Festivals and celebrations
The days a community stops, gathers and celebrates.
Festivals and celebrations are the days when a community stops its work, dresses up, eats together and makes noise. They may mark a season, a saint, a victory or just the pleasure of being together. From Carnival and Holi to Songkran and Oktoberfest, they show a place at its most generous and expressive. Many have religious roots, others are civic or seasonal, and a good number began as local fairs and grew famous. This page lists them by country, month and meaning, with notes on food, costume and music.
What makes a festival
Most festivals share a few features: a set date, a procession or gathering, special food, music and dance, a costume or colour, and an element of play. Some invert the usual order, letting servants command and the young tease the old, as at Carnival and Purim. Others are solemn, with lamps, silence or fasting. Whatever the tone, a festival gives people a shared memory, and the preparations, from cooking to costume making, are part of the pleasure.
Local and global
A festival that began in one village may now draw millions, and migrants carry festivals to new countries, where they take on new forms. Diwali is celebrated in London and Singapore, St Patrick's Day in Buenos Aires and Tokyo, Lunar New Year in Sydney and New York. At the same time, many small local festivals survive, and EveryParampara records these too, because a village fair is as much a part of the world's heritage as a great carnival.
About this page
Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Background on Festivals and celebrations (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
🇮🇪 Ireland and 5 moreHalloween
An annual observance on 31 October marking the eve of All Saints' Day, rooted in Christian tradition and Celtic heritageFestival · Sweets given and shared
🇮🇹 Rome, Italy and 4 moreValentine's Day
A Christian feast day and cultural celebration of love kept on February 14 in many countries.Festival
🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreChristmas tree
A decorated evergreen or artificial tree placed indoors to mark the Christmas season.Festival
🇵🇱 Poland and 5 moreChristmas Eve
The evening before Christmas, marked by church services, family meals, and gift preparations across Christian cultures.Festival · Dinner
🇪🇸 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
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreApple bobbing
A Halloween game where players try to catch floating apples with their teeth.Game
🇵🇹 Lisbon, PortugalMarchas Populares
Neighbourhood teams march, dance and sing through Lisbon's June nights for St AnthonyFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇪🇪 EstoniaJaanipäev
An Estonian midsummer festival marking the shortest night with bonfires, songs and independence memories.Festival
🇮🇪 Dublin, Ireland and 2 moreIrish traditional music
A living folk practice of dance tunes, airs, songs and communal pub sessionsPerformance
🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreName day
A calendar tradition where people celebrate the feast day of the saint after whom they are named.Festival
🇮🇪 Ireland and 5 moreFleadh CheoilFleadh Cheoil na hÉireann
An annual gathering of Irish traditional music and dance, featuring competitions, public sessions, and concerts across IPerformance
🇬🇷 Athens, Greece and 1 moreSirtakiσυρτάκι
A Greek folk dance created for a 1964 film that blends slow and fast rhythms into a single performance.Performance
🇵🇱 Poland and 2 morePolonaisePolonez
A traditional Polish partner dance in triple metre, kept as a national custom and UNESCO heritage.Performance
🇬🇧 Hinton St George, United KingdomPunkie Night
A Somerset Halloween custom where children carry mangelwurzel lanterns and sing for candles.Festival
🇸🇪 Sweden and 3 moreAdventadventus
A four-week Christian season of waiting and preparation for Christmas and the Second Coming.Festival
🇷🇺 Russia and 4 moreHousewarming party
A gathering held soon after moving into a new home to celebrate the space and welcome guests.Home
🇳🇴 Norway and 3 moreJulebukkingGå julebukk
A Scandinavian Christmas custom where masked visitors go door to door for songs and treats.Festival
🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreMaifest
A traditional German celebration marking the arrival of spring with decorated maypolesFestival
🇩🇪 Germany and 2 moreStammtisch
A weekly gathering of regulars at a reserved table in a pub or restaurant for conversation and community.Etiquette
🇬🇧 London, United KingdomChelsea Flower Show
A five-day May horticultural festival held in London by the Royal Horticultural SocietyFestival
🇳🇴 Bergen, NorwayBuekorps
Youth marching groups of Bergen's neighbourhoods, with drums, banners and a May paradeCeremony
🇪🇸 Seville, SpainHoly Week in SevilleSemana Santa de Sevilla
A week of solemn processions and floats through the streets of Seville to mark the Passion of Christ.Spiritual
🇬🇧 Lerwick, United KingdomUp Helly Aa
A Shetland fire festival with torch processions and a burning Viking ship to close the winter season.Festival
🇺🇦 Chernivtsi, Ukraine and 5 moreVyshyvanka DayДень вишиванки
An annual day for wearing traditional Ukrainian embroidered shirts across the worldDress
🇫🇷 Paris, France and 3 moreFête de la Musique
An annual celebration where people play music in public spaces on the summer solstice.Festival
🇮🇪 Ireland and 4 moreTrick-or-treating
A custom where children visit homes in costume to ask for treats or face a playful prank.Festival · Sweets given and shared
🇫🇷 France and 4 morePicnic
A meal taken outdoors in a park or scenic spot, often shared with friends and family.Festival · Lunch
🇪🇸 Seville, SpainSevillanas
A folk dance and song from Seville, kept at fairs and festivals across Andalusia.Performance
