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
🇬🇧 United KingdomTartanbreacan
The checked woollen cloth of Scotland, woven from crossing stripes into named patternsDress
🇧🇪 Antwerp, Belgium and 2 moreOmmegangommegang (Dutch)
Medieval town processions of the Low Countries, with giants, guilds and horsesCeremony
🇦🇹 Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria and 2 moreSilent NightStille Nacht, heilige Nacht
A Christmas carol composed in Austria in 1818, now sung worldwide as a symbol of peace.Performance
🇵🇹 Lisbon, PortugalFado
Portugal's song of fate and longing, sung in Lisbon and CoimbraPerformance
🇩🇪 Germany and 2 moreSwabian-Alemannic FastnachtFastnacht
A late-winter carnival of masks and jesters kept before Lent in the Alemannic landsFestival
🇬🇧 London, United KingdomRoyal Maundy
A Church of England service where the monarch gives silver Maundy coins to older peopleSpiritual
🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreEpiphany
A January feast of the Magi, the Jordan baptism and the Cana miracle, kept by ChristiansSpiritual
🇬🇷 Greece and 4 moreVasilopitaΒασιλόπιτα
A New Year bread or cake with a coin baked inside, shared out slice by sliceTable custom · Sweets given and shared
🇬🇧 Llangollen, United Kingdom and 5 moreEisteddfod
A Welsh festival of poetry and music competitions, featuring the chairing and crowning of winning bards.Festival
🇸🇪 Nusnäs, Sweden and 1 moreDala horseDalahäst
A carved painted wooden horse from Dalarna, a children's toy that became a national symbolCraft
🇬🇧 Cardiff, United KingdomGorsedd CymruGorsedd Cymru (yr Orsedd)
A Welsh society of poets and writers that holds ceremonies at the National Eisteddfod to honour cultural achievements.Festival
🇮🇹 Italy and 5 moreEasterΠάσχα
The day Christians mark the resurrection, kept with vigils, feasts and eggsSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇷🇺 Kazan, Russia and 2 moreValenkiва́ленки
Russian winter boots of felted wool, worn on dry snow and often paired with galoshesDress
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreLast Post
A bugle call sounded at military funerals and remembrance services across the Commonwealth to honour those who died in sPerformance
🇵🇹 Coimbra, PortugalPraxePraxe Académica
A set of student initiation rituals and traditions in Portuguese universities.Rite of passage
🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreEvil eye
A belief in harm cast by envious glares, met with protective charms and spoken blessingsFolklore
🇬🇧 United KingdomPlough Sunday
An English church blessing of the land and farm tools at the start of the yearSpiritual
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreChristmas dinner
The festive family meal of Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, with roast meats and puddingsTable custom · Dinner
🇨🇭 Liestal, SwitzerlandChienbäse
A Swiss carnival night parade of blazing pinewood brooms and carts of fireFestival
🇷🇺 Khokhloma, RussiaKhokhlomaхохлома
Russian folk painting of red, black and gold flowers and berries on wooden tablewareCraft
🇧🇬 Bulgaria and 3 moreBanitsaБаница
A layered Bulgarian cheese pastry baked for morning meals and holiday fortunesTable custom · Breakfast
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreBank holiday
Official days of rest and financial closure across the British IslesCeremony
🇱🇮 Vaduz, LiechtensteinLiechtenstein National DayStaatsfeiertag Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein's national holiday celebrated with castle speeches, bonfires and fireworksCeremony
🇱🇻 Riga, LatviaZiemassvētki
Latvia's midwinter festival of solstice customs, mumming and tree decorationSeasonal
🇱🇺 Luxembourg and 3 moreBuergbrennen
A bonfire festival marking the end of winter on the first Sunday of Lent in LuxembourgSeasonal
🇦🇱 Albania and 2 moreBesaBesë
A pledge of honour that an Albanian gives once and must never breakEtiquette
🇩🇪 Saalfeld, Germany and 5 moreEaster egg treeOstereierbaum
A German springtime custom of dressing living trees and branches with blown eggsFestival
🇺🇦 Chernivtsi, Ukraine and 3 moreMalankaМаланка
A Ukrainian folk celebration of masked mummers, feasting and New Year blessingsFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇬🇷 GreeceMagiritsaΜαγειρίτσα
A Greek lamb offal soup eaten after the midnight Easter service to break the fastTable custom · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇫🇮 Helsinki, FinlandKalevala DayKalevalan päivä
A Finnish national flag day celebrating the country's epic poetry and living artsCeremony
🇮🇸 IcelandYule LadsJólasveinarnir
Thirteen mischievous brothers who visit Icelandic homes in the nights leading to Yule.Folklore
🇱🇹 LithuaniaUžgavėnės
A Lithuanian winter-ending festival of masks, mock battles and pancakesFestival
🇪🇸 Seville, SpainFlamenco
The song, guitar and dance of Andalusia, kept by gitano and other Spanish families.Performance
🇬🇷 Olympia, Greece and 5 moreOlympic flame
A flame kindled in Greece, carried by torch to light the cauldron of each GamesCeremony
