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
🇮🇷 Tabriz, Iran and 3 morePersian miniatureنگارگری ایرانی
A tradition of small, brightly coloured paintings created for books and albums.Craft
🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreLezginkaЛезгинка (Russian) · Лезги кьуьл (Lezgian)
A fast dance of the North Caucasus, solo or in pairs, named for the Lezgin peoplePerformance
🇻🇳 VietnamTếtTết Nguyên Đán
The Vietnamese festival of the lunar new year, welcoming spring with family gatheringsFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇸 IcelandÞorrablót
An Icelandic midwinter feast of dinner, speeches and poetryFestival · Dinner
🇬🇪 GeorgiaAlaverdobaალავერდობა
A harvest and saint's feast celebrated at Alaverdi Cathedral in eastern GeorgiaSpiritual
🇦🇫 Mazar-i-Sharif, AfghanistanNowruzنوروز
The Afghan spring new year, celebrated with picnics, wheat pudding and dried fruit.Seasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇪🇹 Mekelle, EthiopiaAshendaአሸንዳ
An Ethiopian festival celebrating women and girls with song, dance and tall grass attireFestival
🇸🇮 Ptuj, Slovenia and 1 moreKurentovanje
A rite of spring and carnival in Ptuj with masked bell-ringers chasing winter awayFestival
🇧🇪 Brussels, BelgiumMeyboomMaâbuum
An annual Brussels parade and ceremonial tree planting held every AugustFestival
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 6 moreAsh WednesdayDies Cinerum
A solemn Christian holy day of prayer, fasting, and the placing of ashesSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇷🇴 Romania and 1 moreColindă
A Romanian and Moldovan Christmas carol tradition where village groups sing Nativity songs door to door.Festival
🇨🇱 Santiago, ChileFiestas Patrias
Chile's homeland festivities celebrating national identity with music, dance, and foodCeremony
🇵🇭 Iloilo City, PhilippinesDinagyang FestivalDinágyang
An annual festival of drumming, street dance and devotion to the Santo Niño in Iloilo.Festival
🇱🇹 Vilnius, LithuaniaLithuanian Song FestivalLietuvių dainų ir šokių šventė
A periodic national festival of choral singing, dance and folklore in LithuaniaFestival
🇬🇭 GhanaAdae Festival
A sacred day of rest and ancestral rites observed across the Ashanti Region in GhanaSpiritual
🇪🇸 Jijona, Spain and 5 moreTurrón
A festive Mediterranean nut-and-honey confection shared at Christmas and local feastsTable custom · Sweets given and shared
🇨🇳 Dali, ChinaThird Month Fair三月街
A mountain-foot bazaar, festival, and sports gathering among the Bai in YunnanFestival
🇯🇵 Takayama, JapanTakayama Festival高山祭
Twin seasonal shrine festivals in Japan famed for elaborate lantern-lit floatsFestival
🇩🇴 Santiago, Dominican Republic and 3 moreMerengue
A fast-paced folk dance and music tradition born in the Dominican RepublicPerformance
🇮🇳 Pune, India and 5 moreTurbanدولبند (dolband)
Cloth wound around the head, worn for faith, rank, shade and identityDress
🇵🇹 Porto, PortugalFesta de São João do Porto
Porto's midsummer festival of street feasts, fireworks and playful hammer tapsFestival
🇨🇴 Valledupar, ColombiaVallenato Legend FestivalFestival de la Leyenda Vallenata
An annual gathering in Valledupar celebrating Colombian vallenato music and verseFestival
🇮🇳 IndiaSheetala Ashtami
A day for the goddess Shitala, kept eight days after Holi with food cooked in advanceSpiritual
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreSweet sixteen
A North American coming-of-age celebration marking a sixteenth birthdayRite of passage
🇮🇪 Dublin, Ireland and 3 moreLittle ChristmasNollaig na mBan
A January feast day marking the close of the twelve days of ChristmasSeasonal · Dinner
🇬🇭 GhanaPanafest
A biennial Ghanaian festival uniting Africans and the diaspora through arts and healingFestival
🇨🇳 ChinaTorch Festival火把节
A summer fire holiday celebrated by Yi and neighbouring communities in southwest ChinaFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇯🇵 Kyoto, JapanGion Matsuri祇園祭
A month-long Kyoto festival of grand floats, evening markets and purifying ritualsFestival
🇪🇸 SpainOlentzero
A Basque Christmas tradition of a charcoal burner bringing presents in midwinterFestival
🇷🇺 Moscow, RussiaChristmas in RussiaРождество Христово
An Orthodox winter feast marked by church vigils, fasting suppers and festive mealsSpiritual · Supper
🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreChuseok추석
A Korean harvest festival of ancestral rites, seasonal rice cakes, and folk gamesFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇭🇹 Port-au-Prince, HaitiIndependence Day
A national celebration of liberation, freedom, and unity observed every New Year's Day.Ceremony
🇪🇹 Ethiopia and 1 moreBuheቡሄ
