All traditions
2,350 traditions so far, best known first. 12,186 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
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreRudrakshaरुद्राक्ष
Seeds of the Elaeocarpus tree, worn as prayer beads by devotees of ShivaSpiritual
🇹🇷 Turkey and 5 moreCoffee culture
The habits and etiquette of drinking coffee, and the cafés built around itTable custom · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreKoothu
Tamil street theatre with dance, music and epic stories, staged at temple festivals.Performance
🇳🇱 Landgraaf, NetherlandsPinkpop
A three-day pop and rock festival in the Netherlands, held on the Pentecost weekendFestival
🇮🇳 Nadia, IndiaDhunachi
A Bengali incense burner, swung in worship and danced with at Durga PujaSpiritual
🇮🇳 Lucknow, India and 1 moreKathak
A north Indian classical dance of stories, footwork and spins, from temples and courtsPerformance
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreKolamகோலம்
A rice-flour floor drawing made at South Indian doorsteps before sunriseCraft
🇯🇲 JamaicaItal
A Rastafari way of eating: food from the earth, kept to raise livityTable custom
🇨🇳 ChinaTraditional Chinese marriage婚姻 (hūnyīn)
A wedding rite that joins two families, arranged by a go-between and sealed with giftsRite of passage
🇩🇰 Roskilde, DenmarkRoskilde Festival
A week-long Danish music festival south of Roskilde, run by volunteers since 1971Festival
🇮🇳 Puri, IndiaOdissiଓଡ଼ିଶୀ
A classical dance of Odisha, told through bends, gestures and sung poetryPerformance
🇮🇳 India and 3 moreBhajanभजनम् (bhajanam)
Devotional songs of South Asia, sung alone or together with drums and cymbalsPerformance
🇮🇳 IndiaMohiniyattam
A gentle solo dance from Kerala, once a temple art and now taught in dance schoolsPerformance
🇮🇳 Palani, IndiaPanchamritaपञ्चामृत (Sanskrit); பஞ்சாமிர்தம் (Tamil)
Five sacred foods mixed and poured over temple images in Hindu and Jain worshipSpiritual · Sweets given and shared
🇮🇳 Trivandrum, IndiaKathakaliകഥകളി
A classical dance-drama from Kerala featuring elaborate makeup and costumes to tell epic stories.Performance
🇮🇳 India and 2 morePujaपूजा (pūjā)
Hindu worship: light, flowers and food offered to a deity or a guestSpiritual
🇮🇳 Varanasi, IndiaHanuman Chalisaहनुमान चालीसा
A forty-stanza Awadhi hymn praising Hanuman, said by Hindus each daySpiritual
🇮🇱 Israel and 3 moreKashrutכַּשְׁרוּת (Hebrew)
The Jewish dietary laws: what may be eaten, and how it is preparedTable custom
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreBindi
A dot worn between the eyebrows, red for marriage and devotion, worn daily by many womenDress
🇮🇳 Palani, India and 5 moreKavadi Aattamகாவடி ஆட்டம்
Tamil devotees of Murugan carry burdens as a vow during ThaipusamSpiritual
🇮🇳 Udupi, IndiaYakshaganaಯಕ್ಷಗಾನ (Kannada)
A night-long dance-drama from coastal Karnataka, with sung dialogue and drummingPerformance
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreRangoliरंगोली
Floor patterns of rice flour, sand or petals, drawn at the doorstep for festivalsCraft
🇮🇳 IndiaSattriya
A classical dance from Assam, kept in monasteries and performed on stages worldwidePerformance
🇵🇰 PakistanPakistani weddingپاکستانی شادی
Weddings across Pakistan: a match is found, a contract signed, two families joinedRite of passage
🇮🇳 Imphal, India and 1 moreManipuri danceJagoi Raas, Raas Jagoi
A classical dance from Manipur, danced as an offering to Radha and KrishnaPerformance
🇮🇳 India and 4 moreSindoorसिंदूर
A red powder worn in the hair parting by many married Hindu womenDress
🇺🇸 Chicago, United States and 5 moreLabour Day
A day honouring workers, kept on 1 May in most countries and on other dates elsewhereFestival
🇺🇸 Spokane, United States and 5 moreFather's Day
A day to honour fathers and fatherhood, kept on many different dates worldwideFestival
🇧🇩 BangladeshNight of Powerليلة القدر
The night Muslims believe the Quran first came down, sought in Ramadan's last ten nightsSpiritual
🇱🇧 Lebanon and 2 moreAnnunciationΟ Ευαγγελισμός της Θεοτόκου
A Christian feast marking the angel Gabriel's message to Mary about bearing Jesus, kept on 25 March.Festival
🇰🇪 Kenya and 5 moreBurial
Placing the dead in the ground or a structure to honor them and guide their journey.Rite of passage
🇬🇷 Olympia, GreeceAncient Olympic Gamesτὰ Ὀλύμπια
A quadrennial athletic festival held in ancient Greece to honor the god ZeusGame
🇮🇱 Israel and 6 moreHoly SaturdaySabbatum Sanctum
The closing day of Holy Week, a Saturday of waiting, fasting and vigil before EasterSpiritual
🇻🇪 Mérida, VenezuelaFeria del Sol
Mérida's February fair: bullfights, parades, concerts and the Queen of the SunFestival
🇪🇬 Egypt and 4 moreOudعُود (ʿūd)
A fretless, pear-shaped Middle Eastern lute, plucked with a plectrum called a rishaPerformance
🇲🇱 MaliWuduوضوء
The Islamic ritual washing with water before prayer and sacred actsSpiritual
🇨🇦 Canada and 1 moreBeatification
A Catholic rite conferring the title Blessed and allowing local public venerationSpiritual
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreNativity of Mary
