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
🇸🇩 SudanJirtigالجَرْتِقْ
A Sudanese wedding ritual of regal adornment, protection, and blessings of fertilityRite of passage
🇬🇷 Patras, GreecePatras CarnivalPatrino karnavali
A winter carnival of parades, street games and satirical floats in western GreeceFestival
🇾🇪 Hadhramaut, Yemen and 1 moreJambiyaجنبية
A short curved dagger worn at the waist by Yemeni men, its handle a sign of statusDress
🇬🇭 GhanaOutdooringkpojiemɔ (Ga), abadinto (Akan), vihehedego (Ewe)
A Ghanaian ceremony eight days after birth, when a baby is brought outdoors and namedRite of passage · Feasts and festival meals
🇺🇸 United StatesRehearsal dinner
A meal the night before a US wedding, when the wedding party gathers to toast and thankRite of passage · Dinner
🇮🇳 Lucknow, India and 3 moreSherwani
A long buttoned coat for men, worn at weddings and state occasions in South AsiaDress
🇬🇷 Olympia, Greece and 5 moreOlympic flame
A flame kindled in Greece, carried by torch to light the cauldron of each GamesCeremony
🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanKoinobori鯉のぼり
Carp-shaped windsocks flown across Japan for Children's Day in springFestival
🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanJapanese New Year正月
An annual celebration of renewal, seasonal foods, and bell ringing across JapanSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇯🇵 JapanShikoku Pilgrimage四国遍路
A long circuit of 88 temples on Japan's Shikoku island, kept by pilgrims called henroSpiritual
🇧🇩 Dhaka, Bangladesh and 1 moreJamdaniজামদানি
A fine handwoven cotton cloth of Bengal, patterned with motifs worked in by handCraft
🇬🇪 Georgia and 2 moreKvevriქვევრი
A buried clay jar, and the Georgian way of making wine inside itCraft
🇪🇹 Ethiopia and 5 moreNativity Fast
A forty-day Christian period of abstinence and prayer observed in preparation for Christmas.Spiritual
🇭🇷 CroatiaLacemaking in CroatiaČipkarstvo u Hrvatskoj
Hand-worked lace in three styles, kept in Croatian towns from the coast to the northCraft
🇹🇴 Tonga and 1 moreTaʻovala
A waist mat worn in Tonga for weddings, funerals and formal daysDress
🇮🇳 India and 4 moreProstration
Bowing the whole body to the ground, in prayer and as a sign of respectSpiritual
🇹🇷 Van, TurkeyTurkish breakfastkahvaltı
A long, shared Turkish morning meal of many small dishes, sweet and savoury, with teaTable custom · Breakfast
🇹🇹 Trinidad and TobagoTrinidad and Tobago Carnival
An annual festival of street parades, masquerade bands, steelpan music and danceFestival
🇷🇼 Kigali, RwandaUmuganda
A monthly morning of mandatory communal work and civic gathering across RwandaCeremony
🇹🇼 TaiwanFlying Fish Festival飛魚祭
A months-long seasonal fishing observance kept by the Tao people of Orchid IslandSeasonal
🇭🇺 Budapest, Hungary and 3 moreTáncház
A Hungarian folk dance gathering where anyone can learn the steps and dance to live musicPerformance
🇮🇱 Jerusalem, IsraelVia Dolorosaطريق الآلام (Arabic) / ויה דולורוזה (Hebrew)
A pilgrim walk through Jerusalem's Old City, marking the last journey of JesusSpiritual
🇨🇳 Shanghai, China and 1 moreCheongsam旗袍 (qípáo), 長衫 (chángshān)
A fitted one-piece Chinese dress with a high collar and side slits, worn since the 1920sDress
🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreTuvan throat singing
A style of singing from Tuva where one voice sounds a drone and a melody at oncePerformance
🇮🇳 India and 2 morePehlwani
A traditional discipline of clay-pit wrestling across the Indian subcontinent.Game
🇺🇿 Tashkent, Uzbekistan and 1 moreDoppaدوپپا (Uyghur); doʻppi / дўппи / دوپا (Uzbek)
An embroidered cap, square or round, that Uyghurs and Uzbeks wear across Central AsiaDress
🇮🇳 IndiaZoroastrian wedding
A multi-day Zoroastrian ceremony uniting two people through prayers, rituals and a shared meal.Rite of passage · Dinner
🇮🇷 Iran and 4 moreZardoziزردوزی (zarduzi)
Heavy gold and silver embroidery on silk or velvet, worked in Iran, India and beyondCraft
🇱🇾 LibyaLibyan tea
A strong boiled tea in small glasses, served in three foam-topped roundsTable custom · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇬🇧 United KingdomPlough Sunday
An English church blessing of the land and farm tools at the start of the yearSpiritual
🇯🇵 JapanYuzu bath柚子湯
A winter solstice soak in hot water with whole yuzu citrus, kept across JapanSeasonal
🇺🇿 Uzbekistan and 6 moreKurashкөрәш
Central Asian traditional upright folk wrestling using cloth belts or towelsGame
🇨🇭 Liestal, SwitzerlandChienbäse
A Swiss carnival night parade of blazing pinewood brooms and carts of fireFestival
🇷🇺 Khokhloma, RussiaKhokhlomaхохлома
Russian folk painting of red, black and gold flowers and berries on wooden tablewareCraft
🇷🇼 RwandaKwita Izina
Rwanda's yearly ceremony naming newborn mountain gorillas, after a baby-naming customRite of passage
