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
🇮🇪 Galway, IrelandGalway International Oyster Festival
An annual autumn gathering in Galway honouring native oysters with shucking contestsTable custom · Feasts and festival meals
🇪🇸 Spain and 5 moreMoors and ChristiansMoros y Cristianos
Theatrical parades and mock battles staging historic clashes across Spain and beyondFestival
🇧🇪 Brussels, BelgiumMeyboomMaâbuum
An annual Brussels parade and ceremonial tree planting held every AugustFestival
🇧🇬 Kazanlak, BulgariaRose FestivalФестивал на розата
An annual harvest celebration of damask roses across the Rose Valley of BulgariaFestival
🇭🇷 Dubrovnik, CroatiaDubrovnik Summer FestivalDubrovačke ljetne igre
An annual summer celebration of theatre, music and dance held in the historic streets of Dubrovnik.Festival
🇫🇷 Nice, FranceNice CarnivalCarnaval de Nice
A two-week winter festival of papier-mâché floats and flower battles in Nice, FranceFestival
🇱🇺 Nospelt, LuxembourgEmaischen
An Easter Monday market in Luxembourg known for small bird-shaped clay whistlesFestival
🇮🇪 Dublin, IrelandBarmbrackbairín breac
A sweet Irish fruit loaf with charms baked in, eaten at Halloween and on New Year's EveTable custom · Tea-time and snacking customs
🇳🇱 Landgraaf, NetherlandsPinkpop
A three-day pop and rock festival in the Netherlands, held on the Pentecost weekendFestival
🇩🇰 Roskilde, DenmarkRoskilde Festival
A week-long Danish music festival south of Roskilde, run by volunteers since 1971Festival
🇬🇷 Olympia, GreeceAncient Olympic Gamesτὰ Ὀλύμπια
A quadrennial athletic festival held in ancient Greece to honor the god ZeusGame
🇮🇹 Rome, ItalySaturnalia
A December festival of ancient Rome, with feasting, gifts, gambling and role reversalSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇬🇷 Eleusis, Greece and 1 moreEleusinian MysteriesἘλευσίνια Μυστήρια
Secret annual initiations in ancient Greece dedicated to Demeter and Persephone, promising a blessed afterlife.Spiritual
🇬🇷 GreeceSymposiumσυμπόσιον
An ancient Greek post-meal gathering for diluted wine, debate, music and lively gamesTable custom · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇮🇹 Rome, ItalyBacchanalia
An ancient Roman mystery festival dedicated to the god of wine and ecstasyFestival · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 4 moreTowel Day
An annual worldwide celebration on 25 May honouring the author Douglas Adams.Festival
🇷🇺 Moscow, Russia and 5 moreDormition of the Mother of God
A major feast in Eastern Christianity marking the death and heavenly ascent of Mary.Spiritual
🇫🇷 France and 5 moreVictory in Europe Day8 mai 1945
The day Nazi Germany's surrender was accepted, marking the end of the war in EuropeCeremony
🇩🇪 Berlin, GermanyGerman Unity DayTag der Deutschen Einheit
Germany's national day, marking reunification on 3 October 1990Ceremony
🇷🇺 Moscow, RussiaCosmonautics DayДень космонавтики
Russia's yearly day for Yuri Gagarin's 1961 flight, kept on 12 April with memorial walksCeremony
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 6 moreSaint George's Day
A saint's feast on 23 April, kept by churches and patron nations from England to GeorgiaSpiritual
🇩🇪 Germany and 3 moreVisitation
A Christian feast commemorating Mary's journey to visit her cousin ElizabethSpiritual
🇩🇪 Wittenberg, Germany and 5 moreReformation Day
An annual Christian observance marking the start of the Protestant ReformationSpiritual
🇺🇦 Ukraine and 2 moreProgrammer's Day
A professional day for programmers, fixed to the 256th day of the yearCeremony
🇺🇦 Kyiv, UkraineIndependence Day of UkraineДень Незалежності України
Ukraine's national day, kept every 24 August with parades and flagsCeremony
🇮🇹 Italy and 2 morePresentation of Mary
A Christian feast on November 21 marking a child's dedication to God in Jerusalem.Spiritual
🇬🇧 St Andrews, United Kingdom and 10 moreSaint Andrew's DayLà Naomh Anndrais
The feast of Andrew the Apostle, kept on 30 November and Scotland's national daySpiritual
🇦🇱 Albania and 5 moreSworn virginburrnesha
A vow of chastity that lets a woman of the northern Balkans live as a manRite of passage
🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreKnucklebones
An ancient hand game of tossing, catching, and scooping small bones or stonesGame
🇺🇦 Ukraine and 2 moreIntercession of the TheotokosПокровъ
An Eastern Christian autumn feast honoring the protective veil of the Virgin MarySpiritual
🇷🇺 Russia and 3 moreOld New YearСтарый Новый год (Russian), Стара Нова година (Macedonian), Српска Нова година (Serbian), Hen Galan (Welsh)
An informal holiday marking the start of the Julian calendar year, celebrated on 14 January in the Gregorian calendar.Festival · Dinner
🇵🇱 Warsaw, PolandNational Independence DayNarodowe Święto Niepodległości
Poland's national day on 11 November, marking the 1918 return of a sovereign Polish stateCeremony
🇬🇷 Olympia, GreeceHeraean Games
An ancient Greek festival of running races for unmarried young women at OlympiaGame
🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreBeheading of John the Baptist
A Christian holy day of strict fasting that marks the death of John the BaptistSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreYuri's Night
An annual global celebration on April 12 marking milestones in space explorationFestival
🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreRadonitsaРа́доница (Russian), Ра́даўніца (Belarusian)
