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
🇨🇦 CanadaSaint-Jean-Baptiste DayFête nationale du Québec
An annual civic and cultural celebration observed across Quebec every June 24Ceremony
🇮🇳 Goa, IndiaGudi Padwaगुढी पाडवा
A spring festival marking the new year for Marathi and Konkani Hindus in Maharashtra and Goa.Festival
🇨🇿 Vlčnov, CzechiaRide of the KingsJízda králů
A Moravian spring procession where horsemen escort a silent boy king holding a roseFestival
🇹🇼 Taipei, TaiwanDouble Ten Day國慶日
The national holiday of Taiwan marking the start of the 1911 revolution.Ceremony
🇻🇳 VietnamHùng Kings' Temple FestivalLễ hội đền Hùng
A Vietnamese national festival honoring the legendary founding kings with temple worship and processions.Festival
🇳🇵 Kathmandu, Nepal and 4 moreDashainबडादशैँ
A fifteen-day festival of family gatherings, blessings, and feasts across NepalFestival
🇸🇷 Paramaribo, Suriname and 1 moreKetikotiKeti Koti
An annual Emancipation Day marking the end of slavery in Suriname and the NetherlandsFestival
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreHolika Dahanहोलिकादहन
A Hindu ritual bonfire lit on the eve of Holi to welcome the spring.Spiritual
🇮🇳 IndiaVishuവിഷു
The Malayali new year, kept on 14 or 15 April with an auspicious first sightingSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇺🇦 Ukraine and 12 moreKoliadaКоляда
A traditional winter caroling and solstice festival kept across Slavic EuropeFestival
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreTea culture
How tea is prepared, shared and served, from Chinese tea houses to Tibetan butter teaTable custom · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇳🇬 Argungu, NigeriaArgungu Fishing Festival
A four-day gathering in Nigeria where thousands compete to land giant river fishFestival
🇨🇿 Czechia and 2 moreEaster whippingpomlázka
An Easter Monday custom of tapping women with braided willow switches for vitalitySeasonal
🇪🇸 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
🇧🇴 Oruro, BoliviaCarnival of OruroEl carnaval de Oruro
A Bolivian festival of masked pilgrimage dances honoring the Virgin of the MineshaftFestival
🇬🇪 Tbilisi, GeorgiaChichilakiჩიჩილაკი
A shaved hazelnut branch crafted as a Georgian Christmas tree and burned at EpiphanyFestival
🇷🇺 RussiaScarlet SailsАлые паруса
A summer graduation celebration on the Neva River in Saint PetersburgFestival
🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreDaeboreum대보름
A Korean festival of the first lunar full moon, marked by fires, wishes and feastsSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇨🇦 Toronto, CanadaVictoria DayFête de la Reine
A Canadian public holiday celebrating the monarch and welcoming the return of summerCeremony
🇯🇵 Osaka, JapanTsukimi月見 (Tsukimi) / お月見 (Otsukimi)
A Japanese autumn festival honoring the harvest moon with seasonal foods and pampas grass decorations.Festival · Dinner
🇫🇮 Finland and 5 moreMolybdomancy
Pouring molten lead or tin into water, then reading the shape as an omenFolklore
🇨🇳 ChinaGolden Week黄金周
Seven- or eight-day national holiday periods in China for travel and family visitsSeasonal
🇮🇳 IndiaMahavir Janma Kalyanak
A Jain festival of temple worship, street processions and acts of charitySpiritual
🇳🇵 Nepal and 2 moreTiharतिहार
A five-day Nepalese festival honoring animals, deities, and the bond between siblingsFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇰🇵 Pyongyang, North KoreaDay of the Shining Star광명성절
A two-day national holiday in North Korea honouring the birth of Kim Jong Il.Ceremony
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreClean MondayΚαθαρά Δευτέρα
The Monday that opens Great Lent, kept with fasting, forgiveness and kite-flyingSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreSharad Purnima
A Hindu autumn full moon festival of night vigils, moonlit sweets and sacred dancesSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇳 IndiaTulasi Vivahaतुलसी विवाह (Tulasī Vivāha)
A ritual wedding of the tulasi plant to Vishnu, kept in homes and temples across IndiaSpiritual
🇰🇭 Cambodia and 4 moreRoyal Ploughing Ceremonyព្រះរាជពិធីបុណ្យច្រត់ព្រះនង្គ័ល
A royal agricultural rite opening the rice season across mainland Southeast AsiaCeremony
🇨🇴 Pasto, ColombiaBlacks and Whites' CarnivalCarnaval de Negros y Blancos
A week of street games, parades and music held every January in Pasto, ColombiaFestival
🇺🇦 Ukraine and 1 moreDidukhдідух
A wheat sheaf kept at Christmas to honour ancestors and pray for a bountiful harvestHome
🇮🇳 Chandigarh, India and 1 moreTeejतीज (Tīja)
A monsoon festival where women fast and sing to celebrate the union of Shiva and Parvati.Festival
🇷🇴 RomaniaDragobete
A Romanian festival of young love and spring, celebrated with early flowers and courtshipFestival
🇹🇿 Zanzibar City, TanzaniaZanzibar International Film Festival
An annual ten-day arts, music and cinema gathering held across Zanzibar.Performance
🇳🇴 Oslo, NorwayRussefeiring
A spring graduation rite of passage for Norwegian secondary school studentsRite of passage
🇮🇷 Amol, Iran and 3 moreTirganتیرگان (Tirgān)
