All traditions
2,291 traditions so far, best known first. 12,311 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
🇺🇸 Los Angeles, United StatesSuper Bowl
The annual championship game of American professional football, held every February.Game
🇺🇸 New York, United StatesVillage Halloween Parade
An annual costumed puppetry march through Greenwich Village on Halloween nightFestival
🇨🇳 China and 1 morePrayer wheelའཁོར་ལོ།
A cylindrical wheel spun in Tibetan Buddhist practice to accumulate merit and wisdomSpiritual
🇮🇳 IndiaIndian national calendar
India's official civil solar calendar, designed to bring unity to timekeepingSeasonal
🇲🇽 MexicoDanza de los ViejitosT'arche Uarakua
A Purépecha masked dance honouring the sun and the four elements in MichoacánPerformance
🇮🇸 IcelandKvæði
Long narrative ballads sung during traditional chain dances in the Faroe IslandsPerformance
🇯🇵 Kyoto, JapanKyōgen狂言
A traditional Japanese comic theatre of short farces, spoken dialogue and satirePerformance
🇲🇬 MadagascarValiha
A bamboo tube zither from Madagascar, played for recreation and spirit ritualsPerformance
🇮🇩 Ubud, IndonesiaBarongᬩᬭᭀᬂ
A sacred Balinese masked dance drama depicting the eternal struggle of good and evilPerformance
🇻🇳 Hoa Lư, VietnamChèo嘲
Satirical folk musical theatre performed by village troupes across northern VietnamPerformance
🇦🇺 AustraliaSmoking ceremonyNumbuk Yabbun
An Aboriginal Australian ritual of burning native plants to cleanse, heal and welcomeSpiritual
🇳🇿 Auckland, New ZealandMāori Language WeekTe Wiki o te Reo Māori
An annual nationwide week promoting the learning and use of te reo across New ZealandCeremony
🇮🇳 Puri, India and 1 morePattachitra
A cloth scroll painting tradition from eastern India featuring mythological stories and folk tales.Performance
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreAkhand Pathਅਖੰਡ ਪਾਠ
The unbroken, continuous reading of the entire Sikh scripture over two daysSpiritual
🇨🇦 Canada and 1 moreMedicine wheel
Sacred circular stone arrangements built across the plains of North AmericaSpiritual
🇸🇦 Mecca, Saudi Arabia and 2 moreBay'ahبَيْعَة
An Islamic oath of allegiance pledged to a ruler or spiritual guideCeremony
🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago and 3 moreSteelpan
A tuned percussion tradition forged from industrial steel containers in TrinidadPerformance
🇮🇳 IndiaWarli painting
Sacred white rice paste murals made on red clay walls in western IndiaCraft
🇸🇬 Singapore, SingaporeNational Day Parade
Singapore's annual independence day celebration of parades, music and fireworksCeremony
🇸🇦 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and 4 moreMajlis
A traditional sitting room and community assembly for hospitality and civic counselEtiquette
🇺🇸 New York, United StatesFlag Day
An annual American observance marking the 1777 adoption of the national flagCeremony
🇮🇳 Mumbai, IndiaLalbaugcha Raja
A Mumbai Ganesha festival where millions seek blessings before ocean immersionSpiritual
🇺🇸 Raven's Roost, United StatesStomp dance
A ceremonial night dance kept by Eastern Woodland tribes in the United States and Oklahoma.Performance · Dinner
🇲🇽 San Salvador Huixcolotla, Mexico and 1 morePapel picado
A Mexican folk art of cutting intricate designs into tissue paper for festive and spiritual displays.Festival
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreIslamic marriageنِكَاح
The sacred contract, agreement and wedding celebration forming an Islamic marriageRite of passage · Feasts and festival meals
🇱🇻 LatviaDaina
Short, traditional Latvian folk songs and verses sung across the human life cyclePerformance
🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreMaifest
A traditional German celebration marking the arrival of spring with decorated maypolesFestival
🇲🇲 Yangon, MyanmarThadingyutသီတင်းကျွတ်
A Burmese celebration and calendar month marking the completion of Buddhist Lent.Seasonal
🇺🇾 Montevideo, UruguayNostalgia NightNoche de la Nostalgia
Uruguay's nationwide retro music and dance celebration held every 24 AugustFestival
🇨🇳 Chaozhou, China and 1 moreGongfu tea工夫茶
A skilled Chinese method of brewing tea in small teaware with precise heat and timingTable custom · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇰🇭 CambodiaApsara Danceរបាំទេពអប្សរា
A classical Cambodian court dance inspired by the stone carvings of AngkorPerformance
🇮🇳 IndiaPandavani
A folk singing tradition from central India that retells episodes of the Mahabharata epic through music and theatrical nPerformance
🇩🇲 Dominica and 4 moreBéléBèlè
A Caribbean drum, call-and-response song, and courtship dance traditionPerformance
🇮🇳 IndiaAtithi Devo Bhavaअतिथिदेवो भव
A traditional Indian Hindu philosophy and campaign that treats guests with the reverence due to deities.Etiquette