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreChristmas carol
Festive songs and hymns sung during the Christmas season and door to doorPerformance
🇪🇸 Spain and 5 moreArbor Day
An annual secular observance dedicated to planting and caring for trees around the worldCeremony
🇪🇸 Santiago de Compostela, SpainBotafumeiro
A giant swinging censer of brass and silver that fills the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral with incense during solemn fSpiritual
🇬🇧 Pilton, United KingdomGlastonbury Festival
A five-day summer performing arts festival held on Somerset farmlandFestival
🇬🇧 Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom and 5 moreRapper sword
A fast-paced five-person sword dance from the coalfields of North East England, kept alive by teams worldwide.Performance
🇬🇷 Athens, Greece and 1 moreTsamikoΤσάμικος
A slow Greek folk dance performed in a line or circle to 3/4 time music.Performance
🇨🇭 SwitzerlandSchwingen
A traditional Swiss folk wrestling style fought in sawdust ringsGame
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreApril Fools' Day
An annual day of lighthearted pranks, hoaxes and teasing kept on the first of AprilFestival
🇮🇪 Ireland and 2 moreJack-o'-lantern
A carved pumpkin lantern lit with a candle to brighten and protect Halloween nightsFolklore
🇪🇸 Ronda, Spain and 5 moreBullfightingCorrida de toros
A ritual contest between a bullfighter and a bull, kept in Spain and Latin AmericaGame
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreMumming
A medieval European custom of masked house-to-house visits, performances and seasonal revelry.Festival
🇪🇸 Pamplona, Spain and 3 moreRunning of the bullsencierro
Runners sprint ahead of loose bulls through barricaded town streets in summerFestival
🇬🇧 Cardiff, United KingdomNational Eisteddfod of WalesEisteddfod Genedlaethol Cymru
An annual week-long festival of Welsh music, poetry and culture held across different locations in Wales.Festival
🇮🇪 Dublin, Ireland and 2 moreIrish stepdance
A percussive dance form with swift, intricate footwork and an upright torsoPerformance
🇩🇰 Copenhagen, DenmarkFaroese chain danceFøroyskur dansur
A living medieval chain dance guided by sung ballads in the Faroe IslandsPerformance
🇪🇪 EstoniaJaanipäev
Estonia's midsummer night of bonfires, song and fortune-telling, on 23 and 24 JuneFestival
🇮🇪 Waterford, IrelandPatternpátrún
A parish feast honoring a patron saint, marked by prayers at holy wells and local gatherings in Ireland.Spiritual
🇬🇧 South Queensferry, United KingdomThe Burryman
A man clad in burdock burrs walks a Scottish town for a day, bringing luck as he goesFolklore
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Jack-o'-lantern: Toby Ord, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Trick-or-treating: Toyah Anette B, Public domain, source
- Christmas tree: Lechhansl, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Christmas: Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, Public domain, source
- Picnic: Thomas Cole, Public domain, source
- Running of the bulls: The original uploader was Bernard bill5 at Dutch Wikipedia . Later ver, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- The Burryman: Oliver Benton, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Buekorps: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Jaanipäev: Jaan Künnap, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Glastonbury Festival: Czampal, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Christmas carol: Prathyush Thomas, GFDL 1.2, source
- Vyshyvanka Day: Vladimir Yaitskiy, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- April Fools' Day: Lars Andersen, Public domain, source
- Irish traditional music: Gtapp, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Faroese chain dance: Eileen Sandá, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Irish stepdance: John Benson, CC BY 2.0, source
- Schwingen: Quejaytee, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- National Eisteddfod of Wales: Llywelyn2000, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Chelsea Flower Show: Nzfauna, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Bullfighting: No machine-readable author provided. Manuel González Olaechea assumed, CC BY 3.0, source
- Holy Week in Seville: Sevilla Congress & Convention Bureau, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Sevillanas: Anual, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Arbor Day: Jonathunder, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Advent: Jonathunder, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Julebukking: Wolfgang Sauber, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Botafumeiro: Luis Miguel Bugallo Sánchez ( Lmbuga Commons )( Lmbuga Galipedia ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Housewarming party: State Library of Queensland, Australia, No restrictions, source
- Mumming: Flemish illuminator Jehan de Grise and his workshop, 1338-1344, Public domain, source
- Sirtaki: Simon Bonaventure, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Up Helly Aa: Mike Pennington, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Fleadh Cheoil: Gfitz122, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Marchas Populares: Taisir85, CC BY 4.0, source
- Fête de la Musique: dalbera, CC BY 2.0, source
- Stammtisch: Nixalsverdruss, Public domain, source
- Name day: Sendker, Public domain, source
- Apple bobbing: Caleb Zahnd, CC BY 2.0, source
- Polonaise: Korneli Szlegel, Public domain, source
- Pattern: code poet, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Christmas Eve: Carl Larsson, Public domain, source
- Feast of Corpus Christi: Fennec ., Public domain, source
- Candlemas: Andrea Mantegna, Public domain, source
- Valentine's Day: Upload: Chordboard, Public domain, source