All traditions
2,291 traditions so far, best known first. 12,311 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
🇨🇦 Canada and 1 morePotlatch
A ceremonial feast of gift-giving and wealth distribution among First Nations on the Northwest Coast.Festival · Feasts and festival meals
🇫🇮 Helsinki, FinlandIndependence Day of FinlandSuomen itsenäisyyspäivä
Finland's national day on 6 December, marked with window candles and a presidential ballCeremony
🇬🇧 Edinburgh, United KingdomHogmanay
The Scottish celebration of New Year's Eve and the first days of the new year.Festival · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreUpanayanaउपनयन (Sanskrit)
A Hindu rite of passage that begins a child's study and marks a second birthRite of passage
🇯🇵 JapanChildren's Dayこどもの日
A Japanese holiday on May fifth celebrating the happiness and growth of childrenFestival
🇬🇧 London, United KingdomTrooping the Colour
The annual British military parade marking the official birthday of the monarch.Ceremony
🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanSetsubun節分
A Japanese ritual of throwing roasted soybeans to banish evil spirits and welcome spring.Festival · Feasts and festival meals
🇹🇷 Turkey and 6 moreHıdırellez
A spring festival marking the meeting of two prophets, celebrated across Turkey and the Balkans.Festival · Feasts and festival meals
🇺🇸 United StatesVeterans Day
A U.S. federal holiday honoring all who have served in the armed forces.Ceremony
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreSun DanceWi-wayang-wa-c'i-pi
A days-long dance of fasting and sacrifice among the Plains peoplesSpiritual
🇬🇧 London, United KingdomNotting Hill Carnival
An annual London street carnival celebrating British Caribbean culture and musicFestival
🇷🇴 Romania and 3 moreCălușariCălușarii
An acrobatic Romanian spring dance and ritual brotherhood tied to folklore and healingPerformance
🇮🇷 Isfahan, Iran and 4 moreMehreganمهرگان
An Iranian autumn festival honoring Mithra, friendship, and the harvestSeasonal
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreThaipusam
A Tamil Hindu festival honoring Murugan through devotional burdens and pilgrimageSpiritual
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreKarva Chauthकरकचतुर्थी
A fasting festival kept by married women in North India and Nepal for the safety of their husbands.Festival
🇵🇰 Islamabad, PakistanPakistan Independence Dayیومِ آزادی
A nationwide summer holiday commemorating the birth of Pakistan on 14 August 1947Ceremony
🇮🇷 Iran and 3 moreChovganچوگان
An equestrian team sport played with mallets and horses across Iran and AzerbaijanGame
🇸🇪 Gävle, SwedenGävle goatGävlebocken
A towering straw Yule goat built each Advent in the central square of GävleFestival
🇮🇹 Rome, ItalyFesta della Repubblica
Italy's national day marking the 1946 public vote to establish a democratic republicCeremony
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreLohri
A northern Indian midwinter festival of evening bonfires, folk songs and harvest foodsSeasonal
🇯🇵 JapanGolden Weekゴールデンウィーク (Gōruden Wīku)
A major Japanese holiday period from late April to early May featuring four public holidays and widespread travel.Festival
🇬🇧 Dunoon, United Kingdom and 5 moreHighland gamesgeamannan Gàidhealach
A series of Scottish athletic and cultural competitions held in Scotland and across the diaspora.Festival
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreGuru Purnimaगुरुपूर्णिमा
A sacred South Asian festival honouring spiritual guides, teachers, and mentorsSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇷 Iran and 5 moreMid-Sha'banنصف شعبان
An Islamic night of prayer, remembrance, and seeking divine forgiveness.Spiritual
🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreGanggangsullae강강술래
A Korean harvest dance where women hold hands and sing in circles under the full moonPerformance
🇺🇦 Kyiv, UkraineChristmas in UkraineРіздво (Rizdvo)
A Ukrainian Christmas celebration with a twelve-dish vegan supper on Christmas Eve and observance on January 6 or DecembFestival · Supper
🇮🇳 Varanasi, India and 1 moreChhath Pujaछठ पूजा
A four-day Hindu festival honouring the sun and Chhathi Maiya along riverbanksSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇭🇺 Mohács, HungaryBusójárás
A six-day winter carnival of carved wooden masks, folk music, and parades in MohácsFestival
🇨🇳 Xi'an, ChinaChinese tea culture中国茶文化 (Zhōngguó chá wénhuà)
A centuries-old practice of cultivating, brewing, and sharing tea as a social and spiritual ritual in China.Table custom · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇮🇱 Jerusalem, Israel and 1 moreShemini Atzeretשְׁמִינִי עֲצֶרֶת
The eighth day of assembly, kept right after Sukkot with a prayer for rainSpiritual
🇸🇪 Gävle, Sweden and 1 moreYule goatJulbocken
A straw goat of northern Christmas, once a harvest spirit, now a tree ornamentFestival
🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreWhit Monday
The Christian feast and public holiday held on the day after PentecostSpiritual
🇮🇩 Bali, IndonesiaNyepiᬜᬾᬧᬶ
A Balinese Hindu day of silence, fasting and stillness marking the Saka new yearSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇰🇵 Pyongyang, North KoreaDay of the Sun태양절