A Christian feast day honouring the birth of Mary, the mother of JesusSpiritual · Lunch
🇮🇳 Delhi, India and 1 moreIndependence Day
A public holiday on 15 August marking the end of British rule in India in 1947Ceremony
🇮🇹 Rome, ItalySaturnalia
A December festival of ancient Rome, with feasting, gifts, gambling and role reversalSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇬🇷 Eleusis, Greece and 1 moreEleusinian MysteriesἘλευσίνια Μυστήρια
Secret annual initiations in ancient Greece dedicated to Demeter and Persephone, promising a blessed afterlife.Spiritual
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreYajnaयज्ञ
A Hindu ritual of offering items into a sacred fire to honor deities and ancestors.Spiritual
🇮🇹 Rome, ItalyBacchanalia
An ancient Roman mystery festival dedicated to the god of wine and ecstasyFestival · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇸🇦 Mecca, Saudi Arabia and 1 moreDay of Arafahيوم عرفة
A holy day of prayer, repentance, and vigil on the second day of the Hajj pilgrimageSpiritual
🇬🇷 GreeceSymposiumσυμπόσιον
An ancient Greek post-meal gathering for diluted wine, debate, music and lively gamesTable custom · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇷🇺 Moscow, Russia and 5 moreDormition of the Mother of God
A major feast in Eastern Christianity marking the death and heavenly ascent of Mary.Spiritual
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 4 moreTowel Day
An annual worldwide celebration on 25 May honouring the author Douglas Adams.Festival
🇩🇪 Berlin, GermanyGerman Unity DayTag der Deutschen Einheit
Germany's national day, marking reunification on 3 October 1990Ceremony
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Raslila: https://www.flickr.com/photos/matsukin/, CC BY 2.0, source
- Rangoli: SreeramKalyan, CC0, source
- Rudraksha: Merasmita, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kathak: Shinjinikulkarni, CC BY 4.0, source
- Dhunachi: Amitbsws, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kolam: mckaysavage, CC BY 2.0, source
- Ital: Chrysaora, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Odissi: Melolagnia28192, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kathakali: Paul Varuni, CC BY 2.0, source
- Bindi: Vinay Sahay, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kavadi Aattam: Raja Ravi Varma, Public domain, source
- Yakshagana: Krishnamoorthy Sudhakar, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sattriya: User: Sattriyadance, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sindoor: Masum-al-hasan, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mohiniyattam: Shagil Kannur, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Bhajan: Bootervijay at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Roskilde Festival: Bill Ebbesen, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Pinkpop: Gianni Taranto, CC BY 3.0, source
- Night of Power: M sh شراونة محمد, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Eleusinian Mysteries: No machine-readable author provided. Marsyas assumed (based on copyrig, Public domain, source
- Oud: Creator:Manol (Emmanuel Venios), CC0, source
- Holy Saturday: Anonymous Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Father's Day: Jjsarto, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Burial: Rama , commissioned by Wikimédia France, CC BY-SA 2.0 fr, source
- Ancient Olympic Games: Bgabel, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Wudu: Wolfgang Sauber, CC BY 4.0, source
- Nativity of Mary: Giotto, Public domain, source
- Bacchanalia: Nicolas Poussin, Public domain, source
- Symposium: Nikias Painter, CC BY 2.5, source
- Towel Day: Bischy174, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Labour Day: C.Stadler/Bwag, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Feria del Sol: Original uploader was MeridaItalia at it.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Independence Day: Vidur Malhotra, CC BY 2.0, source
- German Unity Day: Philipp Hertzog Bearbeitet von Dr. Meierhofer (beschnitten, aufgehellt, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Saturnalia: Themadchopper, Antoine-François Callet, CC0, source
- Day of Arafah: Al Jazeera English, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Yajna: Chainwit., CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Pakistani wedding: Rukhsana iqbal, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Hanuman Chalisa: RahulKSaini, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Puja: Sakkhar21, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Panchamrita: Skubydoo, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Koothu: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Coffee culture: The original uploader was Hajor at English Wikipedia ., CC BY 3.0 br, source
- Traditional Chinese marriage: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Beatification: Stebunik, CC BY 3.0, source
- Annunciation: El Greco, Public domain, source
- Dormition of the Mother of God: El Greco, Public domain, source
- Kashrut: Daniel Ventura, CC BY-SA 3.0, source