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
🇮🇳 IndiaLuanchariलोआंचरी
A traditional one-piece flared garment worn by Gaddi women in Himachal PradeshDress
🇨🇱 ChileChupalla
The straw hat of the Chilean horseman, worn for the cueca and the rodeoDress
🇷🇸 Belgrade, Serbia and 2 moreMerlinka Festival
An annual queer film festival held across Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and MontenegroFestival
🇫🇷 Paris, FranceParis CarnivalCarnaval de Paris
An annual street celebration and costume procession across ParisFestival
🇷🇺 Russia and 5 morePapakha
A sheepskin hat of the Caucasus, worn by highland men and by army regimentsDress
🇭🇷 Metković, CroatiaŽudije
Dalmatian guardians who watch the tomb of Christ from Holy Thursday to Easter VigilSpiritual
🇮🇱 Tel Aviv, Israel and 5 moreTel Aviv International Student Film Festival
A week-long gathering in June where student filmmakers from around the world screen their work, attend workshops, and mePerformance
🇸🇬 Singapore and 2 moreAldersgate Day
A Methodist observance on 24 May marking the spiritual turning point of John Wesley.Festival
🇨🇦 Turtle Lake, CanadaTurtle Lake Monster
A Saskatchewan lake legend of a huge creature, claimed sightings and a sturgeon theoryFolklore
🇨🇳 China and 2 moreDiyi翟衣 (Díyī)
A formal ceremonial robe worn by empresses and royal women in China, Korea, and Vietnam.Dress
🇮🇳 Chennai, IndiaMadras Music Season
Nine weeks of Carnatic concerts in Chennai, from mid-November to JanuaryPerformance
🇮🇱 Israel and 3 moreLeil Selichotליל הסליחות
A night of penitential prayers and poems recited before the Jewish New Year to seek forgiveness.Spiritual
🇷🇺 Russia and 3 moreGeorge's Day in AutumnЕгорий Осенний (Yegoriy Osenniy), Юрьев день (Yuriev den); Serbian: Ђурђиц (Đurđic)
The autumn feast of Saint George, kept at harvest's end in Slavic landsFestival
🇿🇦 Cape Town, South Africa and 5 moreTooth ablation
A global custom of deliberately removing healthy teeth for social, ritual, or aesthetic reasons.Rite of passage
🇹🇷 TurkeyKarakucakKarakucak Güreşi
Turkish wrestling on grass, in baggy trousers, with oiling forbiddenGame
🇲🇰 Bitola, North MacedoniaManaki Brothers Film Festival
An annual international festival in Bitola honouring the craft of cinematographyFestival
🇵🇭 Hungduan, PhilippinesPunnuk
A tug of war in a river at harvest's end, kept by Tuwali-speaking villages in IfugaoGame
🇹🇭 ThailandKhruiครุย
A sheer ceremonial robe worn by Thai royalty and now as academic dress at universities.Dress
🇮🇳 IndiaMadisarமடிசார் (Tamil)
A nine-yard sari drape kept by Tamil Brahmin women for weddings, puja and mourningDress
🇿🇲 Maala, ZambiaShimunenga
An annual Zambian celebration of cattle displays, dances, and ancestral memoryFestival · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇨🇳 ChinaTui na推拿
A traditional Chinese hands-on therapy using pushing, grasping, and acupressure pointsFolklore
🇮🇳 IndiaMarga Natya
A dance, music and acting tradition rebuilt from Bharata's Natya ShastraPerformance
🇺🇸 Manhattan, United StatesJews and Thanksgiving
An American national holiday kept by most US Jews, and debated by their rabbisFestival · Dinner
🇮🇹 Trieste, ItalyBarcolanaBarkovljanka
A one-start-line sailing race held each October in the Gulf of TriesteGame
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreSalwar
Loose trousers gathered at the ankle, worn with a kameez across South AsiaDress
🇮🇹 Lake Nemi, ItalyNemoralia
A three-day Roman festival of torches and garlands for the goddess DianaSpiritual
🇲🇼 Rumphi, Malawi and 2 moreTumbuka dances and festivals
Dances for healing and celebration, and the yearly festivals that keep themPerformance
🇨🇴 ColombiaFestival of Industry, Trade and Culture
An eight-day celebration in Itagüí, Colombia, for local music, art, dance and tradeFestival
🇮🇳 IndiaShamianaশামিয়ানা (Bengali); شامیانہ (Urdu)
A ceremonial tent of cloth and wooden poles, raised for weddings, feasts and partiesFestival
🇪🇬 EgyptKallawtahكلوتة
A rounded Turkic cap worn in the medieval Middle East, its colour set in Mamluk EgyptDress
🇩🇪 Munich, GermanyO'zapft is!
