All traditions
2,248 traditions so far, best known first. 12,392 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
🇵🇾 Asunción, ParaguayÑandutí
Paraguayan needle lace named for a spider's web, worked in thread and cut freeCraft
🇬🇪 Tbilisi, Georgia and 4 moreGeorgian polyphonic singing
Several voices at once, sung without instruments at Georgian feasts and weddingsPerformance
🇻🇦 Vatican City and 1 moreConclave
Cardinals sealed in the Sistine Chapel, voting until two thirds agree on a new popeSpiritual
🇮🇳 Badrinath, IndiaChota Char Dham
Four Himalayan shrines in Uttarakhand, visited in one season each yearSpiritual
🇧🇼 Botswana and 2 moreKgotla
A village meeting and customary court in Botswana, led by the chiefCeremony
🇺🇸 Falcon Heights, United StatesMinnesota State Fair
Minnesota's twelve-day fair of farm animals, contests and food, ending on Labor DayFestival
🇮🇳 IndiaTheyyam
A sacred ritual dance and divine invocation from North Malabar in IndiaSpiritual
🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan and 1 moreTush kyizтуш кийиз
An embroidered wall hanging made for a child's wedding in Kyrgyz and Kazakh homesCraft
🇨🇱 Santiago, Chile and 3 moreCueca
A courtship dance of Chile and the Andes where partners trace circles with handkerchiefs to mimic a rooster and hen.Performance
🇵🇷 San Juan, Puerto Rico and 1 moreBomba
A Puerto Rican music and dance tradition where the drummer follows the dancer in a rhythmic dialogue.Performance
🇱🇦 Laos and 1 moreBaciບາສີ (Lao)
A Lao rite that calls the soul home and ties a thread on the wrist for good luckSpiritual
🇰🇷 Seoul, South Korea and 1 moreTalchum탈춤
A Korean mask dance drama in which masked actors sing, dance and mock the powerfulPerformance
🇼🇸 Samoa and 1 moreTalofa
The Samoan hello and goodbye, also heard in Tuvalu and on LifouEtiquette
🇨🇬 Republic of the CongoNkisi
Spiritual vessels and figures crafted to channel ancestral power, healing and justiceSpiritual
🇿🇦 Cape Town, South AfricaGumboot danceIsicathulo
A percussive South African dance born in the mines, performed in Wellington boots to communicate and celebrate.Performance
🇵🇰 Karachi, Pakistan and 2 moreSouth Asian truck art
The craft of painting and adorning cargo trucks and buses across India and Pakistan.Craft
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreMorris dance
A rhythmic English folk dance performed in costume with bells, sticks and handkerchiefsPerformance
🇺🇸 United StatesFeast of the Seven FishesFesta dei sette pesci
An Italian-American Christmas Eve seafood dinner marking abstinence from meat.Table custom · Dinner
🇮🇳 India and 5 morePretaप्रेत
Offerings and rites for spirits enduring deep hunger across Asian traditions.Spiritual
🇨🇳 China and 5 morePostpartum confinement
A period of rest, nourishment, and seclusion for mothers after giving birth.Rite of passage
🇮🇳 Kolhapur, IndiaKolhapuri chappal
Handcrafted braided leather slip-on sandals from western IndiaCraft
🇳🇿 New ZealandKarakia
Māori incantations and prayers recited for spiritual guidance, safety and ceremonySpiritual
🇦🇷 Córdoba, ArgentinaCuarteto
An upbeat partner dance and music tradition born in Córdoba, ArgentinaPerformance
🇮🇳 IndiaKambala
An annual traditional buffalo race across muddy paddy fields in southwestern IndiaGame
🇵🇷 Ponce, Puerto Rico and 1 morePlena
Puerto Rican folk songs and dance sharing community news with rhythmic frame drumsPerformance
🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanRakugo落語
Japanese solo comic storytelling told from a cushion using a fan and a clothPerformance
🇦🇴 AngolaSemba
A traditional style of music and partner dance from AngolaPerformance
🇪🇸 Granada, SpainCante jondo
A solemn and profound vocal tradition of Andalusian flamenco song.Performance
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 4 morePub quiz
A weekly social trivia game played by teams at tables in pubs and barsGame
🇬🇧 Pilton, United KingdomGlastonbury Festival
A five-day summer performing arts festival held on Somerset farmlandFestival
🇰🇷 South KoreaHanji한지
The Korean craft of making durable paper from mulberry fiber and root mucilage.Craft
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreChristmas carol
Festive songs and hymns sung during the Christmas season and door to doorPerformance
🇰🇼 KuwaitDewaniya
An evening gathering and reception central to Kuwaiti social, business, and civic lifeEtiquette · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇯🇵 JapanKokeshiこけし
Hand-turned Japanese wooden dolls painted with floral designs and slender facesCraft
🇳🇿 Auckland, New ZealandWharenui
