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
🇹🇷 Ankara, TurkeySohbet meetingsGeleneksel Sohbet Toplantıları
Men's gatherings of talk, music and food, kept in towns across TurkeyPerformance
🇳🇵 NepalPatukaपटुका
A traditional Nepalese cloth sash worn for core support, carrying items and festivitiesDress
🇮🇪 Kinsale, IrelandKinsale cloakfallaing Chionn tSáile
The last Irish cloak, a hooded wool wrap of West Cork, worn into the 1900sDress
🇧🇪 Oostduinkerke, BelgiumShrimp fishing on horseback in Oostduinkerke
Fishers ride draft horses into the sea at Oostduinkerke to net brown shrimpCraft
🇷🇺 RussiaRussian folk music
The village songs, choirs and instruments of Russia's ethnic Russian peoplePerformance
🇨🇳 Tianjin, China and 1 moreBa-zha八蜡
An old Chinese harvest rite of eight offerings, later a guardian against locustsSpiritual
🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreTraditional games of Korea전통놀이 (jeontongnori)
Korean games kept through the seasons, from New Year board games to winter kitesGame
🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreSaint Nicholas
Boots out on 6 December: sweets for good children, a switch for the restFestival · Sweets given and shared
🇫🇷 Paris, FranceNyansapo Festival
A French festival celebrating Black feminism and empowering diasporic women.Festival
🇦🇿 AzerbaijanArt of Azerbaijani Ashiq
Poet-singers of Azerbaijan who tell epic stories while playing the sazPerformance
🇲🇰 Skopje, North MacedoniaMacedonian embroidery
A hand-stitched village craft of vests, shirts and head covers in North MacedoniaCraft
🇨🇳 Xiamen, China and 2 moreBo Bing博餅 (Bóbǐng)
A dice game played at Mid-Autumn, where mooncakes of many sizes are the prizesGame
🇮🇱 Jerusalem, IsraelChallah cover
A cloth used to cover braided bread loaves on the Shabbat table in Ashkenazi Jewish tradition.Spiritual · Dinner
🇺🇸 Oklahoma City, United StatesRed Earth Festival
A June gathering in Oklahoma for Native American art, dance and marketsFestival
🇩🇿 Algiers, AlgeriaAlgiers International Comics FestivalFestival International de la Bande Dessinée d'Alger
An October comics festival in Algiers, with awards for work from AfricaPerformance
🇬🇧 United KingdomJack o' Lent
An English Lenten custom of abusing and burning a straw figureSeasonal
🇮🇩 IndonesiaNgerorod
A Balinese Hindu way of marrying, where a couple wed by their own choiceRite of passage
🇲🇾 Negeri Sembilan, MalaysiaMantaiمنتاي
A Negeri Sembilan custom of slaughtering cattle and sharing the meat before both EidsTable custom · Feasts and festival meals
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 2 moreGeleGèlè
A voluminous sculpted headwrap worn by Yoruba women for gatherings and daily lifeDress
🇱🇺 Luxembourg City, Luxembourg and 3 moreOktavMuttergottesoktav
A two-week annual Marian pilgrimage and festival in Luxembourg CitySpiritual · Tea-time and snacking customs
🇻🇳 Tuyên Quang, VietnamCây nêuCây nêu (Chữ Nôm: 核標)
A bamboo pole raised in Vietnam to mark the New Year and protect homes from bad spirits.Festival
🇧🇪 Brussels, BelgiumKunstenfestivaldesarts
An annual May arts festival in Brussels, with theatre, dance, film and visual artPerformance
🇰🇵 Jangyeon-gun, North Korea and 1 moreMonggeumpo Taryeong몽금포타령
A Korean folk song from the northwest, sung for sailors who are away at seaPerformance
🇲🇳 Ölgii, MongoliaGaridгарьд
A top wrestling title in Mongolia, named for Genghis Khan's eagle and the mythical bird Garuda.Game
🇧🇩 Bangladesh and 1 moreShagoranaসাগরানা
A ceremonial wedding feast platter presented to the groom in BangladeshTable custom · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇳 IndiaSahasra Purna Chandrodayamसहस्र-(पूर्ण)चन्द्र-दर्शन
A Hindu rite marking a person's thousandth full moon, celebrated around age eighty-one.Rite of passage
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreShielingÀirigh
