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All traditions

2,337 traditions so far, best known first. 12,212 more are on the list to be written. Filter by region, kind and meal.

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RegionSouth AsiaSoutheast AsiaEast AsiaCentral Asia and the CaucasusMiddle EastNorth AfricaSub-Saharan AfricaEuropeNorth AmericaLatin America and the CaribbeanOceania
KindSpiritualFestivalRite of passageTable customSeasonalDressPerformanceEtiquetteCraftGameFolkloreHomeCeremony
MealBreakfastLunchDinnerSupperTea-time and snacking customsTea, coffee and drinking ceremoniesSweets given and sharedFeasts and festival mealsFasting and breaking the fast
🇸🇪 Sweden and 3 moreCrayfish partykräftskiva Boiled crayfish, snaps and paper lanterns at a late-summer party in Sweden and FinlandTable custom · Feasts and festival meals 🇨🇳 ChinaChinese funeral rituals Traditional rites of mourning, vigils, offerings, and ancestor veneration across ChinaRite of passage 🇱🇰 Sri LankaPoruwa ceremony A Sinhalese wedding rite held on a decorated wooden platform called a PoruwaRite of passage 🇵🇭 PhilippinesFilipino wedding customsKasalan A blend of indigenous rituals and Christian traditions marking the union of two families in the Philippines.Rite of passage 🇲🇽 Tijuana, Mexico and 1 moreBirria A rich, seasoned meat stew from western Mexico, cooked for gatherings and holidaysTable custom · Feasts and festival meals 🇮🇱 Jerusalem, Israel and 5 moreBar and bat mitzvahבַּר מִצְוָה / בַּת מִצְוָה A Jewish rite of passage marking when youth reach adulthood and take responsibility for their own actions.Rite of passage · Feasts and festival meals 🇨🇳 China and 5 moreJoss paper金紙 (jīnzhǐ) Paper money burned for ancestors and gods, folded and offered in Chinese worshipSpiritual 🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreNational day of mourning A day a government sets aside for national grief, often marked by flags at half-mastCeremony 🇦🇹 Vienna, AustriaVienna New Year's ConcertNeujahrskonzert der Wiener Philharmoniker A morning of waltzes and polkas on 1 January, played by the Vienna PhilharmonicPerformance 🇺🇸 New Orleans, United StatesMardi Gras Indians A New Orleans carnival tradition where Black revelers wear elaborate Native American-inspired suits to honor historical Festival 🇮🇱 Jerusalem, Israel and 1 moreFour speciesארבעת המינים (Arba'at HaMinim) A ritual waving of four plants during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.Spiritual 🇮🇱 Safed, Israel and 5 moreHakafotהַקָּפוֹת Circling the synagogue platform with the Torah scrolls, at Sukkot and Simchat TorahSpiritual 🇨🇱 Chile and 1 moreWe TripantuWiñoy Tripantu The Mapuche new year, kept on the June solstice as the sun turns backFestival 🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreLord's DayKyriake hemera Sunday, the weekly day of Christian worship, kept as a memory of the resurrectionSpiritual 🇮🇱 Israel and 5 moreChallahחַלָּה A braided Jewish bread, blessed and shared at Shabbat and holiday tablesTable custom · Feasts and festival meals 🇬🇭 GhanaAdowa A Ghanaian Akan dance where hands and feet carry the mood of the occasionPerformance 🇲🇽 Guadalajara, MexicoMexican hat danceJarabe tapatío Mexico's national courtship dance, in which a dancer's steps circle the brim of a hatPerformance 🇬🇧 United KingdomTwmpath The Welsh word for a village dancing green, now used for a social dance eveningPerformance 🇯🇵 Kyoto, JapanKimono着物 Japan's national dress: a wrapped robe with square sleeves, tied with a wide sashDress 🇰🇷 Seoul, South KoreaYunnori윷놀이 A Korean board and stick-tossing game played with tokens during the Lunar New YearGame 🇨🇳 Guangzhou, China and 1 moreDim sum點心 (traditional Chinese), 点心 (simplified Chinese) Small dishes shared with tea, eaten as brunch in Cantonese teahouses and restaurantsTable custom · Breakfast 🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreRussian tea culture The everyday cup of Russia, brewed strong