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
🇩🇿 Tlemcen, AlgeriaChedda of Tlemcenشدة تلمسانية
The bridal dress of Tlemcen, velvet and gold thread, worn with a jewelled headdressDress
🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreArab weddingزفاف or عرس
A series of ceremonies marking marriage in Arab culture, blending religious rites with regional customs.Rite of passage · Feasts and festival meals
🇹🇳 Sousse, TunisiaCarnival of Awussu
An annual seaside midsummer parade in Sousse with floats, brass bands and folk troupesFestival
🇪🇬 EgyptKallawtahكلوتة
A rounded Turkic cap worn in the medieval Middle East, its colour set in Mamluk EgyptDress
🇩🇿 Tlemcen, AlgeriaAshura in Algeriaيوم عاشوراء
A day of fasting, almsgiving, evening feasting and regional folk masquerades.Festival · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇩🇿 AlgeriaWezeeaوزيعة
A communal meat-sharing custom fostering rural solidarity across AlgeriaSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇩🇿 Constantine, AlgeriaM'layaملاية
A black full-body veil worn by women in Constantine, Algeria, as a sign of modesty.Dress
🇲🇦 Morocco and 2 moreTweezaتويزة
A North African tradition of communal voluntary work, mutual aid and shared harvestsCeremony · Dinner
🇪🇬 Luxor, Egypt and 1 moreMelaya leff
A traditional wrapped Egyptian mantle once worn for modesty and now famous on stageDress
🇹🇳 La Goulette, TunisiaOur Lady of Trapani procession (Tunis)
A Catholic festival in La Goulette honoring the Virgin Mary, once shared by Christians and Muslims.Festival
🇪🇬 Alexandria, EgyptSerapia
A Roman state feast for the god Serapis, kept on 25 April in Egypt and at RomeSpiritual
🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreIslamic marital practices
Islamic wedding customs, from matchmaking and mahr to the nikah contract and walima feast.Rite of passage
🇩🇿 Algeria and 4 moreFoutaفوطة
A thin patterned cotton or linen cloth, worn as a wrap at the baths and as dressDress
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Zajal: 13th century artist, Public domain, source
- Melaya leff: Néfermaât, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Serapia: Unknown author, CC BY 2.5, source
- Our Lady of Trapani procession (Tunis): IssamBarhoumi, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Fouta: Emmanuel.boutet authorized by Bohemeria [1], CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kallawtah: 1371 by the scribe Aḥmad ibn ‘Umar ibn Aḥmad al-Miṣrī ("the Egyptian"), CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Carnival of Awussu: Mahdi azouzi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ashura in Algeria: Jan Janssonius, Public domain, source
- Tweeza: Demeester, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Chedda of Tlemcen: Dezedien, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Islamic marital practices: Saddam19, CC BY-SA 4.0, source