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.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

🇨🇺 Cuba and 5 moreLetra del Año Annual prophecies and guidance proclaimed by babalawo priests for the coming yearSpiritual

🇮🇹 Venice, Italy and 3 moreVenice New Year's ConcertConcerto di Capodanno del Teatro La Fenice di Venezia A New Year's Day concert of orchestra and opera at Venice's Teatro La FenicePerformance

🇬🇧 Linton, United KingdomLinton Worm A Borders dragon killed with a burning spear, told in Roxburghshire since the 12th centuryFolklore

🇺🇸 Buffalo, United States and 1 moreTurkey trot A holiday footrace, often run in turkey costume and usually for charityFestival

🇮🇳 Mumbai, IndiaAgeraआगेरा Mumbai's East Indian Catholics give thanks for the harvest on the first Sunday of OctoberFestival 🇲🇽 MexicoPirekua A gentle Purépecha song form from Michoacán, sung solo or in duetsPerformance 🇮🇸 IcelandIcelandic weddings A blend of church rites and long feasts, where guests sit by family lines and gifts are saved for the morning.Rite of passage · Dinner

🇦🇷 Villa General Belgrano, ArgentinaNational Beer Festival An annual Bavarian-style folk and beer gathering in Villa General Belgrano, Argentina.Festival · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies 🇮🇳 Khatushyam, IndiaPhalguna Mela A temple fair before Holi, kept with flags, bhajans and shared foodSpiritual

🇮🇳 Chabbi (Chebbi), IndiaChabbi Ganapathi A three-day Ganesha festival kept by seven households in a Karnataka village since 1827Festival 🇮🇳 India and 1 moreChampa Chandan Vrataচাঁপা চন্দন ব্রত A month-long vow kept by unmarried Bengali girls, asking for a husband like ShivaSpiritual

🇮🇳 Delhi, IndiaSacred groves of India Communal forest sanctuaries across India where religious belief protects biodiversity and local resources.Spiritual

🇮🇳 India and 1 moreMadhushravaniमधुश्रावणी A fifteen-day Mithila festival of fasting, worship and song for newly married bridesSpiritual 🇮🇱 Israel and 2 moreDay of Salvation and Liberationיום השחרור וההצלה A Jewish holiday on the 26th of Iyar to thank God for saving Jews from Nazi annihilation.Festival

🇮🇱 Safed, Israel and 2 moreZemirotזמירות Jewish table hymns sung during the three meals of Shabbat and holidaysSpiritual · Dinner 🇮🇱 IsraelShabbatonשבתון A Jewish communal retreat or educational program centered on ShabbatSpiritual

🇾🇪 YemenConfession in Judaismוִדּוּי (vīddūy) Admitting sin before God, in daily prayer, on Yom Kippur and at the end of lifeSpiritual

🇲🇻 MaldivesMaahefun A Maldivian gathering for the last meal before the Ramadan fast beginsTable custom · Feasts and festival meals

🇮🇩 IndonesiaRampokan A Javanese rite of the closing days of Ramadan, with lancers ringed around big catsSpiritual 🇸🇪 Sweden and 2 moreSaint Knut's DayTjugondag Knut A Nordic holiday marking the twentieth and final day of Christmas each JanuarySeasonal · Sweets given and shared 🇸🇾 Syria and 1 moreThree Sundays of Commemoration A Maronite Christian observance held on the three Sundays before Lent to remember the departed.Spiritual · Dinner

🇮🇳 IndiaBurra katha A Telugu three-person storytelling show of song, dance, jokes and social commentPerformance

🇦🇲 Armenia and 4 moreBlessing of the Throats A Christian prayer rite touching throats with crossed candles for protection from illnessSpiritual

🇮🇹 Avezzano, ItalyFeast of the Madonna di PietraquariaMadonna di Pietraquaria A three-day spring festival in Avezzano marked by neighborhood bonfires, a street fair, and a mountain-to-city processioFestival

🇷🇺 RussiaOctobering A short-lived Soviet naming rite that put the Red Star in place of the baptismal crossRite of passage

🇮🇳 Lucknow, IndiaMughal clothing Court dress of the Mughal Empire in silk, muslin and velvet, worn with jewelsDress

🇧🇼 Molepolole, BotswanaDithubaruba Cultural Festival An annual gathering in Botswana that celebrates the customs, music, and history of the Bakwena people.Festival

🇪🇸 SpainThe Water of LifeL'aigua de vida A Catalan folk tale of a quest for magic water, a fragrant branch and a talking birdPerformance

🇨🇳 China and 5 moreLife release放生 A Buddhist practice of freeing captive animals to spare their lives and gain meritSpiritual

🇮🇶 IraqShabbat mealsסעודות שבת Three ritual meals eaten across the Jewish Sabbath from Friday sunset to Saturday nightTable custom · Dinner 🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreQuaker wedding A silent marriage ceremony in a Quaker meeting, with no priest and no set orderRite of passage

🇲🇽 MexicoTilmàtlitilmahtli A man's cloak from central Mexico, knotted at the shoulder and often used to carry loadsDress

