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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.

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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
🇹🇼 TaiwanFlying Fish Festival飛魚祭 A months-long seasonal fishing observance kept by the Tao people of Orchid IslandSeasonal 🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreChuseok추석 A Korean harvest festival of ancestral rites, seasonal rice cakes, and folk gamesFestival · Feasts and festival meals 🇯🇵 Kyoto, JapanGion Matsuri祇園祭 A month-long Kyoto festival of grand floats, evening markets and purifying ritualsFestival 🇨🇳 ChinaTorch Festival火把节 A summer fire holiday celebrated by Yi and neighbouring communities in southwest ChinaFestival · 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 🇨🇳 ChinaMuqamمۇقام A Uyghur modal system of melody types, and the twelve long cycles built on itPerformance 🇲🇳 Mongolia and 5 moreThroat singing Several deep, guttural singing styles, each named and kept by its own peoplePerformance 🇯🇵 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 🇨🇳 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 🇰🇷 Seoul, South KoreaYunnori윷놀이 A Korean board and stick-tossing game played with tokens during the Lunar New YearGame 🇨🇳 China and 2 moreGo圍棋 (wéiqí), 囲碁 (igo), 바둑 (baduk) Two players surround territory with black and white stones on a lined boardGame 🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanDaijō-sai大嘗祭 The emperor's once-in-a-reign Shinto rite of thanks for the rice harvestSpiritual 🇯🇵 JapanShogi将棋 (shōgi) Japan's two-player strategy game, where captured pieces change sides and returnGame 🇰🇷 South Korea and 2 moreHanbok한복 Korea's customary dress: a short jacket, a skirt or trousers, and a bow-tied ribbonDress 🇯🇵 Kyoto, JapanKimono着物 Japan's national dress: a wrapped robe with square sleeves, tied with a wide sashDress 🇨🇳 China and 3 moreCham danceའཆམ་ A masked monastery dance of Tibetan Buddhism, staged at festivals to teach and blessSpiritual 🇭🇰 Cheung Chau, Hong KongCheung Chau Bun Festival包山節 A week of vegetarian days, bun towers and a midnight scramble on a Hong Kong islandFestival 🇨🇳 China and 5 moreJoss paper金紙 (jīnzhǐ) Paper money burned for ancestors and gods, folded and offered in Chinese worshipSpiritual 🇯🇵 Tokyo, Japan and 5 moreTaiko太鼓 (taiko) Japanese drums, and the ensemble style of playing themPerformance 🇨🇳 Beijing, China and 1 moreLaba congee腊八粥 A ceremonial Chinese porridge of rice, beans and dried fruit, eaten at the Laba FestivalTable custom · Feasts and festival meals 🇯🇵 Takayama, JapanTakayama Festival高山祭 Twin seasonal shrine festivals in Japan famed for elaborate lantern-lit floatsFestival 🇨🇳 China and 1 moreReunion dinner團圓飯 A family gathering meal on lunar new year's eve, kept in China and VietnamTable custom · Dinner 🇨🇳 ChinaChinese funeral rituals Traditional rites of mourning, vigils, offerings, and ancestor veneration across ChinaRite of passage 🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreJegichagi제기차기 A paper shuttlecock kicked and kept in the air, a winter game for Korean childrenGame 🇨🇳 Dali, ChinaThird Month Fair三月街 A mountain-foot bazaar, festival, and sports gathering among the Bai in YunnanFestival 🇯🇵 Kyoto, JapanAoi Matsuri葵祭 A classical Kyoto festival with an imperial procession and ancient shrine ritualsFestival 🇯🇵 JapanTango no sekku端午の節句 A Japanese seasonal festival for children marked with carp streamers and iris leaves.Festival · Sweets given and shared 🇨🇳 Beijing, ChinaHanfu漢服 The dress of the Han Chinese, named for the Han dynasty and worn again todayDress 🇯🇵 Japan and 1 moreIomanteイオマンテ An Ainu rite that sends a hand-raised bear cub's spirit home to the god-worldSpiritual 🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanJapanese New Year正月 An annual celebration of renewal, seasonal foods, and bell ringing across JapanSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals 🇨🇳 Yining, China and 1 moreMeshrepمەشرەپ A Uyghur gathering of music, poetry, dance and moral counsel at harvest and weddingsPerformance 🇰🇷 Honam, South Korea and 2 morePansori판소리 A Korean art of sung storytelling, with one singer, one drummer and a listening crowdPerformance 🇯🇵 JapanKintsugi金継ぎ Mending broken pottery with lacquer and gold, so the repair stays visibleCraft 🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanKanda Matsuri神田祭 A major Shinto festival with massive parades through the streets of central TokyoFestival 🇨🇳 Shanghai, ChinaTangzhuang唐裝 (traditional), 唐装 (simplified) A Chinese jacket with a Mandarin collar, worn for formal occasions and holidaysDress 🇰🇵 Pyongyang, North Korea and 4 moreMass games Disciplined, large-scale gymnastic spectacles celebrating unity and national prideCeremony 🇨🇳 ChinaChinese paper cutting剪紙 / 剪纸 (jiǎnzhǐ) Chinese cut paper pictures, pasted on windows and doors for luck at New YearCraft 🇨🇳 Lhasa, China and 5 moreButter teaབོད་ཇ་ A salted tea churned with yak butter, served to guests across the HimalayaTable custom · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies 🇨🇳 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 🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreDoljanchi돌 (dol); 돌잔치 (doljanchi) A Korean first-birthday rite where a baby picks an object that hints at the years aheadRite of passage 🇨🇳 China and 1 moreXiangqi象棋 A two-player game of armies and cannons, played on the points of a nine-by-ten boardGame 🇹🇼 Taichung, TaiwanDajia Mazu Pilgrimage大甲媽祖遶境進香 A nine-day walking procession across central Taiwan honouring the sea goddess MazuSpiritual 🇰🇷 Seoul, South KoreaJongmyo jerye종묘 제례 Ancestral rite for Korea's Joseon kings, with court music and a line dance, held in SeoulSpiritual 🇨🇳 China and 4 moreSky burialབྱ་གཏོར་ (bya gtor) A Tibetan funeral in which the dead are laid out on a rock for vulturesRite of passage 🇨🇳 Chengdu, China and 1 moreSichuan opera川劇 A Chinese opera from Sichuan, known for split-second mask changes and a central clownPerformance 🇨🇳 China and 5 moreYum cha飲茶 A Cantonese breakfast of dim sum and tea, eaten slowly in large groupsTable custom · Breakfast 🇨🇳 China and 6 moreRed envelope紅包 / 红包 (hóngbāo) Money in a red packet, given at Lunar New Year, weddings and other big daysEtiquette 🇨🇳 China and 5 moreAncestor veneration Honouring dead relatives with offerings, meals and prayers, kept in cultures worldwideSpiritual
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The weekly EveryParampara

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