An Orthodox feast day celebrated with neighborhood torches, songs, and gifts of breadSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇷🇺 RussiaSarafanсарафа́н
A long, flared Russian dress, the everyday wear of peasant women for centuriesDress
🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreColumbus Day
An annual autumn holiday marking the 1492 arrival of Christopher Columbus in the AmericasCeremony
🇸🇳 Touba, Senegal and 1 moreGrand Magal of Touba
An annual pilgrimage to the holy city of Touba in Senegal, kept by followers of the Mouride Sufi order.Spiritual
🇮🇷 Iran and 5 moreDutarدوتار
A long-necked lute crafted from wood and played across Iran and Central AsiaPerformance
🇧🇿 Dangriga, BelizeGarifuna Settlement Day
An annual Belizean holiday marking the arrival and heritage of the Garifuna peopleFestival
🇵🇱 PolandEaster in Poland
A spring holiday of family breakfasts, blessed baskets, decorated eggs, and water games.Festival · Breakfast
🇹🇭 Thailand and 5 moreAsalha Pujaอาสาฬหบูชา
A Theravada festival marking the Buddha's first sermon and the monastic orderSpiritual
🇹🇭 Thailand and 3 moreVassa
A three-month rainy-season retreat of meditation, study, and discipline for BuddhistsSpiritual
🇵🇭 Manila, PhilippinesHoly Week in the PhilippinesMahal na Araw
An eight-day observance of the Passion, death, and resurrection of Christ in the Philippines.Spiritual
🇺🇸 United States and 4 moreBridal shower
A gift-giving party for a bride before her wedding, best known in North AmericaRite of passage
🇩🇴 Santo Domingo, Dominican RepublicDominican Carnival
A February street festival of masks, music and parades across the Dominican Republic.Festival
🇺🇸 Tahlequah, United StatesCherokee National Holiday
An annual gathering in Oklahoma marking the signing of the Cherokee ConstitutionFestival
🇲🇦 MoroccoThrone Dayعيد العرش
Morocco's annual national holiday marking the enthronement of the reigning kingCeremony
🇪🇹 Ethiopia and 1 moreFasikaፋሲካ
The celebration of Easter and the end of Lent across Ethiopia and EritreaSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇧🇪 Binche, BelgiumGillesGille
Costumed carnival figures of Binche and surrounding Belgian townsFestival
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Lezginka: Vasily Vereshchagin, Public domain, source
- Persian miniature: 13th century CE painter, Public domain, source
- Alaverdoba: Grigory Gagarin, Public domain, source
- Tết: vi:Lưu Ly, Public domain, source
- Nowruz: Peretz Partensky, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Ashenda: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Kurentovanje: Aleš Kravos, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Meyboom: Henxter, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ash Wednesday: Oxh973, Public domain, source
- Colindă: Post of Moldova, Public domain, source
- Fiestas Patrias: Osmar Valdebenito, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Dinagyang Festival: Bernardo 'Berniemack' Arellano III, CC BY 3.0, source
- Lithuanian Song Festival: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Turrón: Tamorlan, CC BY 3.0, source
- Takayama Festival: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Third Month Fair: ZhaoScorpio, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Merengue: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Turban: pxhere, CC0, source
- Festa de São João do Porto: Hugo Cadavez, CC BY 2.0, source
- Vallenato Legend Festival: Jdvillalobos, CC BY 3.0, source
- Sweet sixteen: Jewish Historical Society of the Upper Midwest, No restrictions, source
- Torch Festival: Zhangmoon618, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Gion Matsuri: 江戸村のとくぞう, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Olentzero: Josu Goñi Etxabe, Public domain, source
- Christmas in Russia: Gzen92, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Chuseok: by Joseph Steinberg (Baltimoron in Korea) at Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Sarafan: Hanna Zelenko, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Buhe: Woyne, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Columbus Day: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Dutar: Yuet Man Lee, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Easter in Poland: Silar, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Vassa: Chainwit., CC BY 4.0, source
- Asalha Puja: Chainwit., CC BY 4.0, source
- Holy Week in the Philippines: LMP 2001, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Bridal shower: The McClouds, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Dominican Carnival: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 2.0 de, source
- Gilles: Marie-Claire, CC BY 3.0, source