🇮🇹 L'Aquila, ItalyCelestinian PardonPerdonanza Celestiniana A yearly Catholic jubilee in L'Aquila, Italy, and a pardon first granted in 1294Spiritual

🇨🇳 Quanzhou, China and 5 moreNanguan南管 An introspective chamber music tradition from southern Fujian and Taiwan.Performance

🇰🇬 Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan and 1 moreAk-kalpakАк калпак A traditional Kyrgyz four-sided white wool felt hat worn by men across generationsDress

🇷🇺 Moscow, RussiaRegalia of the Russian tsars The crowns, thrones and jewels Russian rulers used to take power, shown in MoscowCeremony

🇻🇳 VietnamVietnamese zodiacMười hai con giáp A twelve-year cycle of animal years, kept in Vietnam on the lunar calendarFolklore

🇻🇳 VietnamSpace of Gong Culture in the Central Highlands of VietnamKhông gian văn hóa Cồng Chiêng Tây Nguyên Gong sets of Vietnam's Central Highlands, played for festivals and spiritsPerformance 🇮🇳 India and 1 moreLavan Paavainलवाण पावैन The Mithila harvest festival, when the first rice of the new crop is given to the godsSeasonal

🇬🇧 Chipping Campden, United KingdomCotswold Olimpick Games Races, wrestling and shin-kicking on a Cotswold hillside, held since about 1612Game

🇧🇬 Chiprovtsi, Bulgaria and 1 moreChiprovtsi kilimЧипровски килим Handmade flatwoven rugs with identical sides, crafted in a Bulgarian town since the 17th century.Craft

🇰🇼 Kuwait and 3 moreAl Sadu A traditional Bedouin weaving craft from the Arabian Peninsula, known for geometric patterns and wool textiles.Craft

🇺🇦 Dnipro, UkraineCossack songs of the Dnipropetrovsk RegionКозацькі пісні Дніпропетровщини Folk songs made by Cossacks, still sung in villages of the Dnipropetrovsk regionPerformance

🇭🇷 Marija Bistrica, CroatiaWooden toys of Hrvatsko ZagorjeDrvene igračke Hrvatskog zagorja Hand-carved wooden toys from the Zagorje hills of Croatia, painted bright by the families who make themCraft

🇲🇳 MongoliaBiyelgeeБиелгээ A traditional Mongolian dance of upper body movements rooted in nomadic lifePerformance

🇵🇭 PhilippinesBuklog A thanksgiving ritual of the Subanen people in the Philippines, honoring spirits through offerings and dance.Spiritual 🇱🇰 Sri LankaHambiliyaහැඹිලිය A small woven purse tucked into the folds of a Sri Lankan osariyaDress

🇮🇳 India and 2 moreKasayaकाषाय The traditional patchwork robes worn by ordained Buddhist monasticsDress

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

Egungun: Ìṣẹ̀ṣeAssembly, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Linton Worm: Pasicles, CC0, source
Octobering: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Life release: Wonderlane, CC BY 2.0, source
Vietnamese zodiac: Unknown (traditional painting dated back to the 17th century), Public domain, source
Cotswold Olimpick Games: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Venice New Year's Concert: Youflavio, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Turkey trot: "A. A. Brack, S. A. Texas" ("S. A." = San Antonio?)., Public domain, source
Agera: Tiven Gonsalves, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
National Beer Festival: Jmmuguerza, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Chabbi Ganapathi: Reema Jalihal, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Madhushravani: Monika Jha, CC0, source
Zemirot: ביקורת, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Confession in Judaism: Nathan [ben Samson] of Mezhyrich, Public domain, source
Maahefun: Ibrahim Asad, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Rampokan: Elite Atelier H.G. Rimestadt (Fotograaf/photographer)., CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Feast of the Madonna di Pietraquaria: Marica Massaro, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Challah: Yoninah, Public domain, source
Nanguan: Jnzl's Public Domain Photos, Public domain, source
Ak-kalpak: Clément Bucco-Lechat, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Space of Gong Culture in the Central Highlands of Vietnam: Đỗ Tuấn Hưng, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Chiprovtsi kilim: Edal Anton Lefterov, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Al Sadu: Ashley Columbus, CC0, source
Cossack songs of the Dnipropetrovsk Region: Юрій Булка, CC BY 4.0, source
Wooden toys of Hrvatsko Zagorje: Roberta., CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Biyelgee: J bayarmagnai, CC0, source
Buklog: Theglennpalacio, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Sacred groves of India: James Forbes, Public domain, source
Dithubaruba Cultural Festival: SanDanceVR, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
The Water of Life: Internet Archive Book Images, CC0, source
Kasaya: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Burra katha: Sukanto Debnath, CC BY 2.0, source
Mughal clothing: Unknown author, CC0, source
Tilmàtli: God (1531 presented by Juan Diego), Public domain, source
Celestinian Pardon: Verdenex84, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Regalia of the Russian tsars: Ramón, CC BY-SA 2.0, source

All traditions

Photo credits on this page

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