🇱🇹 LithuaniaSaint Jonas's FestivalJoninės
A Lithuanian midsummer night of bonfires, wreaths, song and morning dewSeasonal
🇮🇪 Ireland and 2 moreWren DayLá an Dreoilín
A Saint Stephen's Day custom where groups parade a stuffed wren on a decorated pole through their community.Festival
🇨🇭 Basel, Switzerland and 4 moreSwiss National DaySchweizer Bundesfeiertag
Switzerland's annual national holiday, celebrated with bonfires, fireworks, and lanternsCeremony
🇱🇻 Riga, Latvia and 4 moreLatvian Song and Dance FestivalVispārējie latviešu Dziesmu un Deju svētki
A grand gathering of choirs, dancers and folk artists held every five years in LatviaPerformance
🇮🇪 Killorglin, IrelandPuck FairAonach an Phoic
An annual Kerry gathering centred on the crowning of a mountain goat.Festival
🇧🇪 Aalst, BelgiumAalst CarnivalAalst Carnaval
A three-day street carnival of satire, costumed parades and folk rituals in AalstFestival
🇪🇸 Seville, SpainSeville FairFeria de Abril de Sevilla
A week-long spring festival in Seville of carriage parades, marquee tents and dancingFestival · Dinner
🇦🇱 Albania and 1 moreKanunKanû
Albanian customary law kept by word of mouth, centred on honour and the given wordEtiquette
🇫🇷 Bayonne, FranceFêtes de BayonneBaionako Jaiak
A five-day summer feria in Bayonne featuring parades, dances and white-and-red dressFestival
🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreLezginkaЛезгинка (Russian) · Лезги кьуьл (Lezgian)
A fast dance of the North Caucasus, solo or in pairs, named for the Lezgin peoplePerformance
🇮🇸 IcelandÞorrablót
An Icelandic midwinter feast of dinner, speeches and poetryFestival · Dinner
🇫🇷 FranceConfirmation
A Christian rite of laying on of hands that completes baptism and strengthens faithRite of passage
🇸🇮 Ptuj, Slovenia and 1 moreKurentovanje
A rite of spring and carnival in Ptuj with masked bell-ringers chasing winter awayFestival
🇮🇹 Siena, ItalyPalio
Traditional Italian competitions where local districts race horses, donkeys, or boats to win prizes and pride.Festival
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Olympic flame: RuinDig/Yuki Uchida, CC BY 4.0, source
- Plough Sunday: John Cowie, CC BY 3.0, source
- Chienbäse: Christof Berger, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Khokhloma: Dmfff, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Banitsa: Sheku80, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Liechtenstein National Day: Förkle, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Buergbrennen: luxpim, CC BY 2.0, source
- Easter egg tree: Frank schubert, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Malanka: Viktoriyasechkar, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Magiritsa: Andrew Dalby, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kalevala Day: Vladimir Menkov, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Yule Lads: Lusinemarg, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Užgavėnės: Algirdas at Lithuanian Wikipedia, GFDL, source
- Flamenco: John Singer Sargent, Public domain, source
- Saint Jonas's Festival: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Wren Day: Manx James, CC0, source
- Swiss National Day: Vincent de Groot, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Latvian Song and Dance Festival: Laima Gūtmane (simka), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Puck Fair: Gordon Hatton, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Aalst Carnival: Wikisid, CC BY 3.0, source
- Seville Fair: Sevilla Congress & Convention Bureau, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Kanun: Lekë Dukagjini & Shtjefën Gjeçovi, Public domain, source
- Fêtes de Bayonne: Belarra64, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Lezginka: Vasily Vereshchagin, Public domain, source
- Kurentovanje: Aleš Kravos, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Queima das Fitas: Fotografía realizada por: Ángel Serrano Sánchez de León, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tartan: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ommegang: Zorro2212, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Silent Night: Franz Xaver Gruber (1787–1863), Public domain, source
- Fado: Pedro Simões, CC BY 2.0, source
- Swabian-Alemannic Fastnacht: Photo: Andreas Praefcke, CC BY 3.0, source
- Royal Maundy: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Epiphany: Gentile da Fabriano, Public domain, source
- Vasilopita: Μυρμηγκάκι, Public domain, source
- Eisteddfod: Llywelyn2000, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Dala horse: User:Mysid, Public domain, source
- Gorsedd Cymru: Els Pam Pels, CC0, source
- Easter: Piero della Francesca, Public domain, source
- Valenki: akk_rus, CC BY 2.0, source
- Last Post: User:EnEdC, Public domain, source
- Evil eye: FocalPoint, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Christmas dinner: Austin McGee, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Confirmation: Unknown author, CC BY 2.0, source
- Palio: faberh, Public domain, source