Seasonal summer pasture living and traditional dairying in the Scottish hillsSeasonal
🇯🇵 JapanTairyō-bata大漁旗
Traditional Japanese flags flown by fishing boats to celebrate a bountiful catchFestival
🇮🇳 IndiaJiuntia
An autumn festival of western Odisha, kept in two forms by mothers and by sistersSpiritual
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreHindu weddingविवाह
The marriage rites of Hindu families, sealed by seven steps around a sacred fireRite of passage
🇦🇫 Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan and 1 moreTaqin hatکلاه تاقین (Dari), د پښتين خولۍ (Pashto)
A red and black patterned cap from northern Afghanistan, worn today as a political symbolDress
🇦🇺 AustraliaAustralian work boot
A laceless leather boot with elastic sides, worn for work and dress in AustraliaDress
🇮🇷 Kashan, IranOmar Koshanعمرکشان
A yearly carnival in Iran where social roles reverse to honor Fatima al-Zahra and remember historical figures.Festival
🇧🇫 Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina FasoNational Culture Week of Burkina Faso
A week of free shows and contests in Bobo-Dioulasso, held every two yearsFestival
🇬🇧 United KingdomWelsh danceDawns Gymreig
Traditional dances of Wales, known for their athletic steps and revival after a period of decline.Performance
🇩🇿 Constantine, AlgeriaM'layaملاية
A black full-body veil worn by women in Constantine, Algeria, as a sign of modesty.Dress
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreChiwen蚩吻
A dragon figure on Chinese roof ridges, set there to swallow evil and guard against fireCraft
🇰🇼 KuwaitQurain Cultural Festival
An annual arts festival in Kuwait that showcases theatre, literature and visual art.Festival
🇮🇪 Ireland and 2 moreEmber daysQuatuor Tempora
A quarterly Western Christian rhythm of fasting, prayer and seasonal thanksgivingSeasonal · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇬🇧 United KingdomBoobrie
A shapeshifting beast of Scotland's western sea lochs, said to take livestockFolklore
🇸🇾 Homs, Syria and 4 moreApostles' Fast
A fast of eastern Christian churches, kept from after Pentecost to 29 JuneSpiritual
🇮🇱 Jerusalem, Israel and 1 moreHoshana Rabbahהוֹשַׁעְנָא רַבָּה
The seventh and final day of Sukkot, marked by seven synagogue processions and night-long study.Festival · Dinner
🇵🇭 PhilippinesPamaypay
A heart-shaped fan woven from palm leaves in the Philippines, carried or hung on a wallCraft
🇯🇵 JapanJiuchi地打ち
The steady base beat that holds traditional Japanese music and taiko ensembles togetherPerformance
🇿🇦 Durban, South AfricaPoetry Africa
A week or more of readings, music and workshops in Durban, with poets from AfricaPerformance
🇬🇧 United KingdomGuernsey
A traditional seamless wool sweater crafted for seafarers across the British IslesDress
🇺🇦 Dnipro, UkraineCossack songsКозацькі пісні Дніпропетровщини
Folk songs made by Cossacks, still sung by choirs in the Dnipropetrovsk regionPerformance
🇨🇳 Huizhou, ChinaHui-style architecture
A traditional Chinese building style of white walls, dark tiles and horse-head gablesCraft
🇮🇪 Kinsale, IrelandKinsale cloakfallaing Chionn tSáile
The last Irish cloak, a hooded wool wrap of West Cork, worn into the 1900sDress
🇧🇪 Oostduinkerke, BelgiumShrimp fishing on horseback in Oostduinkerke
Fishers ride draft horses into the sea at Oostduinkerke to net brown shrimpCraft
🇷🇺 RussiaRussian folk music
The village songs, choirs and instruments of Russia's ethnic Russian peoplePerformance
🇨🇳 Tianjin, China and 1 moreBa-zha八蜡
An old Chinese harvest rite of eight offerings, later a guardian against locustsSpiritual
🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreTraditional games of Korea전통놀이 (jeontongnori)
Korean games kept through the seasons, from New Year board games to winter kitesGame
🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreSaint Nicholas
Boots out on 6 December: sweets for good children, a switch for the restFestival · Sweets given and shared