A spring day when Orthodox families visit graves, share Easter food and greet the deadSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇪 IrelandSolemnitySolemnitas
The highest rank of celebration in the Roman Catholic liturgical calendarSpiritual
🇱🇹 Lithuania and 5 moreNativity of John the Baptist
A Christian feast day on June 24 that marks the birth of John the Baptist and anticipates Christmas.Festival
🇮🇹 Rome, Italy and 4 moreMarian feast days
Holy days across the liturgical year celebrating the life and veneration of Mary.Spiritual
🇷🇺 Mordovia, Russia and 2 moreErzya Language DayЭрзянь келень чи
A yearly day for the Erzya language, held on 16 April, the birthday of Anatoli RyabovFestival
🇵🇱 Poland and 5 moreGrandparents' Day
A single-day holiday kept on different dates in many countries to honour grandparentsFestival
🇸🇮 SloveniaStatehood DayDan državnosti
Slovenia's one-day public holiday on 25 June, marking the 1991 move to independenceCeremony
🇦🇱 Albania and 3 moreXhubleta
A rippling bell-shaped skirt made by Albanian women of the northern highlandsDress
🇩🇪 Kiel, GermanyKiel WeekKieler Woche
A week of yacht racing, tall ships and waterfront music on the Kiel FjordGame
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 4 moreTwelve Days of Christmas
A festive Christian liturgical season linking Christmas Day to the eve of EpiphanySeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇬🇷 Athens, Greece and 2 moreDionysian Mysteries
Ancient Greek and Roman initiation rites of wine, ecstatic dance and spiritual rebirthSpiritual · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇸🇪 Sweden and 5 moreMushroom hunting
Gathering wild fungi for food and other uses, relying on careful identification to ensure safety.Table custom
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreEpiclesisἐπίκλησις
The liturgical calling upon the Holy Spirit to bless the bread and wine during communionSpiritual
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Reformation Day: 95Thesen.jpg : User:Shizhao derivative work: 6birc ( talk ), Public domain, source
- Meyboom: Henxter, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Roskilde Festival: Bill Ebbesen, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Pinkpop: Gianni Taranto, CC BY 3.0, source
- Eleusinian Mysteries: No machine-readable author provided. Marsyas assumed (based on copyrig, Public domain, source
- Saint George's Day: Raphael, Public domain, source
- Sworn virgin: Edith Durham, Public domain, source
- Independence Day of Ukraine: Official website of the President of Ukraine, CC BY 4.0, source
- Beheading of John the Baptist: Caravaggio, Public domain, source
- Radonitsa: Perohanych, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Erzya Language Day: Erzianj jurnalist, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Grandparents' Day: Wendy Berry, CC BY 2.0, source
- Kiel Week: Arne List, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Ancient Olympic Games: Bgabel, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Xhubleta: Albinfo, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Bacchanalia: Nicolas Poussin, Public domain, source
- Symposium: Nikias Painter, CC BY 2.5, source
- Towel Day: Bischy174, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Knucklebones: Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, Public domain, source
- Yuri's Night: Ryan Somma, CC BY 2.0, source
- Heraean Games: Ingo Mehling, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Old New Year: ceridwen, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Marian feast days: © Ralph Hammann - Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Nativity of John the Baptist: Brakeet, CC0, source
- Twelve Days of Christmas: Giotto, Public domain, source
- Dionysian Mysteries: Tilemahos Efthimiadis, CC BY 2.0, source
- Mushroom hunting: Игорь Лебединский, CC BY 3.0, source
- German Unity Day: Philipp Hertzog Bearbeitet von Dr. Meierhofer (beschnitten, aufgehellt, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Saturnalia: Themadchopper, Antoine-François Callet, CC0, source
- Presentation of Mary: Zograf Gregorij, Public domain, source
- Epiclesis: Nheyob , cropped by Tahc, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Galway International Oyster Festival: Thoslee, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Moors and Christians: No machine-readable author provided. Jarke assumed (based on copyright, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Rose Festival: Animsaj, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Nice Carnival: Honeydew, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Dubrovnik Summer Festival: Roberta F., CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Emaischen: Christian Ries, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Barmbrack: Solo Beckett, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Intercession of the Theotokos: SNCH, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- National Independence Day: Patryk Matyjaszczyk, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Visitation: Giotto, Public domain, source
- Saint Andrew's Day: Henryk Siemiradzki, Public domain, source
- Cosmonautics Day: The original uploader was Errabee at English Wikipedia ., CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Dormition of the Mother of God: El Greco, Public domain, source
- Victory in Europe Day: Fotograaf Onbekend / Anefo, CC0, source