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
🇰🇷 Seoul, South KoreaTemplestay템플스테이
A program that invites visitors to live in South Korean Buddhist temples and join the daily routines of monastic life.Spiritual · Dinner
🇹🇼 Taipei, TaiwanNight markets in Taiwan夜市
Street markets that open at sunset across Taiwan, selling snacks, drinks and goodsTable custom · Tea-time and snacking customs
🇨🇳 China and 3 moreDragon dance舞龍 / 舞龙
A long dragon puppet on poles, danced by a team at Chinese New Year and other festivalsPerformance
🇲🇳 Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia and 2 moreMongolian wrestlingBökh
A traditional folk wrestling style of the Mongols, kept as a central part of Naadam festivals across Mongolia and neighbGame
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreMid-Autumn Festival中秋節
An annual harvest festival celebrating family reunions, full moons and mooncakesFestival · Sweets given and shared
🇯🇵 Kyoto, Japan and 4 moreHanami花見
A Japanese spring custom of gathering under blooming cherry trees to eat, drink, and celebrate the fleeting beauty of thFestival · Lunch
🇯🇵 Kyoto, JapanHinamatsuri雛祭り
A March festival in Japan where families display ornamental dolls to pray for the health and happiness of young girls.Festival · Sweets given and shared
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreQingming Festival清明节
A spring custom of sweeping family graves and honouring ancestors across East Asia.Spiritual
🇯🇵 Tokyo, Japan and 2 moreTanabataたなばた
A Japanese summer star festival of written wishes hung on leafy bamboo.Festival
🇨🇳 Shanghai, China and 1 moreJiaozi餃子
Crescent Chinese dumplings filled with meat or vegetables, eaten for fortune and feastsTable custom · Breakfast
🇰🇵 Pyongyang, North Korea and 3 moreNaengmyeon냉면
Long buckwheat noodles in icy broth, born in North Korea and eaten most in summerTable custom · Dinner
🇨🇳 China and 7 moreGhost Festival中元節 / 中元节 (Zhōngyuán jié)
A full-moon night in the seventh lunar month for feeding ghosts and guiding souls homeSpiritual
🇲🇳 Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia and 1 moreNaadamнаадам
A midsummer festival of wrestling, horse racing, and archery kept by Mongols in Mongolia and neighboring regions.Festival · Feasts and festival meals
🇨🇳 China and 2 moreQixi Festival七夕
A Chinese night of romance, needlecraft wishes and stargazing for two mythic loversFestival
🇯🇵 Fukuoka, Japan and 4 moreWhite Dayホワイトデー
A day on 14 March when men give a return gift to the women who gave them chocolateFestival
🇰🇷 Jeju, South KoreaHaenyeo해녀
Female free-divers of Jeju Island who harvest seafood from the ocean.Table custom
🇯🇵 Sapporo, JapanSapporo Snow Festival札幌雪祭り (Sapporo Yuki-matsuri)
A week-long winter festival in Sapporo featuring hundreds of large snow and ice sculptures.Festival
🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanShichi-Go-San七五三
A Japanese festival celebrating the growth of three-year-old girls, five-year-old boys, and seven-year-old girls.Rite of passage
🇯🇵 JapanChildren's Dayこどもの日
A Japanese holiday on May fifth celebrating the happiness and growth of childrenFestival
🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanSetsubun節分
A Japanese ritual of throwing roasted soybeans to banish evil spirits and welcome spring.Festival · Feasts and festival meals
🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreGanggangsullae강강술래
A Korean harvest dance where women hold hands and sing in circles under the full moonPerformance
🇯🇵 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
🇨🇳 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
🇰🇵 Pyongyang, North KoreaDay of the Sun태양절
North Korea's principal holiday, marking the birth anniversary of Kim Il SungCeremony
🇯🇵 Kyoto, JapanKaiseki懐石
A multi-course Japanese dining tradition shaped by tea ceremonies and the seasonsTable custom · Dinner
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreDouble Ninth Festival重陽節
An autumn festival of mountain walks, chrysanthemum wine and ancestor remembranceSeasonal · Tea-time and snacking customs
🇰🇵 Pyongyang, North KoreaArirang Mass Games아리랑 축제
A massive civic spectacle of gymnastics, dance, and card stunts in PyongyangCeremony
🇲🇳 Mongolia and 2 moreTsagaan SarЦагаан сар
The Mongolian Lunar New Year festival of peace, elders, white foods and renewalSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanHatsumōde初詣
The first shrine or temple visit of the Japanese New Year to pray for good fortuneSpiritual
🇯🇵 JapanComing of Age Day成人の日
A Japanese public holiday welcoming new adults with municipal rites and celebrationsRite of passage
🇯🇵 JapanHadaka Matsuri裸祭り
Japanese festivals where participants clad in loincloths seek luck and purificationSpiritual
🇯🇵 Kyoto, JapanJidai Matsuri時代祭
An autumn costume procession celebrating Kyoto's imperial heritage and historyFestival
🇰🇷 Seoul, South KoreaYeondeunghoe연등회
A Korean lantern festival celebrating the Buddha's birthday with glowing lotus lightsSpiritual
🇹🇼 Taipei, TaiwanDouble Ten Day國慶日
The national holiday of Taiwan marking the start of the 1911 revolution.Ceremony
🇯🇵 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
