual lifting of the bread and chalice during the Christian EucharistSpiritual
🇮🇹 Rome, ItalyEquirria
Two ancient Roman festivals of horse and chariot racing held in honor of Mars.Festival
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreIncubationἐγκοίμησις
The sacred practice of sleeping in holy shrines to seek divine healing and dreamsSpiritual
🇮🇹 Rome, ItalyFeraliaFerālia
An ancient Roman day of offerings to the dead, marking the close of ParentaliaSpiritual
🇲🇨 MonacoInternational Circus Festival of Monte-CarloFestival International du Cirque de Monte-Carlo
A January circus competition in Monaco, with Clown statuettes for the finest actsFestival
🇸🇪 Stockholm, SwedenSweden Finns' Dayruotsinsuomalaisten päivä (Finnish); sverigefinnarnas dag (Swedish)
An annual day in Sweden for the Sweden Finns, their language and their historyFestival
🇬🇷 Athens, GreeceAmphidromiaτὰ Ἀμφιδρόμια
An ancient Athenian family ritual welcoming a newborn around the household hearthRite of passage · Feasts and festival meals
🇬🇧 United KingdomWorld Osteoporosis Day
A global observance on 20 October promoting bone health and fracture preventionCeremony
🇺🇦 Ukraine and 8 moreVechornytsiвечорниці
Evening gatherings of Ukrainian youth, with songs, jokes, games and winter divinationSeasonal
🇩🇪 GermanyHat tip
A gesture of lifting or touching one's hat to show respect, greeting, or thanksEtiquette
🇵🇱 Zakopane, PolandKulig
A traditional Polish winter sleigh ride party celebrated during the Carnival seasonFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇺🇦 Ukraine and 10 moreEgg decorating
Decorating eggs with dye, wax and carving, kept at Easter, Nowruz and springCraft
🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreSaint Sylvester's Day
A Christian feast day and year-end celebration marked across Europe and beyondSeasonal · Dinner
🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreNeed-fire
A ritual fire kindled by friction to ward off cattle plague, disease and harmFolklore
🇱🇻 Riga, LatviaRemembrance Day of the Latvian LegionnairesLeģionāru piemiņas diena
An annual observance in Latvia honoring soldiers from the Latvian Legion who fought during World War II.Festival
🇧🇦 Bosnia and HerzegovinaDay of Republika SrpskaДан Републике Српске
An annual civic holiday observed across Republika Srpska on 9 JanuaryCeremony
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Vinalia: JPS68 via photoshop, Public domain, source
- Europeade: Niklas Lydeen, CC BY 3.0, source
- Day of the Holy Innocents: Attributed to Pieter Brueghel the Younger, Public domain, source
- Dozhinki: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Liberation Day: Wouter Hagens, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Cavalcade of Magi: Diario de Madrid, CC BY 4.0, source
- Egg decorating: L.Kenzel, CC BY 3.0, source
- Saint Joseph's Day: Guido Reni, Public domain, source
- Remembrance Day of the Latvian Legionnaires: Dezidor, CC BY 3.0, source
- King's Official Birthday: City of Toronto, Public domain, source
- Quinquagesima: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Anastenaria: Artkostov, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Asperges: Ian42, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Rogation days: Ray Trevena, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Translation of relics: User:Vmenkov, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Feast of the Holy Name of Mary: Jean-Pol GRANDMONT, CC BY 3.0, source
- Dodola: Andrey Shishkin, CC BY 3.0, source
- Koledari: Mikhail Germashev, Public domain, source
- Tauroctony: Jastrow, Public domain, source
- La soule: Unknown author Unknown author illustrator (based on a sketch by M.J.L., Public domain, source
- Elevation: Vojtěch Slovák, CC BY 3.0, source
- Hat tip: Futrzak13, CC0, source
- Kulig: various, Public domain, source
- Amburbium: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Idrija lace: Lace: Pavla Podobnik Photograph: Ines Zgonc, Public domain, source
- Shoe throwing: Zarateman, CC0, source
- Mos Teutonicus: Cryx thypex, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- International Circus Festival of Monte-Carlo: GeorgePrikkel, Public domain, source
- Rosalia: Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Public domain, source
- Patronal festival: Ranieljosecastaneda, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Feast of the Sacred Heart: José de Páez, Public domain, source
- Goodwood Festival of Speed: Bruno Postle, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Vechornytsi: Гейслер, Кристиан Готфрид Генрих, Public domain, source
- Saint Sylvester's Day: Unknown medieval artist in Rome, Public domain, source
- Ambarvalia: Alberto Pisa, Public domain, source
- Need-fire: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Day of Republika Srpska: Ministry of Defence of Republic of Serbia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source