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
🇿🇦 Pretoria, South AfricaNational Women's Day
South Africa's public holiday on 9 August, remembering the women who marched in 1956Ceremony
🇲🇨 MonacoInternational Circus Festival of Monte-CarloFestival International du Cirque de Monte-Carlo
A January circus competition in Monaco, with Clown statuettes for the finest actsFestival
🇮🇹 Italy and 4 moreRosalia
An ancient Roman festival of decorating graves, statues, and standards with fresh flowersSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreIncubationἐγκοίμησις
The sacred practice of sleeping in holy shrines to seek divine healing and dreamsSpiritual
🇮🇳 IndiaNational Unity Dayराष्ट्रीय एकता दिवस
An annual Indian observance honouring Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on 31 OctoberCeremony
🇺🇦 Ukraine and 8 moreVechornytsiвечорниці
Evening gatherings of Ukrainian youth, with songs, jokes, games and winter divinationSeasonal
🇬🇷 Athens, GreeceAmphidromiaτὰ Ἀμφιδρόμια
An ancient Athenian family ritual welcoming a newborn around the household hearthRite of passage · Feasts and festival meals
🇰🇵 Pyongyang, North KoreaDay of the Foundation of the Republic9.9절 (Inmin Jeonggwon Changgeonil)
A national holiday in North Korea marking the founding of the state on September 9.Ceremony
🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreSaint Sylvester's Day
A Christian feast day and year-end celebration marked across Europe and beyondSeasonal · Dinner
🇺🇿 Tashkent, UzbekistanIndependence DayOʻzbekiston Respublikasi Mustaqilligi kuni
A state holiday on 1 September marking Uzbekistan's break from the Soviet UnionCeremony
🇺🇸 United StatesRumspringaRumshpringa
An adolescent period of courtship and social exploration in Amish communities.Rite of passage
🇹🇷 Turkey and 2 moreHadraحضرة
A collective Sufi ritual of chanted divine remembrance, sacred poetry and rhythmic movementSpiritual
🇸🇾 Syria and 2 moreAd orientem
The Christian practice of facing eastward during personal prayer and communal liturgySpiritual
🇻🇳 Hanoi, VietnamNational DayNgày Quốc khánh
Vietnam's national day, marking the 1945 independence declaration read in HanoiCeremony
🇨🇦 Ottawa, CanadaNational Flag of Canada DayJour du drapeau national du Canada
Canada's annual day for the maple leaf flag, kept on 15 February since 1996Ceremony
🇵🇰 PakistanDefence Dayیومِ دفاع
Pakistan's national day for its soldiers, kept each 6 September with parades and tributesCeremony
🇨🇴 ColombiaLittle Candles DayDía de las velitas
Candles and paper lanterns across Colombia on the night before the Immaculate ConceptionSpiritual
🇹🇼 Taipei, Taiwan and 1 moreRetrocession Day臺灣光復節 / 台湾光复节 (Táiwān guāngfùjié)
A public holiday on 25 October marking the end of Japanese rule in Taiwan in 1945Ceremony
🇺🇦 Ukraine and 10 moreEgg decorating
Decorating eggs with dye, wax and carving, kept at Easter, Nowruz and springCraft
🇱🇻 Riga, LatviaRemembrance Day of the Latvian LegionnairesLeģionāru piemiņas diena
An annual observance in Latvia honoring soldiers from the Latvian Legion who fought during World War II.Festival
🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreLGBTQ History Month
An annual month of education and remembrance celebrating queer lives and civil rightsCeremony
🇩🇪 GermanyHat tip
A gesture of lifting or touching one's hat to show respect, greeting, or thanksEtiquette
🇮🇳 IndiaGuru-shishya traditionपरम्परा
The lineage system passing spiritual and artistic knowledge from master to discipleSpiritual
🇮🇳 IndiaPumsavanaपुंसवन (Puṁsavana)
A Hindu rite of passage held in the third or fourth month of pregnancy to celebrate fetal development.Rite of passage
🇵🇱 Zakopane, PolandKulig
A traditional Polish winter sleigh ride party celebrated during the Carnival seasonFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇹🇷 Bursa, TurkeyLaylat al-Raghaibلَيْلَةُ الرّغائِب
An Islamic night of prayer and fasting at the beginning of the three sacred monthsSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreNeed-fire
A ritual fire kindled by friction to ward off cattle plague, disease and harmFolklore
🇬🇧 United KingdomWorld Osteoporosis Day
A global observance on 20 October promoting bone health and fracture preventionCeremony
🇹🇷 TurkeyKandilقنديل
Five holy nights marked by illuminated minarets and prayers in Turkey and the BalkansSpiritual · Tea-time and snacking customs
🇺🇸 New York, United States and 5 moreWorld Religion Day
An annual day in January dedicated to spiritual unity and harmony across all faiths.Spiritual
🇮🇳 Delhi, IndiaChildren's Day
An annual Indian celebration of children and their welfare held on 14 NovemberCeremony
🇧🇦 Sarajevo, Bosnia and HerzegovinaIndependence Day of Bosnia and HerzegovinaDan nezavisnosti
A public holiday on 1 March marking the 1992 vote for independenceCeremony
🇸🇪 Stockholm, Sweden and 2 moreGustavus Adolphus DayGustav Adolfsdagen
