Seasons, harvest and the calendar
Customs tied to a season, a harvest, a moon or a day of the week.
Seasonal and calendar traditions follow the turning of the year: the first thaw, the monsoon, the harvest, the longest night, the new moon. They also follow the days of the week, with Friday prayers, Sunday roast and Monday fasts. Because these customs are tied to nature and time, they appear almost everywhere, though each place names and keeps them in its own way. EveryParampara links them to the live calendar, so that you can see what is being kept today and what is coming in the year ahead.
Seasons and harvests
Farming societies marked the sowing, the first fruits and the harvest with offerings and feasts, and many of those festivals are still kept: Pongal, Chuseok, Thanksgiving, the New Yam Festival. Spring brings festivals of renewal, from Nowruz to Holi and Easter, and midwinter brings fire and light. In the tropics the rains rather than the temperature set the year, and festivals greet their arrival or their end.
Moons, weeks and days
Lunar calendars shape the dates of Ramadan, Lunar New Year, Vesak, Diwali and the Jewish festivals, so the dates move against the solar year. The week has its own rhythm, with a day of rest, a day of market and days of fasting for particular gods. EveryParampara's calendar and weekday pages show these patterns, so a visitor can see why Friday is couscous in Morocco and Saturday is Shabbat in Israel.
About this page
Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Background on Seasons, harvest and the calendar (kind of tradition). Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
🇮🇹 Rome, Italy and 4 moreChristmas
A festival of Jesus's birth, kept on 25 December with gifts, lights and shared mealsFestival
🇦🇺 Australia and 5 moreGood Friday
A solemn Christian holy day commemorating the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ.Spiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreMother's Day
A worldwide annual celebration dedicated to mothers, maternal bonds and family careHome
🇮🇷 Iran and 7 moreNowruzنوروز
The Iranian new year at the March equinox, kept with fire, greenery and picnicsSeasonal
🇵🇭 Philippines and 5 moreHoly WeekἉγία καὶ Μεγάλη Ἑβδομάς
The solemn seven days leading to Easter, recalling the final week and Passion of JesusSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇮🇳 Mathura, India and 5 moreHoliहोली (Hindi)
A spring festival of colours and bonfires that marks the end of winter and the triumph of good over evil.Festival
🇮🇱 Jerusalem, IsraelYom Kippurיוֹם כִּפּוּר
The holiest day in Judaism, dedicated to fasting, prayer and atonementSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇮🇱 IsraelRosh Hashanahרֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה
The Jewish New Year marked by shofar horn blasts, prayer and sweet foodsSpiritual
🇮🇱 Jerusalem, IsraelSukkotסוכות
A seven-day autumn Jewish festival of temporary booths, harvest prayers and hospitalitySpiritual
🇪🇸 Valencia, Spain and 5 moreFeast of Corpus ChristiCorpus Domini
A Christian feast celebrating the presence of Christ in the bread and wine of the EucharistSpiritual
🇫🇷 France and 5 moreCandlemas
A Christian feast of candle blessings marking the end of the Christmas seasonSpiritual
🇲🇽 Mexico City, Mexico and 1 moreDay of the DeadDía de Muertos
A Mexican remembrance of deceased family and friends with altars, marigolds and feastsFestival · Sweets given and shared
🇬🇧 London, United KingdomChelsea Flower Show
A five-day May horticultural festival held in London by the Royal Horticultural SocietyFestival
🇯🇵 JapanToshikoshi soba年越し蕎麦
Buckwheat noodles eaten on New Year's Eve, cut easily to let the year goTable custom · Feasts and festival meals
🇰🇷 South KoreaJesa제사 (Jesa)
A Korean ancestral memorial ceremony held on death anniversaries and major holidays.Spiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇯🇵 Kishiwada, JapanKishiwada Danjiri Matsuri岸和田だんじり祭
A high-speed festival of wooden shrine floats pulled through Kishiwada, JapanFestival
🇮🇳 Badrinath, IndiaChota Char Dham
Four Himalayan shrines in Uttarakhand, visited in one season each yearSpiritual
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreSaint Patrick's Day in the United States
An annual celebration of Irish heritage across America with parades, feasts and green dyeFestival · Dinner
🇿🇼 ZimbabweMhondoro
Territorial guardian spirits and mediums honoured in Zimbabwe for guidance and rainSpiritual
🇺🇸 New York, United StatesFlag Day
An annual American observance marking the 1777 adoption of the national flagCeremony
🇪🇸 Spain and 5 moreArbor Day
An annual secular observance dedicated to planting and caring for trees around the worldCeremony
🇵🇸 Jerusalem, Palestine and 2 moreStations of the CrossVia Crucis
A Christian prayer journey following fourteen moments of the Passion of JesusSpiritual
🇮🇳 IndiaIndian national calendar
India's official civil solar calendar, designed to bring unity to timekeepingSeasonal
🇮🇳 Jammu, IndiaBhangra
A Punjabi harvest dance, first kept by farmers and now performed worldwidePerformance
🇱🇹 LithuaniaVėlinės
A Lithuanian remembrance day honouring deceased souls with cemetery prayers and candlesSpiritual
🇺🇸 United States and 4 moreFriday the 13th
A Western folk superstition regarding the unluckiness of a Friday falling on the 13th.Folklore
🇮🇩 IndonesiaPasola
A ritual horseback spear contest in western Sumba marking the rice-planting seasonGame
🇯🇵 JapanKadomatsu門松
A Japanese New Year gateway decoration of pine and bamboo where a visiting deity can restSeasonal
🇨🇱 ChileNgillatun
A communal Mapuche rite of prayer, sacrifice and dance to maintain cosmic balanceSpiritual