North Korea's principal holiday, marking the birth anniversary of Kim Il SungCeremony
🇬🇧 Cardiff, United Kingdom and 1 moreSaint David's DayDydd Gŵyl Dewi Sant
The national feast day of Wales, marked with parades, poetry contests and daffodilsFestival
🇯🇵 Kyoto, JapanKaiseki懐石
A multi-course Japanese dining tradition shaped by tea ceremonies and the seasonsTable custom · Dinner
🇮🇳 Guwahati, IndiaBihuবিহু (Assamese)
Three annual festivals in Assam marking the new year, crop cycles and harvest with dance, music and feasts.Festival · Feasts and festival meals
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreYule log
A log kept burning on the hearth through the twelve days of Christmas, for luckSeasonal
🇮🇷 Tehran, IranTa'ziyehتعزیه
A ritual drama from Iran that retells the Karbala mourning each MuharramSpiritual
🇮🇳 IndiaHanuman Jayantiहनुमानजयंती
A Hindu festival marking the birth of Hanuman with prayers, readings and offeringsSpiritual
🇮🇳 Varanasi, India and 2 morePitri Pakshaपितृ पक्ष (Pitṛ pakṣa)
A sixteen-day Hindu period for honoring ancestors through food offerings and rites.Spiritual
🇮🇳 Gaya, India and 1 moreShraddhaश्राद्ध
Rituals of faith for the ancestors, kept yearly and through Pitru PakshaSpiritual
🇩🇪 Nuremberg, Germany and 5 moreChristkind
The traditional Christmas Eve gift-bringer across Central Europe and Latin AmericaFestival
🇳🇿 Waitangi, New Zealand and 2 moreWaitangi DayTe Rā o Waitangi
New Zealand's national day remembering the 1840 founding agreement.Ceremony · Breakfast
🇮🇱 IsraelYom HaZikaronיוֹם הַזִּכָּרוֹן
Israel's national day of mourning for fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism.Ceremony
🇷🇴 Romania and 3 moreMărțișor
A spring custom of wearing intertwined red and white strings to welcome the new season.Festival
🇰🇵 Pyongyang, North KoreaArirang Mass Games아리랑 축제
A massive civic spectacle of gymnastics, dance, and card stunts in PyongyangCeremony
🇪🇬 Luxor, EgyptOpet Festivalḥb nfr n jpt
An ancient Egyptian festival in Thebes celebrating divine kingship and the Nile floodSpiritual
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Christmas in Ukraine: Halyna Kuchmanych, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Nyepi: Matt Croxson, Public domain, source
- Children's Day: Comissão de Jovens, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Pakistan Independence Day: Khaum, CC BY 3.0, source
- Chovgan: en:User:Arad, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Chhath Puja: Steffen Gauger, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Gävle goat: Sinikka Halme, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Busójárás: User:Themightyquill, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Waitangi Day: Ryan762 ( talk ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Notting Hill Carnival: Diliff, CC BY 2.5, source
- Festa della Repubblica: Anthony Majanlahti, CC BY 2.0, source
- Yom HaZikaron: אבישי טייכר, CC BY 2.5, source
- Day of the Sun: Uri Tours, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Trooping the Colour: Carfax2, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Arirang Mass Games: Michael Day, CC BY 2.0, source
- Chinese tea culture: Gary Stevens, CC BY 2.0, source
- Lohri: Karen Sandhu, CC BY 2.0, source
- Saint David's Day: National Assembly for Wales, CC BY 2.0, source
- Setsubun: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kaiseki: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Bihu: Diganta Talukdar, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Shemini Atzeret: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Yule goat: John Bauer, Public domain, source
- Yule log: Pehr Arvid Säve (1811—1887), Public domain, source
- Ta'ziyeh: Payam Moein, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Mid-Sha'ban: sayyed shahab-o- din vajedi, CC BY 4.0, source
- Highland games: marsupium photography, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Călușari: El bes, CC BY 3.0, source
- Potlatch: James Gilchrist Swan (1818–1900), Public domain, source
- Mehregan: PersianDutchNetwork, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Opet Festival: Marc Ryckaert, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Thaipusam: hams Nocete, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Hanuman Jayanti: Haha sugarr, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Independence Day of Finland: Wikimedia Commons: LPfi, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Hıdırellez: Правительство Республики Крым, CC BY 4.0, source
- Veterans Day: Elvert Barnes, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Karva Chauth: Iamwiki001, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Hogmanay: Robbie Shade, CC BY 2.0, source
- Guru Purnima: Yercaud-elango, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Pitri Paksha: Firoz Shakir, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Whit Monday: Eloquence, Public domain, source
- Shraddha: Billjones94, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sun Dance: Robert Harry Lowie, Public domain, source
- Upanayana: vinodbahal, CC BY 2.0, source
- Christkind: Roland Berger, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ganggangsullae: originally by photoren, CC BY 2.0, source