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.
🇯🇵 Kyoto, JapanGion Matsuri祇園祭
A month-long Kyoto festival of grand floats, evening markets and purifying ritualsFestival
🇨🇳 ChinaTorch Festival火把节
A summer fire holiday celebrated by Yi and neighbouring communities in southwest ChinaFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇹🇭 Thailand and 2 moreVassa
A three-month rainy-season retreat of meditation, study, and discipline for BuddhistsSpiritual
🇮🇪 Dublin, Ireland and 2 moreLittle ChristmasNollaig na mBan
A January feast day marking the close of the twelve days of ChristmasSeasonal · Dinner
🇰🇷 Seoul, South KoreaYunnori윷놀이
A Korean board and stick-tossing game played with tokens during the Lunar New YearGame
🇳🇱 NetherlandsBloemencorso Bollenstreek
An annual mid-April parade of flower-covered floats across the Dutch bulb regionFestival
🇵🇹 Porto, PortugalFesta de São João do Porto
Porto's midsummer festival of street feasts, fireworks and playful hammer tapsFestival
🇺🇸 New York City, United StatesWest Indian Day Parade
A lively Caribbean street procession held every September in Brooklyn, New YorkFestival
🇨🇭 Liestal, SwitzerlandChienbäse
A Swiss carnival night parade of blazing pinewood brooms and carts of fireFestival
🇨🇳 Dali, ChinaThird Month Fair三月街
A mountain-foot bazaar, festival, and sports gathering among the Bai in YunnanFestival
🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreKorean New Year설날
A three-day Korean festival celebrating the lunisolar new year with family and feastsSeasonal
🇪🇸 Jijona, Spain and 5 moreTurrón
A festive Mediterranean nut-and-honey confection shared at Christmas and local feastsTable custom · Sweets given and shared
🇸🇪 Sweden and 2 moreGlögg
A spiced, warm winter wine served across Nordic countries around ChristmasTable custom · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇨🇭 Basel, SwitzerlandCarnival of BaselBasler Fasnacht
A 72-hour masked carnival of drums, flutes and satire in northern SwitzerlandFestival
🇨🇱 Santiago, ChileFiestas Patrias
Chile's homeland festivities celebrating national identity with music, dance, and foodCeremony
🇪🇹 Ethiopia and 5 moreNativity Fast
A forty-day Christian period of abstinence and prayer observed in preparation for Christmas.Spiritual
🇵🇭 Manila, PhilippinesHoly Week in the PhilippinesMahal na Araw
An eight-day observance of the Passion, death, and resurrection of Christ in the Philippines.Spiritual
🇮🇪 Galway, IrelandGalway International Oyster Festival
An annual autumn gathering in Galway honouring native oysters with shucking contestsTable custom · Feasts and festival meals
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreAsh WednesdayDies Cinerum
A solemn Christian holy day of prayer, fasting, and the placing of ashesSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇸🇮 Ptuj, Slovenia and 1 moreKurentovanje
A rite of spring and carnival in Ptuj with masked bell-ringers chasing winter awayFestival
🇦🇫 Mazar-i-Sharif, AfghanistanNowruzنوروز
The Afghan spring new year, celebrated with picnics, wheat pudding and dried fruit.Seasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇬🇪 GeorgiaAlaverdobaალავერდობა
A harvest and saint's feast celebrated at Alaverdi Cathedral in eastern GeorgiaSpiritual
🇮🇸 IcelandÞorrablót
An Icelandic midwinter feast of dinner, speeches and poetryFestival · Dinner
🇻🇳 VietnamTếtTết Nguyên Đán
The Vietnamese festival of the lunar new year, welcoming spring with family gatheringsFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇵🇰 Lahore, Pakistan and 1 moreBasant
A Punjabi spring festival marked by rooftop kite flying, yellow clothing and fairsFestival · Sweets given and shared
🇹🇹 Trinidad and TobagoTrinidad and Tobago Carnival
An annual festival of street parades, masquerade bands, steelpan music and danceFestival
🇮🇪 Ireland and 1 moreSamhain
A Gaelic festival marking the start of winter with bonfires and ancestor feastsSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanKoinobori鯉のぼり
Carp-shaped windsocks flown across Japan for Children's Day in springFestival
🇩🇿 Tiaret, Algeria and 1 moreMawsimموسم
An annual regional festival and pilgrimage across Northwest AfricaSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇰🇪 Nairobi, KenyaMadaraka Day
Kenya's annual public holiday marking the start of self-governance on 1 June 1963Ceremony
🇳🇴 Norway and 2 moreJulebord
A Scandinavian Christmas banquet of traditional dishes, festive drinks and celebrationTable custom · Feasts and festival meals
🇹🇹 Port of Spain, Trinidad and TobagoCanboulay
An early Trinidadian celebration that shaped modern Carnival and calypso musicFestival
🇫🇷 Nice, FranceNice CarnivalCarnaval de Nice
A two-week winter festival of papier-mâché floats and flower battles in Nice, FranceFestival
🇬🇭 GhanaAdae Festival
A sacred day of rest and ancestral rites observed across the Ashanti Region in GhanaSpiritual
🇮🇳 Ujjain, India and 1 moreVikram Samvatविक्रमसंवत्
