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
🇨🇿 Prague, CzechiaPrague SoundsStruny podzimu
An annual music festival in Prague presenting jazz, classical and electronic artistsFestival
🇫🇷 France and 1 moreBliaut
A fitted medieval overgarment with trailing sleeves, worn in France and nearby landsDress
🇪🇪 Kuremaa, EstoniaJõgevatreff
An annual international motorcycle festival held in Kuremaa, EstoniaFestival
🇮🇳 IndiaDivja
A Goan ritual where women carry oil lamps in a temple procession to fulfill vows.Spiritual
🇨🇳 ChinaTui na推拿
A traditional Chinese hands-on therapy using pushing, grasping, and acupressure pointsFolklore
🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreTraditional games of Korea전통놀이 (jeontongnori)
Korean games kept through the seasons, from New Year board games to winter kitesGame
🇨🇳 Tianjin, China and 1 moreBa-zha八蜡
An old Chinese harvest rite of eight offerings, later a guardian against locustsSpiritual
🇮🇩 IndonesiaNgerorod
A Balinese Hindu way of marrying, where a couple wed by their own choiceRite of passage
🇷🇺 RussiaRussian folk music
The village songs, choirs and instruments of Russia's ethnic Russian peoplePerformance
🇧🇪 Oostduinkerke, BelgiumShrimp fishing on horseback in Oostduinkerke
Fishers ride draft horses into the sea at Oostduinkerke to net brown shrimpCraft
🇧🇪 Brussels, BelgiumKunstenfestivaldesarts
An annual May arts festival in Brussels, with theatre, dance, film and visual artPerformance
🇮🇪 Kinsale, IrelandKinsale cloakfallaing Chionn tSáile
The last Irish cloak, a hooded wool wrap of West Cork, worn into the 1900sDress
🇹🇷 Ankara, TurkeySohbet meetingsGeleneksel Sohbet Toplantıları
Men's gatherings of talk, music and food, kept in towns across TurkeyPerformance
🇮🇳 IndiaSahasra Purna Chandrodayamसहस्र-(पूर्ण)चन्द्र-दर्शन
A Hindu rite marking a person's thousandth full moon, celebrated around age eighty-one.Rite of passage
🇬🇧 Chipping Campden, United KingdomCotswold Olimpick Games
Races, wrestling and shin-kicking on a Cotswold hillside, held since about 1612Game
🇻🇳 VietnamVietnamese zodiacMười hai con giáp
A twelve-year cycle of animal years, kept in Vietnam on the lunar calendarFolklore
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreQuaker wedding
A silent marriage ceremony in a Quaker meeting, with no priest and no set orderRite of passage
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreLife release放生
A Buddhist practice of freeing captive animals to spare their lives and gain meritSpiritual
🇷🇺 RussiaOctobering
A short-lived Soviet naming rite that put the Red Star in place of the baptismal crossRite of passage
🇲🇽 MexicoPirekua
A gentle Purépecha song form from Michoacán, sung solo or in duetsPerformance
🇬🇧 Linton, United KingdomLinton Worm
A Borders dragon killed with a burning spear, told in Roxburghshire since the 12th centuryFolklore
🇦🇪 Abu Dhabi, United Arab EmiratesSheikh Zayed Festivalمهرجان الشيخ زايد
An annual cultural and heritage festival held in Al Wathba, Abu DhabiFestival
🇯🇴 Amman, JordanJordan Short Film Festivalمهرجان الأردن للفيلم القصير
Amman's annual gathering for independent short cinema from Jordan and across the worldFestival
🇮🇳 IndiaJiuntia
An autumn festival of western Odisha, kept in two forms by mothers and by sistersSpiritual
🇬🇧 Palace of Westminster, United KingdomParliamentary snuff box
A wooden box of free snuff kept at the door of the House of CommonsCeremony
🇲🇦 MoroccoTaskiwinⵜⴰⵙⴽⵉⵡⵉⵏ / تاسكيوين
A martial dance of Morocco's western High Atlas, danced with a decorated hornPerformance
🇮🇳 IndiaKalampattu
A Kerala temple offering where a five-colour floor picture is sung over and danced aroundSpiritual
🇮🇳 IndiaKathaकथा (Hindi/Sanskrit), கதை (Tamil)
A traditional Indian practice of religious storytelling and scriptural commentary, kept across Hindu and Sikh communitieSpiritual
🇨🇳 Xi'an, ChinaXi'an guyue西安鼓乐
Ritual wind and percussion music from Xi'an, played sitting or walkingPerformance
🇩🇿 Algeria and 4 moreFoutaفوطة
A thin patterned cotton or linen cloth, worn as a wrap at the baths and as dressDress
🇨🇳 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
🇧🇩 BangladeshGrameen checkগ্রামীণ চেক
A woven plaid of coloured squares, made by handloom weavers in rural BangladeshDress
🇰🇷 South KoreaMusok eumak무속 음악 (巫俗音樂)
Ritual music of Korean shamanism, sung and drummed to carry a shaman into trancePerformance
🇳🇴 Norway and 1 moreSølje
