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
🇷🇺 Moscow, RussiaSpartakiad of the Peoples of the USSRСпартакиада народов СССР
A massive multi-sport festival that brought together Soviet republics every four yearsGame
🇨🇭 Basel, Switzerland and 4 moreScheibenschlagen
A Central European custom where glowing wooden disks are flung from hillsides into valleys at dusk.Festival
🇷🇸 Serbia and 2 moreZapisзапис
A consecrated village tree marked with a cross, venerated in Serbian folk traditionSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇷🇸 SerbiaVertepвертеп
A Serbian Orthodox Christmas Eve custom, named for the cave of the NativitySpiritual
🇽🇰 Kosovo and 2 morePodruga
A Balkan custom in which a childless wife agreed to a second wife joining the householdRite of passage
🇬🇧 London, United Kingdom and 2 moreOyez
A traditional ceremonial call chanted to open court sessions and civic assembliesCeremony
🇬🇧 Atherstone, United KingdomAtherstone Ball Game
An annual medieval football match played in Atherstone on Shrove Tuesday to honour a 12th-century victory.Game
🇬🇷 GreeceHimationἱμάτιον
A wool or linen wrap worn across ancient Greece, later taken up in Rome and ByzantiumDress
🇬🇷 GreeceKausiaκαυσία
A flat hat of ancient Macedonia, worn by kings and later as sun cover in RomeDress
🇨🇭 Bern, Switzerland and 4 moreTatzelwurm
A cat-faced dragon of Alpine lore, said to hiss, poison the air and guard old tunnelsFolklore
🇪🇸 Seville, SpainTraje de flamenca
The ruffled dress women wear to the fairs of AndalusiaDress
🇪🇸 Valencia, Spain and 1 moreZaragüellessarāwīl (Andalusi Arabic), saragüells (Valencian)
Wide, pleated breeches of Andalusian origin, worn as traditional dress in parts of Spain and Morocco.Dress
🇫🇷 FranceBreton costume
The traditional folk dress and lace headdresses worn for festivals across BrittanyDress
🇨🇭 Zurich, SwitzerlandSwiss traditional costumeSchweizer Trachten
Distinct regional festive dress worn across the cantons of SwitzerlandDress
🇬🇧 United KingdomLincolnshire Day
An annual county day on 1 October honouring the history and culture of LincolnshireCeremony
🇬🇧 Sheffield, United KingdomOld Tup
A midwinter folk drama with a ram disguise from the English East MidlandsFolklore
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreSelkieselkie fowk
The seal shapeshifters of Scottish and northern island folkloreFolklore
🇬🇧 United KingdomBaobhan sithBaobh-shìth
A beautiful fairy of Highland tales who dances with hunters and kills themFolklore
🇬🇧 East Kilbride, United KingdomKate Dalrymple
A traditional Scottish reel and comic Scots song about a muirland spinsterPerformance
🇷🇺 Mstyora, RussiaMstyora miniatureМстёрская миниатюра
Tempera miniature painting on lacquered papier-mâché, made in Mstyora, RussiaCraft
🇪🇸 Spain and 5 moreSack Man
A widespread folklore figure who carries a sack to take away disobedient childrenFolklore
🇧🇪 BelgiumMarches of Entre-Sambre-et-MeuseMarches de l'Entre-Sambre-et-Meuse
Folk processions with armed escorts in Belgian villages, kept from May to OctoberSpiritual · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇺🇦 Kolomyia, Ukraine and 4 moreKolomyikaКоломийка
A quick Hutsul dance-song of comic rhymed verses, danced at weddings and holidaysPerformance
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreBridesmaid
The companions and attendants who support a bride during a weddingRite of passage
🇫🇷 France and 5 moreRespite SanctuarySanctuaire à répit
A historical Catholic custom of seeking brief revival to baptise stillborn infantsSpiritual
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreCorpse road
Historical paths used to carry the dead to parish burial grounds across Britain and Ireland.Rite of passage
🇮🇹 Venice, Italy and 3 moreVenice New Year's ConcertConcerto di Capodanno del Teatro La Fenice di Venezia
A New Year's Day concert of orchestra and opera at Venice's Teatro La FenicePerformance
🇸🇪 Sweden and 2 moreSaint Knut's DayTjugondag Knut
A Nordic holiday marking the twentieth and final day of Christmas each JanuarySeasonal · Sweets given and shared
🇮🇹 Avezzano, ItalyFeast of the Madonna di PietraquariaMadonna di Pietraquaria
A three-day spring festival in Avezzano marked by neighborhood bonfires, a street fair, and a mountain-to-city processioFestival
🇧🇬 Chiprovtsi, Bulgaria and 1 moreChiprovtsi kilimЧипровски килим
Handmade flatwoven rugs with identical sides, crafted in a Bulgarian town since the 17th century.Craft
🇺🇦 Dnipro, UkraineCossack songs of the Dnipropetrovsk RegionКозацькі пісні Дніпропетровщини
Folk songs made by Cossacks, still sung in villages of the Dnipropetrovsk regionPerformance
🇭🇷 Marija Bistrica, CroatiaWooden toys of Hrvatsko ZagorjeDrvene igračke Hrvatskog zagorja
Hand-carved wooden toys from the Zagorje hills of Croatia, painted bright by the families who make themCraft
🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreSaint Nicholas
Boots out on 6 December: sweets for good children, a switch for the restFestival · Sweets given and shared
🇲🇰 Skopje, North MacedoniaMacedonian embroidery
A hand-stitched village craft of vests, shirts and head covers in North MacedoniaCraft