🇧🇴 La Paz, Bolivia and 1 moreAlasitasFeria de la Alasita
A month-long Bolivian fair where people exchange miniatures to invite good fortuneFestival
🇧🇬 Bulgaria and 3 moreBanitsaБаница
A layered Bulgarian cheese pastry baked for morning meals and holiday fortunesTable custom · Breakfast
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreLangarਲੰਗਰ
The free kitchen at a gurdwara, where all sit and eat together as equalsTable custom
🇨🇴 Cali, ColombiaCali FairLa Feria de Cali
A six-day Colombian celebration of salsa music, street parades, and regional cultureFestival
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreBank holiday
Official days of rest and financial closure across the British IslesCeremony
🇮🇳 Haridwar, IndiaKumbh MelaKumbha Mēlā
A major Hindu riverside pilgrimage held across four rotating holy cities in IndiaSpiritual
🇮🇳 Mumbai, IndiaDahi Handi
A Hindu festival sport where teams build human towers to break suspended curd potsFestival
🇱🇮 Vaduz, LiechtensteinLiechtenstein National DayStaatsfeiertag Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein's national holiday celebrated with castle speeches, bonfires and fireworksCeremony
🇩🇪 Cologne, Germany and 2 moreGerman CarnivalKarneval
Pre-Lenten street parades, costume balls and local revels across German-speaking lands.Festival · Feasts and festival meals
🇹🇷 Istanbul, Turkey and 5 moreSimit
A sesame-encrusted ring bread sold by street vendors across Turkey and the former Ottoman lands.Table custom · Breakfast
🇱🇻 Riga, LatviaZiemassvētki
Latvia's midwinter festival of solstice customs, mumming and tree decorationSeasonal
🇱🇺 Luxembourg and 3 moreBuergbrennen
A bonfire festival marking the end of winter on the first Sunday of Lent in LuxembourgSeasonal
🇯🇲 Montego Bay, JamaicaReggae Sumfest
An annual week-long reggae and dancehall music festival in Montego Bay, JamaicaFestival
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Patras Carnival: www.infocenterpatras.gr, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Jambiya: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Sherwani: SabaFatima123456789, Public domain, source
- Olympic flame: RuinDig/Yuki Uchida, CC BY 4.0, source
- Koinobori: 663highland, CC BY 2.5, source
- Japanese New Year: No machine-readable author provided. Sixgimic assumed (based on copyri, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Shikoku Pilgrimage: Dokudami, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Jamdani: Salim_Khandoker, CC0, source
- Kvevri: Levan Totosashvili, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Nativity Fast: User:LoKi, Public domain, source
- Lacemaking in Croatia: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0 hr, source
- Taʻovala: James Foster, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Prostration: Meghan Breeze, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Turkish breakfast: MustafaERTAN, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Trinidad and Tobago Carnival: Jean-Marc /Jo BeLo/Jhon-John, CC BY 2.0, source
- Umuganda: Masako Kato, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Via Dolorosa: Gaudenzio Ferrari, Public domain, source
- Cheongsam: Jacklee ., CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tuvan throat singing: Johanna Kovitz, Public domain, source
- Pehlwani: Prasanna Revan aka. Prasannare at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Doppa: Jasper Lee, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Zardozi: Zarood, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Libyan tea: Abdulgahniessadi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Plough Sunday: John Cowie, CC BY 3.0, source
- Yuzu bath: Nori Norisa, CC BY 2.0, source
- Kurash: IlshatS, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Chienbäse: Christof Berger, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Khokhloma: Dmfff, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kwita Izina: Thesmiler de, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Alasitas: Ener6, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Banitsa: Sheku80, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Langar: Harisingh at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kumbh Mela: Yosarian, CC BY 3.0, source
- Cali Fair: Jyon, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Dahi Handi: AKS.9955, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Liechtenstein National Day: Förkle, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- German Carnival: Neva Micheva, CC BY 2.5, source
- Simit: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Buergbrennen: luxpim, CC BY 2.0, source
- Reggae Sumfest: Psycler who is also known as AlfredMoya.com for Jamaica MAX, CC BY 3.0, source
- Jirtig: Alzain Mohammed, CC BY-SA 4.0, source