An ancient Iranian summer festival of water, poetry and rainbow bands, kept on the thirteenth day of Tir.Festival · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇳 IndiaNamakaranaनामकरणम्
A Hindu rite that gives a baby its name, kept in the days after a birthRite of passage
🇱🇦 Luang Prabang, Laos and 5 moreLao New Yearປີໃໝ່ລາວ
A mid-April water festival and Buddhist celebration marking the Lao new yearFestival
🇵🇭 Cebu City, Philippines and 4 moreSinulog Festival
An annual Philippine dance festival and Catholic devotion honouring the Santo NiñoFestival
🇮🇷 Yazd, Iran and 1 moreSadehسده
An ancient midwinter festival of fire, light, and the approach of springFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreChinese New Year's Evechúxī
A reunion day for ethnic Chinese families before the Lunar New Year, marked by feasts, rituals, and staying up late.Festival · Dinner
🇬🇧 Edinburgh, United Kingdom and 2 moreRoyal Edinburgh Military Tattoo
An annual military music and performance show held on the Esplanade of Edinburgh Castle in August.Performance
🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo and 5 moreCongolese rumba
An African dance music and guitar tradition born along the Congo RiverPerformance
🇧🇹 Thimphu, BhutanTshechuཚེས་བཅུ།
Annual Bhutanese Buddhist festivals of sacred Cham dances and colossal cloth scrollsFestival
🇸🇬 Singapore, SingaporeNational DayHari Kebangsaan Singapura
Singapore's annual civic holiday celebrating its national sovereignty on 9 AugustCeremony
🇳🇷 NauruAngam Day
A national holiday in Nauru celebrating the survival and recovery of its peopleCeremony
🇦🇿 AzerbaijanNovruzNovruz Bayramı
The Azerbaijani spring equinox festival of bonfires, sweets and sprouted wheatSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreHindu weddingVivaha (विवाह)
A traditional Hindu marriage ceremony involving sacred rituals and vows witnessed by fire.Rite of passage
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Tea culture: Georges Seguin ( Okki ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Argungu Fishing Festival: Jaekel, Francis., Public domain, source
- Congolese rumba: Jeanne Vu Van, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day: Montrealais, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Carnival of Oruro: Pame82s, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Easter whipping: Chmee2, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Water Tribunal of the plain of Valencia: José Jordan, CC BY-SA 3.0 igo, source
- Chichilaki: Mostafameraji, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Scarlet Sails: Kora27, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Daeboreum: hojusaram, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Zanzibar International Film Festival: Peter Bennett / ZIFF, CC BY 2.0, source
- Victoria Day: abdallahh, CC BY 2.0, source
- Russefeiring: Unknown author, CC BY 2.0, source
- Tshechu: Stephen Shephard, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Angam Day: Taken in 1896 by Augustin Krämer and uploaded by Rémih, Public domain, source
- National Day: Brian Jeffery Beggerly, CC BY 2.0, source
- Tirgan: LACIPETO, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Novruz: Abutalub, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Gudi Padwa: Abhijit Tembhekar, CC BY 2.0, source
- Tsukimi: katorisi, CC BY 3.0, source
- Molybdomancy: Micha L. Rieser, Attribution, source
- Hindu wedding: Dinesh Cyanam, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Golden Week: User:czhongwu, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Lao New Year: Darren On The Road, CC BY 2.0, source
- Ride of the Kings: Filipzverina, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Double Ten Day: 總統府, CC BY 2.0, source
- Mahavir Janma Kalyanak: Francis Harry Roy S, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sinulog Festival: Herbert Kikoy, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Hùng Kings' Temple Festival: Xuannguyen1133, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tihar: Sreekumar K. S., CC BY 2.0, source
- Day of the Shining Star: Nicor, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Dashain: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Sadeh: Farzad j, Public domain, source
- Ketikoti: StarNieuws, CC BY 3.0, source
- Clean Monday: Перов, Public domain, source
- Sharad Purnima: ShotgunMavericks, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Chinese New Year's Eve: Mickey Đại Phát, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tulasi Vivaha: Unknown author, CC BY 3.0, source
- Holika Dahan: Banswalhemant, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Royal Ploughing Ceremony: Xiengyod, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Blacks and Whites' Carnival: camiloAndres, CC BY 2.0, source
- Vishu: Vishnu Kunnathully, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo: xlibber, CC BY 2.0, source
- Didukh: Bo&Ko, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Teej: Ganesh Paudel at ne.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Koliada: Konstantin Trutovsky, Public domain, source