🇱🇺 Luxembourg City, Luxembourg and 3 moreOktavMuttergottesoktav
A two-week annual Marian pilgrimage and festival in Luxembourg CitySpiritual · Tea-time and snacking customs
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreShielingÀirigh
Seasonal summer pasture living and traditional dairying in the Scottish hillsSeasonal
🇮🇪 Ireland and 2 moreEmber daysQuatuor Tempora
A quarterly Western Christian rhythm of fasting, prayer and seasonal thanksgivingSeasonal · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇬🇧 United KingdomGuernsey
A traditional seamless wool sweater crafted for seafarers across the British IslesDress
🇽🇰 Prizren, KosovoDokuFest
An annual summer gathering in Prizren dedicated to non-fiction cinema and short filmsFestival
🇬🇧 United KingdomHarvest Festival
An autumn thanksgiving for the crops, kept in churches and schools across the UKSeasonal · Supper
🇬🇷 Sparta, GreeceChitonχιτών
A draped tunic of wool or linen worn across ancient Greece and RomeDress
🇭🇷 CroatiaBadnjakBadnji dan
A Christmas Eve oak log burned in the hearth across Croatia to welcome the holiday.Festival · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇬🇧 Ashbourne, United Kingdom and 1 moreRoyal Shrovetide Football
A medieval mob football game played in Ashbourne on Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday.Game
🇷🇺 RussiaBlack wedding
A traditional Jewish crisis wedding held in a cemetery to ward off diseaseSpiritual
🇬🇧 Worldham, United Kingdom and 5 moreJalsa Salanaجلسہ سالانہ
A three-day annual assembly for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, featuring lectures, prayers and communal meals.Festival · Feasts and festival meals
🇬🇧 United KingdomRacial Justice Sunday
A day of prayer and action for racial justice observed by British Christian churches in February.Spiritual
🇷🇺 Vladimir, RussiaRozhokрожок
A traditional Russian wooden trumpet played solo and in pastoral horn ensemblesPerformance
🇬🇧 London, United KingdomQueen Charlotte's Ball
A historic coming-of-age gala where young women curtsey to an ornate birthday cakeRite of passage
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR: Scanning Dmitry Makeev , scan date - 2020 year., Public domain, source
- Scheibenschlagen: Josef Saurwein, Zams, Public domain, source
- Zapis: Zblagojevic, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Oyez: Bryan Ledgard, CC BY 2.0, source
- Atherstone Ball Game: Adrian Roebuck, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Himation: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kausia: Marie-Lan Nguyen, Public domain, source
- Tatzelwurm: Abrasax, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, source
- Traje de flamenca: MariCruz México, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Zaragüelles: Isidoro Marín Garés, Public domain, source
- Breton costume: XIIIfromTOKYO, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Swiss traditional costume: Robertuswiki, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Old Tup: Doyle of London, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Selkie: Carolyn Emerick, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mstyora miniature: Bin im Garten, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Sack Man: Ponscor, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Marches of Entre-Sambre-et-Meuse: Hoebele, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kolomyika: Teodor Axentowicz, Public domain, source
- Bridesmaid: Photographer not credited; relative or work for hire of relative., CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Respite Sanctuary: Atelier Roussel à Beauvais 1878, Public domain, source
- Corpse road: Mick Garratt, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Venice New Year's Concert: Youflavio, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Feast of the Madonna di Pietraquaria: Marica Massaro, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Chiprovtsi kilim: Edal Anton Lefterov, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Cossack songs of the Dnipropetrovsk Region: Юрій Булка, CC BY 4.0, source
- Wooden toys of Hrvatsko Zagorje: Roberta., CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Saint Nicholas: Chmee2, CC BY 3.0, source
- Macedonian embroidery: Antonio Brsjacki, Public domain, source
- Oktav: Daderot, CC0, source
- Shieling: Gordon Hatton, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Ember days: Richard Symonds, CC BY 3.0, source
- Guernsey: LeGroweur, Public domain, source
- DokuFest: Fallbackintoreality, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Harvest Festival: Derek Harper, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Chiton: Berlin Painter, CC BY 2.5, source
- Badnjak: Vidonjac, CC BY 2.0, source
- Royal Shrovetide Football: Adrian Roebuck, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Black wedding: American Colony Photo Department, Public domain, source
- Jalsa Salana: Ceddyfresse, Public domain, source
- Racial Justice Sunday: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Rozhok: Obakeneko, CC BY 3.0, source
- Queen Charlotte's Ball: The Illustrated London News, Public domain, source