and diluted to taste, with jam and sweetsTable custom · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies 🇲🇳 Mongolia and 5 moreThroat singing Several deep, guttural singing styles, each named and kept by its own peoplePerformance 🇸🇰 SlovakiaFujara A tall Slovak flute played by shepherds, with a deep voice built from overtonesPerformance 🇹🇴 TongaLakalaka A formal group dance of Tonga where singers stand in rows and move their arms to express songs.Performance 🇱🇹 Lithuania and 1 moreLithuanian folk songsliaudies dainos Songs of love, weddings, work and war, sung in unison or in harmony across LithuaniaPerformance 🇺🇿 Bukhara, Uzbekistan and 2 moreShashmaqamШашмақом A classical song cycle of Central Asia, built on six modes and Sufi love poetryPerformance 🇺🇸 New York, United States and 5 moreKlezmerקלעזמער An Ashkenazi Jewish instrumental tradition of lively dance tunes and ritual melodiesPerformance 🇷🇴 Romania and 2 morePlăcintă A traditional thin, filled pastry baked across Romania, Moldova, and parts of Ukraine.Table custom · Sweets given and shared 🇮🇷 Tabriz, IranPersian carpetفرش ایرانی Hand-woven knotted rugs and flat textiles crafted across the towns and tribes of IranCraft 🇮🇩 Indonesia and 5 moreBatikꦧꦛꦶꦏ꧀ (bathik) A Javanese wax-resist way of patterning cloth, and the textiles made that wayCraft 🇮🇳 Bhuj, India and 1 moreBandhani Tie-dye cloth from India, knotted by hand and dipped in dye to leave dot patternsCraft 🇮🇪 Uisneach, Ireland and 1 moreBeltaneBealtaine A Gaelic first-of-summer festival of bonfires, May flowers and feasting on 1 MaySeasonal 🇮🇷 Tehran, IranIranian weddingمراسم عروسی در ایران A wedding with courtship visits, a henna night and a spread of symbols, kept across IranRite of passage 🇵🇦 Las Tablas, Panama and 2 morePollera A handmade skirt and outfit worn in Panama, Bolivia and Peru, and a marker of identityDress 🇬🇹 GuatemalaWorry dollMuñecas quitapenas Hand-made dolls from highland Guatemala that children tell their worries to at nightFolklore 🇺🇸 United States and 2 morePowwow A communal gathering of dancing, singing and fellowship across Native North AmericaFestival 🇨🇳 China and 3 moreCham danceའཆམ་ A masked monastery dance of Tibetan Buddhism, staged at festivals to teach and blessSpiritual 🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreBaby shower A gift-giving party for a new or expected baby, kept in many countriesRite of passage 🇺🇸 New Orleans, United StatesJazz funeral A New Orleans funeral march led by brass music, moving from mourning to joyful danceRite of passage 🇮🇳 Lucknow, India and 5 moreKurtaکرته (Persian), कुरता (Hindi) A loose collarless tunic from South Asia, worn plain or embroidered over pyjamas or jeansDress 🇮🇳 IndiaSadyaസദ്യ A vegetarian feast from Kerala, served on a banana leaf at Onam, Vishu and weddingsTable custom · Lunch 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia and 2 moreNiqabنِقاب A face veil worn by some Muslim women, hiding all but the eyesDress 🇺🇦 UkraineTraditional Ukrainian wedding A wedding spread over many days, with matchmaking, bread, wreaths and songRite of passage 🇭🇷 Omiš, CroatiaKlapa Unaccompanied harmony singing from Dalmatia, built by groups of friendsPerformance 🇯🇵 Kyoto, JapanJapanese tea ceremony茶道 (Sadō / Chadō), 茶の湯 (Chanoyu) The formal serving of powdered matcha, shaped by Zen, Shinto and wabiTable custom · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies 🇨🇳 China and 5 moreMoon rabbit月兔 A hare seen in the Moon's dark patches, pounding rice cakes or the elixir of lifeFolklore 🇱🇺 Echternach, LuxembourgDancing procession of EchternachIechternacher Sprangprëssioun A Roman Catholic hopping pilgrimage honouring Saint Willibrord in eastern LuxembourgSpiritual
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The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

The weekly EveryParampara

Every week: one tradition from somewhere new, what is being celebrated around the world this week, and one idea explained.