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
🇷🇴 Bucharest, Romania and 2 moreCaloian
A Romanian rainmaking and fertility ritual centered on the creation, funeral, and rebirth of a clay effigy.Festival
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 4 moreTelling the bees
A Western European custom of informing honeybees about major household events like deaths and weddings.Folklore
🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreRäucherkerze
A scented incense cone burned in German and Czech homes during the Christmas season to fill rooms with fragrance.Festival
🇵🇱 Poland and 3 morePodłaźniczka
A decorated evergreen branch hung over the Christmas Eve table in Poland and SlovakiaFestival
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreBreeching
A rite of passage when a young boy first wore trousers instead of a dress.Rite of passage
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreFlyting
A ritual contest of poetic insults exchanged between two parties in verse.Performance
🇩🇪 Worms, Germany and 2 moreHollekreisch
An Ashkenazi birth ritual where children name a newborn with a secular name.Rite of passage
🇷🇸 Serbia and 3 moreLazariceлазарице
A spring procession of girls in flower wreaths, singing door to door before Palm SundaySpiritual
🇬🇧 Glasgow, United KingdomHebridean mythology and folklore
A collection of legends from the Scottish islands about water spirits, fairies, and sea monsters.Folklore
🇨🇭 Zurich, SwitzerlandNeujahrsmarathon Zürich
A marathon that starts at the first second of the new year, near ZurichGame
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 morePigache
A medieval European shoe with a sharp, upturned toe, banned by church councilsDress
🇭🇺 Miskolc, HungaryKocsonya FestivalKocsonyafesztivál
An annual winter food and culture festival held in Miskolc, HungaryFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇬🇧 Selkirkshire, United KingdomHabetrot
A border fairy of the spinning wheel who works a girl's yarn and then frees her from itFolklore
🇮🇸 Húsafell, Iceland and 4 moreLifting stonesteintökin
Lifting heavy natural stones to prove strength, a test kept in Iceland and ScotlandGame
🇮🇹 Montepulciano, ItalyBravio delle botti
An annual uphill wine barrel race between the eight historic districts of MontepulcianoGame
🇬🇧 United KingdomAssipattle and the Stoor Worm
An Orcadian dragon-slayer tale of a fireside daydreamer who defeats a giant sea monsterFolklore
🇬🇧 United KingdomWedding breakfast
The meal shared after a British wedding, called breakfast though it rarely is oneTable custom · Feasts and festival meals
🇬🇧 United KingdomGarland dance
A nineteenth-century English dance tradition performed with flower-covered garlandsPerformance
🇬🇧 Oxford, United KingdomHymnus Eucharisticus
The hymn sung at dawn from Magdalen Tower that opens Oxford's May MorningPerformance
🇬🇧 United KingdomPrifarddY Prifardd
A Welsh title for bards who win the chair or the crown at the National EisteddfodPerformance
🇱🇹 Vilnius, Lithuania and 1 moreParish festivalatlaidai (Lithuanian); odpust parafialny (Polish)
One Catholic parish's yearly feast for its patron saint, kept in Lithuania and PolandSpiritual
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreKynodesmeκυνοδέσμη
A cord ancient Greek athletes tied around the foreskin to stay modest in public.Dress
🇷🇺 RussiaConfession
Saying one's wrongs aloud, to God, to a religious figure or before a congregationSpiritual
🇲🇹 MaltaFestival Kanzunetta IndipendenzaKonkors Kanzunetta Indipendenza
An annual music contest in Malta celebrating native songwriting around Independence DayPerformance
🇬🇧 United KingdomWooing Play
A folk performance of farm labourers in the East Midlands, featuring a sieve horse.Performance
🇵🇱 Olsztyn, PolandKortowiada
A student festival in Olsztyn with concerts, parades and faculty contestsFestival
🇬🇧 Leith, United KingdomShellycoat
A shell-covered water spirit of Scotland's east coast, a trickster more than a threatFolklore
🇦🇹 Bludenz, AustriaBludenzer Tage zeitgemäßer Musik
An international festival of contemporary classical music held annually in BludenzPerformance
🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreRussian superstitions
Everyday omens, etiquette rules, and household rituals observed across RussiaFolklore
🇮🇹 Rome, ItalyVenus Verticordia
A Roman cult of Venus as the turner of hearts, kept by married womenSpiritual
🇸🇰 SlovakiaJasličkári
A Slovak Christmas custom of young men acting out the Nativity from house to houseFestival
🇬🇧 Porthmadog, United KingdomWelsh clog dancingClocsio
A Welsh dance in wooden-soled clogs, full of rhythm, leaps and tricksPerformance