🇩🇪 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
🇪🇸 Spain and 5 moreSiesta
A short afternoon rest or sleep taken after the midday mealHome · Lunch
🇺🇾 Montevideo, UruguayNostalgia NightNoche de la Nostalgia
Uruguay's nationwide retro music and dance celebration held every 24 AugustFestival
🇹🇭 ThailandThai solar calendarปฏิทินสุริยคติไทย
The official solar calendar of Thailand, numbered in the Buddhist EraSeasonal
🇨🇭 Aproz, Switzerland and 2 moreCombat de Reines
An annual Swiss pushing contest where Hérens cows compete for herd dominanceGame
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreApril Fools' Day
An annual day of lighthearted pranks, hoaxes and teasing kept on the first of AprilFestival
🇮🇩 Jakarta, Indonesia and 2 moreMudik
Indonesians head home to family before Lebaran, in the year's biggest journeyHome
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreMorris dance
A rhythmic English folk dance performed in costume with bells, sticks and handkerchiefsPerformance
🇴🇲 Salalah, Oman and 3 moreKhareefخَرِيْف
The monsoon season of Dhofar and Al Mahrah, welcomed with a festival in SalalahSeasonal
🇪🇪 EstoniaJaanipäev
Estonia's midsummer night of bonfires, song and fortune-telling, on 23 and 24 JuneFestival
🇮🇳 Thrissur, IndiaPulikaliപുലിക്കളി
Painted tigers and leopards dance through Thrissur on the fourth day of OnamPerformance
🇵🇱 Auschwitz-Birkenau, Poland and 1 moreMarch of the LivingMarsz Żywych (Polish) · מצעד החיים (Hebrew)
An annual two-week journey to Poland ending in a silent walk from Auschwitz to BirkenauCeremony
🇵🇪 Cusco, Peru and 4 moreIntiinti (Quechua)
The Inca sun deity, honoured with temples, offerings and the June festival Inti RaymiSpiritual
🇩🇿 Algeria and 3 moreBerber calendarⵜⴰⵙⵡⴰⵙⵜ ⵜⴰⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖⵜ (taswast tamaziɣt)
An agricultural timekeeping system used by the Amazigh people of North Africa to mark seasons and farming cycles.Seasonal · Dinner
🇮🇱 Jerusalem, Israel and 5 moreTisha B'Avתשעה באב
A solemn fast day in July or August to mourn the destruction of the Jerusalem Temples and other Jewish tragedies.Spiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇮🇱 Jerusalem, IsraelShavuotשבועות
A late-spring Jewish festival of the wheat harvest and the giving of the TorahSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreMid-Autumn Festival中秋節
An annual harvest festival celebrating family reunions, full moons and mooncakesFestival · Sweets given and shared
🇮🇩 IndonesiaIsra and Mi'rajالإسراء والمعراج (al-’Isrā’ wal-Miʿrāj)
An Islamic observance marking the prophet Muhammad’s night journey and ascent through the heavens.Spiritual
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Friday the 13th: Leonardo da Vinci, Public domain, source
- Combat de Reines: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Inti: Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala, Public domain, source
- Good Friday: Bellina 09, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Bhangra: Jimmysekhon25, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Christmas: Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, Public domain, source
- Holi: Jitenderasingh, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Isra and Mi'raj: عامر شاہین, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mother's Day: Dave Parker, CC BY 2.0, source
- Pulikali: Felix Francis, CC BY 2.0, source
- Holy Week: Anonymous ( Maasland ) Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Mid-Autumn Festival: Shizhao, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Yom Kippur: Maurycy Gottlieb, Public domain, source
- March of the Living: No machine-readable author provided. Efka de~commonswiki assumed (base, CC BY 2.5, source
- Nowruz: Katzenfee50, CC0, source
- Rosh Hashanah: N100a . The original uploader was N100a at Hebrew Wikipedia ., Attribution, source
- Sukkot: Zachi Evenor, CC BY 2.0, source
- Toshikoshi soba: Osamu Iwasaki, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Kadomatsu: Nesnad, CC BY 4.0, source
- Feast of Corpus Christi: Fennec ., Public domain, source
- Mudik: Arie Basuki, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Candlemas: Andrea Mantegna, Public domain, source
- Jaanipäev: Jaan Künnap, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Khareef: May Paulose, CC BY 2.0, source
- Chuseok: by Joseph Steinberg (Baltimoron in Korea) at Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Shavuot: https://www.flickr.com/people/69061470@N05, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Morris dance: Des Blenkinsopp, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Kishiwada Danjiri Matsuri: Kounosu, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- April Fools' Day: Lars Andersen, Public domain, source
- Ngillatun: Francisco Cavallo, Public domain, source
- Siesta: Vincent van Gogh, Public domain, source
- Saint Patrick's Day in the United States: White House/Chuck Kennedy, Public domain, source
- Indian national calendar: Clemensmarabu, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Flag Day: Freekee /Kevin Hansen, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Thadingyut: Aungzawtoo, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Chelsea Flower Show: Nzfauna, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Arbor Day: Jonathunder, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tisha B'Av: shlomi kakon, CC BY 2.5, source
- Pasola: Fakhri Anindita, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Stations of the Cross: Tango7174, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Day of the Dead: RubeHM, CC BY-SA 4.0, source