A Māori carved communal meeting house at the centre of tribal life in New ZealandHome
🇲🇻 MaldivesRaivaru
Unaccompanied Maldivian singing built on intricate syllable and verse patternsPerformance
🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreTraditional tattooing
The ancient custom of marking the skin for protection, healing, status and sacred ritesDress
🇹🇻 TuvaluMusic of Tuvalu
Rhythmic storytelling dances and choral singing from the Polynesian atolls of TuvaluPerformance
🇮🇳 India and 1 morePhulkariਫੁਲਕਾਰੀ
Geometric and floral threadwork embroidered by Punjabi women on handwoven cotton.Craft
🇯🇵 Kishiwada, JapanKishiwada Danjiri Matsuri岸和田だんじり祭
A high-speed festival of wooden shrine floats pulled through Kishiwada, JapanFestival
🇸🇦 Saudi ArabiaArdahالعرضة
A traditional Arabian group dance of facing lines, drums, poetry, and swordsPerformance
🇮🇪 Waterford, IrelandSean-nós singingSean-nós
An unaccompanied, highly ornamented style of traditional Irish folk singingPerformance
🇦🇷 Salta, Argentina and 3 moreZamba
A graceful Argentine couple dance of circling steps and fluttering white handkerchiefsPerformance
🇰🇷 Jeju, South KoreaGut굿
Sacred rites of song, dance, and spirit communion performed by Korean shamansSpiritual
🇺🇦 Chernivtsi, Ukraine and 5 moreVyshyvanka DayДень вишиванки
An annual day for wearing traditional Ukrainian embroidered shirts across the worldDress
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreApril Fools' Day
An annual day of lighthearted pranks, hoaxes and teasing kept on the first of AprilFestival
🇮🇪 Dublin, Ireland and 2 moreIrish traditional music
A living folk practice of dance tunes, airs, songs and communal pub sessionsPerformance
🇺🇸 New York, United StatesNavajo weavingdiyogí
Handwoven wool textiles and rugs made on continuous warps by Navajo artisansCraft
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Chichilaki: Mostafameraji, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ñandutí: Trey Jones, Public domain, source
- Conclave: User Maus-Trauden on de.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kgotla: Mompati Dikunwane, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Minnesota State Fair: Jonathunder at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Theyyam: Shagil Kannur, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tush kyiz: Photo User:Zenwort, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Cueca: Manuel Antonio Caro, Public domain, source
- Bomba: TechyLibrarian, CC BY 4.0, source
- Baci: Dalbera, CC BY 2.0, source
- Talchum: originally by photoren, CC BY 2.0, source
- Nkisi: MiddleOfAfrica, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Gumboot dance: Michal Maňas, CC BY 4.0, source
- South Asian truck art: Alexandros.Papadopoulos, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Morris dance: Des Blenkinsopp, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Feast of the Seven Fishes: GW Fins, CC BY 2.0, source
- Preta: Temple, Richard Carnac, Sir, Public domain, source
- Postpartum confinement: Unknown, Public domain, source
- Kolhapuri chappal: Daderot, CC0, source
- Kambala: Sajith mv parappally, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Plena: Raylaur15, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Rakugo: Yuya Tamai, CC BY 2.0, source
- Semba: Thesupermat, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Pub quiz: JIP, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Glastonbury Festival: Czampal, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Hanji: Arghun, Public domain, source
- Christmas carol: Prathyush Thomas, GFDL 1.2, source
- Kokeshi: Kimivanil, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Wharenui: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Traditional tattooing: Haa900, CC0, source
- Music of Tuvalu: Avenue, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Phulkari: Sheebamadanloewinger, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kishiwada Danjiri Matsuri: Kounosu, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ardah: Abodi009, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Sean-nós singing: Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, Public domain, source
- Gut: ReSearcher at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Vyshyvanka Day: Vladimir Yaitskiy, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- April Fools' Day: Lars Andersen, Public domain, source
- Irish traditional music: Gtapp, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Navajo weaving: Don Graham, CC BY-SA 2.0, source