A silver brooch from Norway, worn with the bunad or on its ownDress
🇬🇧 United KingdomBoobrie
A shapeshifting beast of Scotland's western sea lochs, said to take livestockFolklore
🇮🇱 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
🇯🇵 JapanJiuchi地打ち
The steady base beat that holds traditional Japanese music and taiko ensembles togetherPerformance
🇬🇧 Torry, United KingdomUnspoken Water
A Scottish healing custom in which water was fetched in silence and given to the sickFolklore
🇵🇭 PhilippinesInabel weavingAbél-Ilóco
A handwoven cotton textile tradition of the Ilocano people in Northern Luzon, Philippines.Craft
🇮🇪 Ireland and 5 moreFairy ring
A natural ring of mushrooms formed by fungal growth, surrounded by folklore across Europe and beyond.Folklore
🇬🇧 Skye, United KingdomFairy FlagA' Bhratach Shìth
A tattered silk square kept by Clan MacLeod on Skye, said to hold magical powers for the clan.Folklore
🇬🇧 United KingdomDruid's PrayerGweddi'r Derwydd
A short Welsh prayer by Iolo Morganwg, said in ritual by druids todaySpiritual
🇮🇳 Diu, IndiaDashama Vrataદશામા વ્રત
A ten-day Hindu vow kept at home with a clay shrine, mostly by women in Gujarat and DiuSpiritual
🇳🇵 Kathmandu, NepalGunla Bajanगुंला बाजं
Devotional music the Newars carry through the streets during the holy month of GunlaPerformance
🇨🇦 Edmonton, CanadaGrand North American Old Time Fiddle Championship
An annual summer fiddle tournament and community gathering in Alberta, CanadaPerformance
🇮🇱 IsraelTefillat Talתפילת טל
A Jewish prayer for dew, recited on the opening morning of PassoverSpiritual
🇨🇳 ChinaSymbolic stars神煞
Helpful and harmful influences read from the Chinese calendar's stems and branchesFolklore
🇫🇷 France and 1 moreBliaut
A fitted medieval overgarment with trailing sleeves, worn in France and nearby landsDress
🇪🇪 Kuremaa, EstoniaJõgevatreff
An annual international motorcycle festival held in Kuremaa, EstoniaFestival
🇮🇳 IndiaDivja
A Goan ritual where women carry oil lamps in a temple procession to fulfill vows.Spiritual
🇨🇳 ChinaTui na推拿
A traditional Chinese hands-on therapy using pushing, grasping, and acupressure pointsFolklore
🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreTraditional games of Korea전통놀이 (jeontongnori)
Korean games kept through the seasons, from New Year board games to winter kitesGame
🇨🇳 Tianjin, China and 1 moreBa-zha八蜡
An old Chinese harvest rite of eight offerings, later a guardian against locustsSpiritual
🇮🇩 IndonesiaNgerorod
A Balinese Hindu way of marrying, where a couple wed by their own choiceRite of passage
🇷🇺 RussiaRussian folk music
The village songs, choirs and instruments of Russia's ethnic Russian peoplePerformance
🇧🇪 Oostduinkerke, BelgiumShrimp fishing on horseback in Oostduinkerke
Fishers ride draft horses into the sea at Oostduinkerke to net brown shrimpCraft
🇧🇪 Brussels, BelgiumKunstenfestivaldesarts
An annual May arts festival in Brussels, with theatre, dance, film and visual artPerformance
🇮🇪 Kinsale, IrelandKinsale cloakfallaing Chionn tSáile
The last Irish cloak, a hooded wool wrap of West Cork, worn into the 1900sDress
🇹🇷 Ankara, TurkeySohbet meetingsGeleneksel Sohbet Toplantıları
Men's gatherings of talk, music and food, kept in towns across TurkeyPerformance
🇮🇳 IndiaSahasra Purna Chandrodayamसहस्र-(पूर्ण)चन्द्र-दर्शन
A Hindu rite marking a person's thousandth full moon, celebrated around age eighty-one.Rite of passage
🇬🇧 Chipping Campden, United KingdomCotswold Olimpick Games
Races, wrestling and shin-kicking on a Cotswold hillside, held since about 1612Game
🇻🇳 VietnamVietnamese zodiacMười hai con giáp
A twelve-year cycle of animal years, kept in Vietnam on the lunar calendarFolklore
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreQuaker wedding
A silent marriage ceremony in a Quaker meeting, with no priest and no set orderRite of passage
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreLife release放生
A Buddhist practice of freeing captive animals to spare their lives and gain meritSpiritual
🇷🇺 RussiaOctobering
A short-lived Soviet naming rite that put the Red Star in place of the baptismal crossRite of passage
🇲🇽 MexicoPirekua
A gentle Purépecha song form from Michoacán, sung solo or in duetsPerformance
🇬🇧 Linton, United KingdomLinton Worm
A Borders dragon killed with a burning spear, told in Roxburghshire since the 12th centuryFolklore
🇦🇪 Abu Dhabi, United Arab EmiratesSheikh Zayed Festivalمهرجان الشيخ زايد