🇬🇧 United KingdomRushen Coatie
A Scottish fairy tale of a girl in a coat of rushes, helped by a red calfPerformance
🇬🇧 York, United KingdomYorkshire Day
A yearly civic observance on 1 August to honour the historic county of Yorkshire and its people.Festival
🇮🇹 Turin, Italy and 5 moreMary Help of ChristiansSancta Maria Auxilium Christianorum
A Christian feast and devotion honouring Mary as a protector, observed on 24 MaySpiritual
🇪🇸 Córdoba, Spain and 5 moreFiesta de las Cruces
A May festival where communities decorate crosses with flowers and crafts to celebrate faith and local heritage.Festival
🇧🇬 BulgariaTrifon ZarezanТрифон Зарезан
A Bulgarian wine growers' feast that opens the pruning yearFestival
🇮🇹 Gubbio, Italy and 1 moreSaint Ubaldo DayFesta dei Ceri
A May procession in Gubbio where three teams carry tall wooden ceri to a hilltop basilicaSpiritual
🇮🇹 Pantelleria, ItalyVite ad alberello of Pantelleria
A traditional low-bush vine training system kept on the Italian island of Pantelleria for thousands of years.Craft
🇬🇧 United KingdomWelsh danceDawns Gymreig
Traditional dances of Wales, known for their athletic steps and revival after a period of decline.Performance
🇬🇧 United KingdomJack o' Lent
An English Lenten custom of abusing and burning a straw figureSeasonal
🇫🇷 Paris, FranceNyansapo Festival
A French festival celebrating Black feminism and empowering diasporic women.Festival
🇩🇰 Copenhagen, DenmarkCopenhagen Distortion
A week of street parties, club nights and a rave in Copenhagen celebrating new dance music.Festival
🇩🇪 GermanySeven Sleepers' DaySiebenschläfertag
A German feast day on June 27 where the weather predicts the next seven weeks of summer.Seasonal
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreWater bulltarbh-uisge
A bull of the Scottish lochs that can change shape and breed with cattleFolklore
🇮🇪 Ireland and 1 moreFilifilí (Irish)
Ireland's and Scotland's trained poets, storytellers and seersPerformance
🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreBride-showсмотр невест
A court custom in which emperors and tsars chose a wife from young women brought before themCeremony
🇳🇱 Amsterdam, NetherlandsTangomagia
An annual Amsterdam tango festival held in the last days of DecemberPerformance
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Neujahrsmarathon Zürich: SPORTliCH, Public domain, source
- Pigache: Lambert- Liber Floridus (1120), Public domain, source
- Kocsonya Festival: Szalax, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Lifting stone: Zaldibiako Udala, CC0, source
- Wedding breakfast: Arpingstone, Public domain, source
- Garland dance: Tim Green, CC BY 2.0, source
- Hymnus Eucharisticus: Romanempire at English Wikipedia, CC BY 2.5, source
- Prifardd: Geoff Charles, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Parish festival: Danuta Cholewa / Regionalny Instytut Kultury w Katowicach, CC BY 4.0, source
- Kynodesme: Popinozzi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Confession: Pontificake at English Wikipedia, CC BY 3.0, source
- Russian superstitions: Сергей Чеботарёв, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Venus Verticordia: kladcat, CC BY 2.0, source
- Welsh clog dancing: TG11TG15, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Rushen Coatie: John D. Batten, Public domain, source
- Yorkshire Day: Buttons0603, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Mary Help of Christians: Didier Descouens, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Fiesta de las Cruces: Michelangelo-36, Public domain, source
- Saint Ubaldo Day: Marco Riccardini, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Vite ad alberello of Pantelleria: Luca Volpi, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Welsh dance: Geoff Charles, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Seven Sleepers' Day: either an unknown master or „Frater Rufillus“, Public domain, source
- Fili: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Bride-show: Publisher: Χρωμολιθογραφείον Ε. Λοβέρδου & Γ. Γρύσπου (1893-ca. 1914), Public domain, source
- Caloian: Costică Acsinte Archive, No restrictions, source
- Räucherkerze: Richard Huber, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Lazarice: Svetlina bov at Bulgarian Wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Podłaźniczka: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Flyting: Lorenz Frølich, Public domain, source
- Breeching: Attributed to John Badger , Boston, Masschusetts, Public domain, source
- Hebridean mythology and folklore: Unknown author, Public domain, source