A Swedish flag day on 6 November, marked with a pastry topped with the king's likenessCeremony · Sweets given and shared
🇧🇦 Bosnia and HerzegovinaDay of Republika SrpskaДан Републике Српске
An annual civic holiday observed across Republika Srpska on 9 JanuaryCeremony
🇩🇪 Berlin, GermanyRepublic DayTag der Republik
The former national holiday marking the founding of East Germany each OctoberCeremony
🇵🇰 PakistanSindhi Cultural Dayسنڌي ثقافتي ڏھاڙو
An annual December celebration of Sindhi heritage, music, and traditional attireFestival
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreBanned Books Week
An annual autumn campaign celebrating the freedom to read and access challenged booksCeremony
🇫🇷 France and 3 moreCashiering
A ceremonial military dismissal that publicly strips an officer of rank and insigniaCeremony
🇷🇺 Chukaly, RussiaRas'ken' OzksРаськень Озкс
A triennial gathering and ancestral prayer ritual of the Erzya people in MordoviaSpiritual
🇸🇾 Syria and 6 moreKha b'Nisanܚܕ ܒܢܝܣܢ
A spring new year on 1 April, kept with parades, poems and dancing by AssyriansFestival
🇪🇸 Spain and 5 moreInternet DayDía de Internet
An annual May observance dedicated to digital access, education and online community.Ceremony
🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreNavigium Isidis
An ancient Roman ship procession honouring Isis and the opening of sea travelSpiritual
🇱🇻 Riga, LatviaLāčplēsis DayLāčplēša diena
Latvia's remembrance day on 11 November for the soldiers who won independence in 1919Ceremony
🇧🇬 BulgariaJuly Morning
A Bulgarian summer gathering where crowds watch the first sunrise of July with music and song.Festival
🇳🇴 NorwayEsbat
A Wiccan coven gathering held each month, most often when the moon is fullSpiritual
🇳🇬 Lagos, Nigeria and 2 moreIndependence Day
Nigeria's national day, marking the end of British rule on 1 October 1960Ceremony
🇦🇺 AustraliaBoat building
The craft of constructing watercraft from timber, metal and modern composite materialsCraft
🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreIsru Chagאסרו חג
A minor Jewish observance extending the joy and sanctity of major pilgrimage holidaysSpiritual
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Defence Day: Faizanbokhari at English Wikipedia (I shot this picture myself.), Public domain, source
- Ras'ken' Ozks: Erzianj jurnalist, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Independence Day: AMISOM Public Information, CC0, source
- National Women's Day: K. Kendall, CC BY 2.0, source
- Little Candles Day: CarUno, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Retrocession Day: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Egg decorating: L.Kenzel, CC BY 3.0, source
- Independence Day of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Smooth O, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kha b'Nisan: Athrakado, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Remembrance Day of the Latvian Legionnaires: Dezidor, CC BY 3.0, source
- Lāčplēsis Day: Saeima, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Isru Chag: Jim Padgett, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Hat tip: Futrzak13, CC0, source
- Pumsavana: Amolnaik3k, Public domain, source
- Kulig: various, Public domain, source
- Cashiering: Henri Meyer, Public domain, source
- Republic Day: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ad orientem: Joachim Specht, Public domain, source
- Boat building: Kevin Saff, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Hadra: Zeinebtakouti, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- International Circus Festival of Monte-Carlo: GeorgePrikkel, Public domain, source
- Banned Books Week: carmichaellibrary, CC BY 2.0, source
- Rosalia: Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Public domain, source
- Navigium Isidis: ArchaiOptix, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- National Day: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Children's Day: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Vechornytsi: Гейслер, Кристиан Готфрид Генрих, Public domain, source
- Gustavus Adolphus Day: Jacob Truedson Demitz for Ristesson, Public domain, source
- Day of the Foundation of the Republic: Uri Tours, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Saint Sylvester's Day: Unknown medieval artist in Rome, Public domain, source
- Independence Day: Ymblanter, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Guru-shishya tradition: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- July Morning: Sumto, Public domain, source
- Sindhi Cultural Day: Jogi don, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Need-fire: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Day of Republika Srpska: Ministry of Defence of Republic of Serbia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source