An annual cultural and heritage festival held in Al Wathba, Abu DhabiFestival
🇯🇴 Amman, JordanJordan Short Film Festivalمهرجان الأردن للفيلم القصير
Amman's annual gathering for independent short cinema from Jordan and across the worldFestival
🇮🇳 IndiaJiuntia
An autumn festival of western Odisha, kept in two forms by mothers and by sistersSpiritual
🇬🇧 Palace of Westminster, United KingdomParliamentary snuff box
A wooden box of free snuff kept at the door of the House of CommonsCeremony
🇲🇦 MoroccoTaskiwinⵜⴰⵙⴽⵉⵡⵉⵏ / تاسكيوين
A martial dance of Morocco's western High Atlas, danced with a decorated hornPerformance
🇮🇳 IndiaKalampattu
A Kerala temple offering where a five-colour floor picture is sung over and danced aroundSpiritual
🇮🇳 IndiaKathaकथा (Hindi/Sanskrit), கதை (Tamil)
A traditional Indian practice of religious storytelling and scriptural commentary, kept across Hindu and Sikh communitieSpiritual
🇨🇳 Xi'an, ChinaXi'an guyue西安鼓乐
Ritual wind and percussion music from Xi'an, played sitting or walkingPerformance
🇩🇿 Algeria and 4 moreFoutaفوطة
A thin patterned cotton or linen cloth, worn as a wrap at the baths and as dressDress
🇨🇳 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
🇧🇩 BangladeshGrameen checkগ্রামীণ চেক
A woven plaid of coloured squares, made by handloom weavers in rural BangladeshDress
🇰🇷 South KoreaMusok eumak무속 음악 (巫俗音樂)
Ritual music of Korean shamanism, sung and drummed to carry a shaman into trancePerformance
🇳🇴 Norway and 1 moreSølje
A silver brooch from Norway, worn with the bunad or on its ownDress
🇬🇧 United KingdomBoobrie
A shapeshifting beast of Scotland's western sea lochs, said to take livestockFolklore
🇮🇱 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
🇯🇵 JapanJiuchi地打ち
The steady base beat that holds traditional Japanese music and taiko ensembles togetherPerformance
🇬🇧 Torry, United KingdomUnspoken Water
A Scottish healing custom in which water was fetched in silence and given to the sickFolklore
🇵🇭 PhilippinesInabel weavingAbél-Ilóco
A handwoven cotton textile tradition of the Ilocano people in Northern Luzon, Philippines.Craft
🇮🇪 Ireland and 5 moreFairy ring
A natural ring of mushrooms formed by fungal growth, surrounded by folklore across Europe and beyond.Folklore
🇬🇧 Skye, United KingdomFairy FlagA' Bhratach Shìth
A tattered silk square kept by Clan MacLeod on Skye, said to hold magical powers for the clan.Folklore
🇬🇧 United KingdomDruid's PrayerGweddi'r Derwydd
A short Welsh prayer by Iolo Morganwg, said in ritual by druids todaySpiritual
🇮🇳 Diu, IndiaDashama Vrataદશામા વ્રત
A ten-day Hindu vow kept at home with a clay shrine, mostly by women in Gujarat and DiuSpiritual
🇳🇵 Kathmandu, NepalGunla Bajanगुंला बाजं
Devotional music the Newars carry through the streets during the holy month of GunlaPerformance
🇨🇦 Edmonton, CanadaGrand North American Old Time Fiddle Championship
An annual summer fiddle tournament and community gathering in Alberta, CanadaPerformance
🇮🇱 IsraelTefillat Talתפילת טל
A Jewish prayer for dew, recited on the opening morning of PassoverSpiritual
🇨🇳 ChinaSymbolic stars神煞
Helpful and harmful influences read from the Chinese calendar's stems and branchesFolklore
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Dashama Vrata: Athwartmisunderstand, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Fairy ring: User:Mrs skippy, Public domain, source
- Sølje: Foto Anne-Lise Reinsfelt / Norsk Folkemuseum., CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Fouta: Emmanuel.boutet authorized by Bohemeria [1], CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Xi'an guyue: Liuxingy, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Katha: Tirlochan Singh, Public domain, source
- Taskiwin: EL-MASOUDYMOHAMED, 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
- 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
- Fairy Flag: Otter, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Gunla Bajan: Kamal Ratna Tuladhar, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kalampattu: Ranjith A v, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Bliaut: Edmund Blair Leighton, Public domain, source
- Jõgevatreff: Aleksei Malogin, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Divja: Govenkarpriyanka, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Inabel weaving: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 4.0, source