The civic barrel-tapping ceremony that officially launches Munich's OktoberfestCeremony · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇻🇪 El Callao, VenezuelaCalypso de El Callao
Calypso sung at carnival in El Callao, Venezuela, with yearly king and queen contestsFestival
🇲🇳 MongoliaBlue Pearl Ice FestivalХөх Cувд Mөсний Баяр
Mongolia's yearly winter ice festival of skating races, ice shooting and horse racesFestival
🇪🇨 Quito, EcuadorFiestas de Quito
A week of parades, music and street parties marking the founding of QuitoFestival
🇮🇳 IndiaParashurama Jayantiपरशुरामजयंती (Paraśurāmajayantī)
A Hindu day of fasting and worship marking Parashurama's birth on Akshaya TritiyaSpiritual
🇧🇹 Bhutan and 5 moreLhabab Duchenལྷ་བབས་དུས་ཆེན་
A Buddhist festival for the day the Buddha returned to earth from a god's realmSpiritual
🇸🇬 Singapore, SingaporeSingapore International Festival of Arts
A month of theatre, dance, music and visual art in Singapore each mid-yearPerformance
🇱🇺 LuxembourgCinEast
An October film festival in Luxembourg showing new cinema from Central and Eastern EuropeFestival
🇺🇿 Namangan, UzbekistanFlower Festival in UzbekistanGul bayrami
An annual spring celebration of floriculture and floral art held across several cities in Uzbekistan.Festival
🇰🇪 KenyaLake Turkana Cultural FestivalTobong'u Lore
A spring gathering in northern Kenya celebrating indigenous cultures and promoting peace among lake communities.Festival
🇨🇾 CyprusLimassol CarnivalΚαρναβάλι Λεμεσού
A ten-day spring festival in Limassol featuring parades, costumes, satire and foam fights before Lent.Festival
🇨🇳 ChinaMamianqun馬面裙 (马面裙)
A Chinese wrap skirt with flat front and back panels, worn over trousers with a jacketDress
🇧🇹 Punakha, BhutanTraditional Day of OfferingBuelwa Phuewi Nyim
A Bhutanese New Year marked by offerings to Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal and family feasts.Festival · Breakfast
🇮🇹 Benevento, ItalyWitches of Benevento
A southern Italian tradition of walnut-tree gatherings and protective folk charmsFolklore
🇹🇳 Sousse, TunisiaCarnival of Awussu
An annual seaside midsummer parade in Sousse with floats, brass bands and folk troupesFestival
🇮🇸 IcelandChristmas in IcelandJól
A winter festival of mountain folklore, family feasts and thirteen mischievous visitorsFestival · Dinner
🇰🇳 Basseterre, Saint Kitts and NevisLa festival de Capisterre
A September community festival uniting four villages in the Capisterre region of Saint Kitts and Nevis.Festival
🇮🇳 Bagh, IndiaBagh print
Hand block printed cloth from a village in Madhya Pradesh, dyed red and black on whiteCraft
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Shalwar kameez: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Barcolana: Roberto Baroni, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Nemoralia: Frederic Leighton, Public domain, source
- Madras Music Season: Martin spaink, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Diyi: Annonymous court painter, Public domain, source
- Punnuk: Bernardguerrero, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Jews and Thanksgiving: Executive Committee of Congregation Shearith Israel., Public domain, source
- Shamiana: Badri Seshadri, CC BY 2.0, source
- Festival of Industry, Trade and Culture: Jameseventzx, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kallawtah: 1371 by the scribe Aḥmad ibn ‘Umar ibn Aḥmad al-Miṣrī ("the Egyptian"), CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Parashurama Jayanti: Rajasekhar1961, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Blue Pearl Ice Festival: MN5, CC0, source
- Singapore International Festival of Arts: Waycool27 at English Wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Lake Turkana Cultural Festival: Ray in Manila, CC BY 2.0, source
- Limassol Carnival: Sergey Galyonkin, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Mamianqun: Bilale Boyce, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Carnival of Awussu: Mahdi azouzi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Christmas in Iceland: Bryan Ledgard, CC BY 2.0, source
- Bagh print: Mrqd9, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Witches of Benevento: Guglielmo della Porta, CC0, source
- O'zapft is!: Michael Lucan, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, source
- Khrui: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Marga Natya: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Manaki Brothers Film Festival: US Embassy, Macedonia, Public domain, source
- Tooth ablation: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- George's Day in Autumn: Sergey Ivanov, Public domain, source
- Leil Selichot: Yael Shilo יעל שילה, CC BY 3.0, source
- Aldersgate Day: Man vyi, Public domain, source
- Tel Aviv International Student Film Festival: Adam4896, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Papakha: Russian school Unknown artist Unknown artist, Public domain, source
- Chupalla: Flavio Bastos Amiel, CC BY 2.0, source
- Paris Carnival: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Luanchari: Purkhu of Kangra, Public domain, source