A lunisolar Hindu calendar of Nepal and India, its years counted 57 ahead of the GregorianSeasonal
🇵🇸 Jericho, PalestineNabi Musaٱلنَّبِي مُوْسَى
An annual Palestinian Muslim pilgrimage and festival honoring the prophet MosesSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇲🇬 MadagascarFandroana
The Merina new year of Madagascar's highlands, with zebu feasting and a royal bathFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇯🇵 Takayama, JapanTakayama Festival高山祭
Twin seasonal shrine festivals in Japan famed for elaborate lantern-lit floatsFestival
🇨🇺 Remedios, CubaParrandas
Central Cuban street festivals featuring district rumba music, floats and fireworksFestival
🇮🇪 Killorglin, IrelandPuck FairAonach an Phoic
An annual Kerry gathering centred on the crowning of a mountain goat.Festival
🇪🇹 Lalibela, Ethiopia and 1 moreTimkatጥምቀት
The Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Epiphany celebrating the baptism of JesusSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇦🇷 Mendoza, ArgentinaFiesta Nacional de la Vendimia
Argentina's national grape harvest festival, celebrated each year in MendozaSeasonal
🇩🇰 DenmarkJul
Winter feasts, carols around the tree, and family gatherings across DenmarkFestival · Lunch
🇵🇰 PakistanChilam Joshi
A spring festival of music, dance, and prayers celebrated by the Kalash peopleFestival
🇱🇹 Vilnius, Lithuania and 3 moreSaint Casimir's FairKaziuko mugė
A spring craft market and folk celebration across the historic streets of VilniusCraft
🇿🇦 Nongoma, South AfricaUmkhosi Wokweshwama
The annual Zulu first fruits and harvest festival held around the December solsticeSeasonal
🇵🇭 Manila, PhilippinesFlores de Mayo
A month-long Philippine festival of daily Marian prayers, flower offerings and pageantsFestival · Tea-time and snacking customs
🇺🇸 New York, United States and 1 moreEaster parade
A festive Easter Sunday stroll featuring stylish clothes and elaborate bonnetsFestival
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Vikram Samvat: Westindischer Maler um 1400, Public domain, source
- Nativity Fast: User:LoKi, Public domain, source
- Chienbäse: Christof Berger, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Easter parade: Meister der Palastkapelle in Palermo, Public domain, source
- Flores de Mayo: Markytour777, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Saint Casimir's Fair: Sirex at Lithuanian Wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Chilam Joshi: Jugni, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Jul: Erik Christensen, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Fiesta Nacional de la Vendimia: Javinaselli, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Timkat: Jean Rebiffé, CC BY 4.0, source
- Puck Fair: Gordon Hatton, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Parrandas: Juan ramon colina, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Nice Carnival: Honeydew, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Julebord: Holger.Ellgaard, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mawsim: Beghdadi Walid, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Koinobori: 663highland, CC BY 2.5, source
- Samhain: Daniel Maclise, Public domain, source
- Trinidad and Tobago Carnival: Jean-Marc /Jo BeLo/Jhon-John, CC BY 2.0, source
- Tết: vi:Lưu Ly, Public domain, source
- Alaverdoba: Grigory Gagarin, Public domain, source
- Nowruz: Peretz Partensky, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Kurentovanje: Aleš Kravos, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ash Wednesday: Oxh973, Public domain, source
- Galway International Oyster Festival: Thoslee, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Fiestas Patrias: Osmar Valdebenito, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Carnival of Basel: Claude TRUONG-NGOC, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Glögg: Mr.choppers, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Turrón: Tamorlan, CC BY 3.0, source
- Korean New Year: Kang Byeong Kee, CC BY 3.0, source
- Third Month Fair: ZhaoScorpio, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Takayama Festival: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- West Indian Day Parade: Fordmadoxfraud, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Festa de São João do Porto: Hugo Cadavez, CC BY 2.0, source
- Bloemencorso Bollenstreek: W. Bulach, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Yunnori: 국립국어원, CC BY-SA 2.0 kr, source
- Umkhosi Wokweshwama: 撮影者はカールおじさんです。, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Torch Festival: Zhangmoon618, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Gion Matsuri: 江戸村のとくぞう, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Basant: Haseeb Ahmad Farooqi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Vassa: Chainwit., CC BY 4.0, source
- Holy Week in the Philippines: LMP 2001, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Nabi Musa: Mujaddara, CC BY-SA 3.0, source