🇳🇬 NigeriaMmanwuMmanwụ
An Igbo masquerade tradition invoking ancestral spirits through masked performanceSpiritual
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreLion dance舞獅
A dynamic ritual dance featuring costumed lions, drums and martial acrobaticsPerformance
🇺🇬 Uganda and 4 moreBarkcloth
Cloth beaten from tree bark across Africa, Asia and the PacificCraft
🇦🇫 Kabul, Afghanistan and 1 moreJirgaجرګه
A traditional consultative council of elders that settles disputes through consensusCeremony
🇨🇳 Yixing, ChinaYixing clay teapot紫砂
Handcrafted Chinese purple clay teapots that season with every brewCraft · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇻🇳 Huế, VietnamNón lá𥶄蘿
A pointed leaf and bamboo hat worn across Vietnam for shelter, work and celebrationDress
🇨🇺 CubaAbakuá
An Afro-Cuban initiatory brotherhood rooted in West African sacred traditionsSpiritual
🇲🇦 Tan-Tan, MoroccoTan-Tan Moussem
An annual gathering of Saharan nomadic tribes with music, trading and equestrian artsFestival
🇨🇱 Rancagua, Chile and 1 moreChilean rodeo
A Chilean equestrian sport and weekend festival contested in a crescent-shaped arenaGame
🇱🇧 Lebanon and 4 moreDabkeدبكة
A Levantine folk dance of linked lines and stomping steps, kept at weddings and community gatherings.Performance
🇧🇷 Belém, BrazilCarimbó
A dance and music genre from the Amazon region of Brazil, centered around a wooden drum.Performance
🇮🇳 Kolkata, India and 1 moreSindur Khelaসিঁদুর খেলা
A Bengali Hindu ritual where married women apply vermilion to each other on Vijayadashami.Festival
🇵🇦 Panama City, PanamaMola
Layered cloth panels hand-sewn by Guna women using reverse appliquéCraft
🇮🇹 Naples, Italy and 5 moreCaffè sospeso
An anonymous gift of a paid cup of coffee for a stranger in needTable custom · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Super Bowl: John Tornow, CC BY 2.0, source
- Village Halloween Parade: InSapphoWeTrust, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Prayer wheel: David Abián, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Indian national calendar: Clemensmarabu, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Danza de los Viejitos: Jessicatena, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kvæði: Eileen Sandá, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kyōgen: Corpse Reviver, CC BY 3.0, source
- Valiha: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Barong: Michael Gunther, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Chèo: Thomas Schoch, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Smoking ceremony: Shillings1005, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Māori Language Week: Government House (New Zealand) https://gg.govt.nz/copyright-and-licens, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Pattachitra: Unknown, Public domain, source
- Akhand Path: William John Howship (1874–1932), Public domain, source
- Medicine wheel: U.S. Forest Service Photo, Public domain, source
- Steelpan: Shanel, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Warli painting: Omrmankar, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- National Day Parade: chensiyuan, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Majlis: Abū Zayd ibn Muḥammad ibn Abī Zayd, CC0, source
- Flag Day: Freekee /Kevin Hansen, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Lalbaugcha Raja: ninadism, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Papel picado: Ferfive, CC BY 4.0, source
- Islamic marriage: عامر شاہین, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Daina: Savannah Rivka, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Thadingyut: Aungzawtoo, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Gongfu tea: Kandukuru Nagarjun, CC BY 2.0, source
- Apsara Dance: Remi Jouan, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Pandavani: Suyash Dwivedi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Mmanwu: Northcote Whitridge Thomas, Public domain, source
- Lion dance: Alfresco24, CC BY 3.0, source
- Barkcloth: Hiart, CC0, source
- Jirga: Alpha4354747, Public domain, source
- Yixing clay teapot: Commonsenses, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Nón lá: Ratmanhme282020, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Abakuá: M. Puente, Public domain, source
- Tan-Tan Moussem: Максим Массалитин (Maxim Massalitin), CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Chilean rodeo: Marco Antonio Correa Flores, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Dabke: Sarah Canbel, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Carimbó: Palácio do Planalto, CC BY 2.0, source
- Sindur Khela: Diganta Talukdar, CC BY 4.0, source
- Mola: Johantheghost, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Caffè sospeso: Bex Walton, CC BY 2.0, source