🇨🇳 ChinaGolden Week黄金周
Seven- or eight-day national holiday periods in China for travel and family visitsSeasonal
🇰🇵 Pyongyang, North KoreaDay of the Shining Star광명성절
A two-day national holiday in North Korea honouring the birth of Kim Jong Il.Ceremony
🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreDaeboreum대보름
A Korean festival of the first lunar full moon, marked by fires, wishes and feastsSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇨🇳 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
🇨🇳 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
🇨🇳 Beijing, ChinaLaba Festival臘八節
A winter porridge festival marking the start of the Chinese New Year seasonFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇰🇷 Boryeong, South KoreaBoryeong Mud Festival보령머드축제
A summer festival of mud baths, slides and music on the coast of South KoreaFestival
🇰🇷 South KoreaNorigae노리개
A Korean pendant of knots and tassels, worn with hanbok and kept for luckDress
🇨🇳 Lhasa, China and 2 moreSho Dun Festivalཞོ་སྟོན། (Tibetan), 雪頓節 (Chinese)
A summer festival in Lhasa where a monks' retreat ends with yogurt and all-day operaFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇯🇵 Kyoto, JapanAoi Matsuri葵祭
A classical Kyoto festival with an imperial procession and ancient shrine ritualsFestival
🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanKanda Matsuri神田祭
A major Shinto festival with massive parades through the streets of central TokyoFestival
🇰🇵 Pyongyang, North Korea and 4 moreMass games
Disciplined, large-scale gymnastic spectacles celebrating unity and national prideCeremony
🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanKoinobori鯉のぼり
Carp-shaped windsocks flown across Japan for Children's Day in springFestival
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Hatsumōde: KKPCW, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tea culture: Georges Seguin ( Okki ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Children's Day: Comissão de Jovens, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Genpuku: moguphotos, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Koinobori: 663highland, CC BY 2.5, source
- Kanda Matsuri: Jose Fernando, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Hanami: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tanabata: Laika ac, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Dragon dance: Caseman, Public domain, source
- Day of the Sun: Uri Tours, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Qixi Festival: shizhao ( talk )拍摄，画者不明, Public domain, source
- Tsagaan Sar: User:Chinneeb, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Sapporo Snow Festival: Materialscientist, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Jiaozi: Bioniclepluslotr, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Arirang Mass Games: Michael Day, CC BY 2.0, source
- Yeondeunghoe: Korea.net / Korean Culture and Information Service (Jeon Han), CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Chinese tea culture: Gary Stevens, CC BY 2.0, source
- Shichi-Go-San: Bergmann at Japanese Wikipedia, CC BY 3.0, source
- Daeboreum: hojusaram, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Setsubun: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Boryeong Mud Festival: Stinkie Pinkie, CC BY 2.0, source
- Kaiseki: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Night markets in Taiwan: Henry M. Trotter, Public domain, source
- Jidai Matsuri: PlusMinus, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tsukimi: katorisi, CC BY 3.0, source
- Mass games: photo: unknown file: James Steakley, Public domain, source
- Aoi Matsuri: Japanexperterna, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- White Day: Flickr user mersy ( Masashi Yanagiya), CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Norigae: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Templestay: (c)한국불교문화사업단, culturalcorpsofkoreanbuddhism, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mongolian wrestling: U.S. Department of State, Public domain, source
- Mid-Autumn Festival: Shizhao, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Haenyeo: Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Naengmyeon: wjlee4284, CC BY 2.5, source
- Naadam: Chongkian, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Double Ten Day: 總統府, CC BY 2.0, source
- Sho Dun Festival: No machine-readable author provided. John Hill assumed (based on copyr, CC BY 2.5, source
- Hadaka Matsuri: CES, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Day of the Shining Star: Nicor, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Qingming Festival: Jacklee ., CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Hinamatsuri: Lalupa, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Golden Week: User:czhongwu, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ghost Festival: Chong Fat, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Chinese New Year's Eve: Mickey Đại Phát, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ganggangsullae: originally by photoren, CC BY 2.0, source
- Double Ninth Festival: Sgerbic, CC BY-SA 4.0, source