🇫🇷 Paris, FranceNyansapo Festival
A French festival celebrating Black feminism and empowering diasporic women.Festival
🇦🇿 AzerbaijanArt of Azerbaijani Ashiq
Poet-singers of Azerbaijan who tell epic stories while playing the sazPerformance
🇲🇰 Skopje, North MacedoniaMacedonian embroidery
A hand-stitched village craft of vests, shirts and head covers in North MacedoniaCraft
🇨🇳 Xiamen, China and 2 moreBo Bing博餅 (Bóbǐng)
A dice game played at Mid-Autumn, where mooncakes of many sizes are the prizesGame
🇮🇱 Jerusalem, IsraelChallah cover
A cloth used to cover braided bread loaves on the Shabbat table in Ashkenazi Jewish tradition.Spiritual · Dinner
🇺🇸 Oklahoma City, United StatesRed Earth Festival
A June gathering in Oklahoma for Native American art, dance and marketsFestival
🇩🇿 Algiers, AlgeriaAlgiers International Comics FestivalFestival International de la Bande Dessinée d'Alger
An October comics festival in Algiers, with awards for work from AfricaPerformance
🇬🇧 United KingdomJack o' Lent
An English Lenten custom of abusing and burning a straw figureSeasonal
🇮🇩 IndonesiaNgerorod
A Balinese Hindu way of marrying, where a couple wed by their own choiceRite of passage
🇲🇾 Negeri Sembilan, MalaysiaMantaiمنتاي
A Negeri Sembilan custom of slaughtering cattle and sharing the meat before both EidsTable custom · Feasts and festival meals
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 2 moreGeleGèlè
A voluminous sculpted headwrap worn by Yoruba women for gatherings and daily lifeDress
🇱🇺 Luxembourg City, Luxembourg and 3 moreOktavMuttergottesoktav
A two-week annual Marian pilgrimage and festival in Luxembourg CitySpiritual · Tea-time and snacking customs
🇻🇳 Tuyên Quang, VietnamCây nêuCây nêu (Chữ Nôm: 核標)
A bamboo pole raised in Vietnam to mark the New Year and protect homes from bad spirits.Festival
🇧🇪 Brussels, BelgiumKunstenfestivaldesarts
An annual May arts festival in Brussels, with theatre, dance, film and visual artPerformance
🇰🇵 Jangyeon-gun, North Korea and 1 moreMonggeumpo Taryeong몽금포타령
A Korean folk song from the northwest, sung for sailors who are away at seaPerformance
🇲🇳 Ölgii, MongoliaGaridгарьд
A top wrestling title in Mongolia, named for Genghis Khan's eagle and the mythical bird Garuda.Game
🇧🇩 Bangladesh and 1 moreShagoranaসাগরানা
A ceremonial wedding feast platter presented to the groom in BangladeshTable custom · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇳 IndiaSahasra Purna Chandrodayamसहस्र-(पूर्ण)चन्द्र-दर्शन
A Hindu rite marking a person's thousandth full moon, celebrated around age eighty-one.Rite of passage
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreShielingÀirigh
Seasonal summer pasture living and traditional dairying in the Scottish hillsSeasonal
🇯🇵 JapanTairyō-bata大漁旗
Traditional Japanese flags flown by fishing boats to celebrate a bountiful catchFestival
🇮🇳 IndiaJiuntia
An autumn festival of western Odisha, kept in two forms by mothers and by sistersSpiritual
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreHindu weddingविवाह
The marriage rites of Hindu families, sealed by seven steps around a sacred fireRite of passage
🇦🇫 Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan and 1 moreTaqin hatکلاه تاقین (Dari), د پښتين خولۍ (Pashto)
A red and black patterned cap from northern Afghanistan, worn today as a political symbolDress
🇦🇺 AustraliaAustralian work boot
A laceless leather boot with elastic sides, worn for work and dress in AustraliaDress
🇮🇷 Kashan, IranOmar Koshanعمرکشان
A yearly carnival in Iran where social roles reverse to honor Fatima al-Zahra and remember historical figures.Festival
🇧🇫 Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina FasoNational Culture Week of Burkina Faso
A week of free shows and contests in Bobo-Dioulasso, held every two yearsFestival
🇬🇧 United KingdomWelsh danceDawns Gymreig
