All wedding traditions
674 traditions so far, best known first. 108 more are on the list to be written. Filter by region, kind and stage of the wedding.
RegionSouth AsiaSoutheast AsiaEast AsiaCentral Asia and the CaucasusMiddle EastNorth AfricaSub-Saharan AfricaEuropeNorth AmericaLatin America and the CaribbeanOceania
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreEpithalamium
A poem or song written to celebrate a bride as she goes to her wedding chamber.Performance · The eve
🇩🇪 Berlin, Germany and 5 morePolterabend
The German pre-wedding evening where guests smash porcelain to bring luck to the couple.Blessing · The eve
🇺🇦 UkraineTraditional Ukrainian weddingТрадиційне українське весілля
A multi-day sequence of folk rites, bread baking and church vows that marks the transition from maidenhood to married liRite · Finding a match
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreAnastenariaΑναστενάρια (Greek), Нестинарство (Bulgarian)
A barefoot firewalking ritual performed by Orthodox Christian communities in Greece and Bulgaria.Rite · The weeks before
🇺🇦 Ukraine and 7 moreVechornytsiвечорниці
A Ukrainian courtship gathering where young people meet, dance and practice matchmaking rituals before the wedding seasoBetrothal · The weeks before
🇵🇱 Poland and 5 moreTuroń
A horned effigy that visits homes during Carnival to wish for fertility and collect gifts.Blessing · The weeks before
🇬🇧 United KingdomWassailing
Singing and drinking to bless trees or homes during the Christmas seasonFeast custom · The weeks before
🇮🇹 Gubbio, Italy and 1 moreSaint Ubaldo DayFesta dei Ceri
A procession where runners carry massive wooden pedestals with saint statues through the streets of Gubbio and Jessup.Blessing · Procession and arrival
🇭🇷 CroatiaZa križen
A night-long Maundy Thursday procession on Hvar island that honors the Weeping of the Lady.Blessing · The weeks before
🇭🇷 CroatiaŽudijeŽudije (čuvari Kristova groba)
Catholic guardians who stand watch over a replica tomb of Christ in Dalmatia until Easter Vigil.Rite · The weeks before
🇷🇴 Romania and 1 morePerinița
A Romanian circle dance where a pillow marks the last partner dance for unmarried youth before a wedding.Performance · The eve
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Turoń: Museum: The Seweryn Udziela Ethnographic Museum in Kraków, CC0, source
- Wassailing: Joss Smithson, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Za križen: E.mil.mil, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Polterabend: 4028mdk09, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Vechornytsi: Гейслер, Кристиан Готфрид Генрих, Public domain, source
- Traditional Ukrainian wedding: Пимоненко, Николай Корнильевич, Public domain, source
- Anastenaria: Artkostov, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Saint Ubaldo Day: Marco Riccardini, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Epithalamium: Lorenzo Lotto, Public domain, source