Traditional dances of Wales, known for their athletic steps and revival after a period of decline.Performance
🇩🇿 Constantine, AlgeriaM'layaملاية
A black full-body veil worn by women in Constantine, Algeria, as a sign of modesty.Dress
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreChiwen蚩吻
A dragon figure on Chinese roof ridges, set there to swallow evil and guard against fireCraft
🇰🇼 KuwaitQurain Cultural Festival
An annual arts festival in Kuwait that showcases theatre, literature and visual art.Festival
🇮🇪 Ireland and 2 moreEmber daysQuatuor Tempora
A quarterly Western Christian rhythm of fasting, prayer and seasonal thanksgivingSeasonal · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇬🇧 United KingdomBoobrie
A shapeshifting beast of Scotland's western sea lochs, said to take livestockFolklore
🇸🇾 Homs, Syria and 4 moreApostles' Fast
A fast of eastern Christian churches, kept from after Pentecost to 29 JuneSpiritual
🇮🇱 Jerusalem, Israel and 1 moreHoshana Rabbahהוֹשַׁעְנָא רַבָּה
The seventh and final day of Sukkot, marked by seven synagogue processions and night-long study.Festival · Dinner
🇵🇭 PhilippinesPamaypay
A heart-shaped fan woven from palm leaves in the Philippines, carried or hung on a wallCraft
🇯🇵 JapanJiuchi地打ち
The steady base beat that holds traditional Japanese music and taiko ensembles togetherPerformance
🇿🇦 Durban, South AfricaPoetry Africa
A week or more of readings, music and workshops in Durban, with poets from AfricaPerformance
🇬🇧 United KingdomGuernsey
A traditional seamless wool sweater crafted for seafarers across the British IslesDress
🇺🇦 Dnipro, UkraineCossack songsКозацькі пісні Дніпропетровщини
Folk songs made by Cossacks, still sung by choirs in the Dnipropetrovsk regionPerformance
🇨🇳 Huizhou, ChinaHui-style architecture
A traditional Chinese building style of white walls, dark tiles and horse-head gablesCraft
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Monggeumpo Taryeong: by dhutchman, CC BY 2.0, source
- Hui-style architecture: Huangchenhai, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Welsh dance: Geoff Charles, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tairyō-bata: Wiki4423, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Cây nêu: vi:Phạm Xuân Nguyên, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kinsale cloak: LynnMGallagher, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Shrimp fishing on horseback in Oostduinkerke: Roosde, CC BY 4.0, source
- Russian folk music: Лобачев Владимир, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Traditional games of Korea: Davidturnswood, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Chiwen: 秋水平湖, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Boobrie: Ole Worm - Olaus Wormius, Public domain, source
- Hoshana Rabbah: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Challah: Yoninah, Public domain, source
- Saint Nicholas: Chmee2, CC BY 3.0, source
- Art of Azerbaijani Ashiq: Urek Meniashvili, Public domain, source
- Macedonian embroidery: Antonio Brsjacki, Public domain, source
- Bo Bing: Xmhaoyu, CC BY 3.0, source
- Red Earth Festival: Red Earth Festival, CC BY 2.0, source
- Gele: Royalesignature, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Oktav: Daderot, CC0, source
- Garid: hu:Burumbátor, Public domain, source
- Shagorana: Caped CrusaderK, CC0, source
- Shieling: Gordon Hatton, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Ember days: Richard Symonds, CC BY 3.0, source
- Guernsey: LeGroweur, Public domain, source
- Hindu wedding: Gori Girl, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Taqin hat: Maori Legend, CC0, source
- Australian work boot: User AYArktos on en.wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Apostles' Fast: Dianelos Georgoudis, Public domain, source
- Pamaypay: Patpat nava, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Cossack songs: Kuban kkx, CC BY-SA 4.0, source