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.
🇨🇱 Santiago, Chile and 3 moreCueca
A courtship dance of Chile and the Andes where partners trace circles with handkerchiefs to mimic a rooster and hen.Performance
🇵🇷 Ponce, Puerto Rico and 1 morePlena
Puerto Rican folk songs and dance sharing community news with rhythmic frame drumsPerformance
🇧🇿 Dangriga, Belize and 4 morePunta rock
A fast-paced Garifuna dance music mixing traditional percussion with electric guitarsPerformance
🇨🇱 ChileNgillatun
A communal Mapuche rite of prayer, sacrifice and dance to maintain cosmic balanceSpiritual
🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago and 3 moreSteelpan
A tuned percussion tradition forged from industrial steel containers in TrinidadPerformance
🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago and 5 moreMoko Jumbie
A stilt-walking tradition from the Caribbean that blends African heritage with local carnival celebrations.Performance
🇭🇹 Haiti and 1 moreRara
A Haitian street music of bamboo trumpets and drums, played in the Easter seasonPerformance
🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro, BrazilRio CarnivalCarnaval do Rio de Janeiro
Five days of samba parades, costumes and street parties in Rio, ending at LentFestival
🇧🇷 BrazilForró
Music, dance and party from Brazil's Northeast, with accordion, triangle and zabumba drumPerformance
🇧🇷 BrazilBaião
A syncopated folk rhythm and partnered dance from northeastern BrazilPerformance
🇱🇨 Saint Lucia and 1 moreJounen Kwéyòl
A day of Creole food, music and dress in Saint Lucia and Dominica, kept each OctoberFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇦🇷 Córdoba, ArgentinaCuarteto
An upbeat partner dance and music tradition born in Córdoba, ArgentinaPerformance
🇺🇾 Montevideo, UruguayNostalgia NightNoche de la Nostalgia
Uruguay's nationwide retro music and dance celebration held every 24 AugustFestival
🇩🇲 Dominica and 4 moreBéléBèlè
A Caribbean drum, call-and-response song, and courtship dance traditionPerformance
🇨🇱 Rancagua, Chile and 1 moreChilean rodeo
A Chilean equestrian sport and weekend festival contested in a crescent-shaped arenaGame
🇧🇷 Belém, BrazilCarimbó
A dance and music genre from the Amazon region of Brazil, centered around a wooden drum.Performance
🇭🇳 Honduras and 4 morePunta
A lively dance and music style of the Garifuna people, celebrated in Central America and the Caribbean.Performance
🇧🇴 Potosí, BoliviaTinku
A ritual combat and dance from northern Potosí, Bolivia, honoring Pachamama through ceremonial fighting and performance.Festival
🇧🇧 BarbadosTuk band
A Barbadian musical ensemble with costumed figures that blends African drumming and British military traditions.Performance
🇹🇹 Chaguanas, Trinidad and Tobago and 1 moreDivali Nagar
An annual cultural exposition in Trinidad and Tobago celebrating Hindu traditions during the Diwali season.Festival
🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro, BrazilJongo
A nightlong dance and music gathering kept by Afro-Brazilian communities in the southeast of Brazil.Performance
🇵🇷 Ponce, Puerto RicoVejigante
A masked folkloric character in Puerto Rican festivals, wearing ornate masks and performing a role of mischief or resistFestival
🇧🇷 Recife, Brazil and 1 moreMaracatu
A set of Afro-Brazilian performance traditions from Pernambuco and Ceará featuring drumming, dance, and royal pageantry.Performance
🇧🇴 Oruro, Bolivia and 3 moreMorenada
A Bolivian folk dance featuring heavy masks and rattling instruments, performed in festivals across the Andes.Performance
🇵🇪 Cusco, Peru and 2 moreInti Raymi
A major Andean festival honoring the sun god Inti and marking the winter solstice in Cusco.Festival
🇨🇴 Barranquilla, ColombiaBarranquilla CarnivalCarnaval de Barranquilla
A four-day street festival of music, masquerade and dance in coastal ColombiaFestival
🇸🇷 Paramaribo, Suriname and 1 moreKetikotiKeti Koti
An annual Emancipation Day marking the end of slavery in Suriname and the NetherlandsFestival
🇨🇴 Pasto, ColombiaBlacks and Whites' CarnivalCarnaval de Negros y Blancos
A week of street games, parades and music held every January in Pasto, ColombiaFestival
🇧🇴 Oruro, BoliviaCarnival of OruroEl carnaval de Oruro
A Bolivian festival of masked pilgrimage dances honoring the Virgin of the MineshaftFestival
🇵🇪 Lima, PeruLord of MiraclesSeñor de los Milagros
An October Catholic festival in Lima honouring a miraculous mural of ChristSpiritual · Sweets given and shared
🇵🇪 Cusco, PeruQoyllur Rit'iQuyllurit'i
An Andean mountain pilgrimage uniting indigenous star lore and Catholic devotionSpiritual
🇹🇹 Port of Spain, Trinidad and TobagoCanboulay
An early Trinidadian celebration that shaped modern Carnival and calypso musicFestival
🇹🇹 Trinidad and TobagoTrinidad and Tobago Carnival
An annual festival of street parades, masquerade bands, steelpan music and danceFestival
🇧🇴 La Paz, Bolivia and 1 moreAlasitasFeria de la Alasita
A month-long Bolivian fair where people exchange miniatures to invite good fortuneFestival
🇭🇹 Port-au-Prince, HaitiHaitian CarnivalKanaval
Haiti's annual street festival of music, satirical plays and costumed paradesFestival · Tea-time and snacking customs
🇨🇴 Cali, ColombiaCali FairLa Feria de Cali
A six-day Colombian celebration of salsa music, street parades, and regional cultureFestival
🇯🇲 Montego Bay, JamaicaReggae Sumfest
An annual week-long reggae and dancehall music festival in Montego Bay, JamaicaFestival
🇧🇧 BarbadosCrop Over
A Barbadian harvest festival marking the end of the sugar cane season with music and parades.Festival
🇪🇨 Latacunga, EcuadorMama Negra
A twice-yearly festival in Latacunga blending Andean, Spanish and African heritageFestival
🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago and 3 moreHosay
An Indo-Caribbean Muharram commemoration with ornate floats, drumming and processionsSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇧🇴 Oruro, Bolivia and 3 moreDiabladaDanza de los Diablos
An Andean masked dance depicting a battle between devils and the Archangel MichaelPerformance
🇨🇺 Santiago de Cuba, CubaCarnival of Santiago de CubaCarnaval
A summer street celebration of percussion troupes, dancing, and parades in eastern CubaFestival
🇦🇷 ArgentinaDía de la Tradición
An annual Argentine day celebrating gaucho customs on poet José Hernández's birthdayCeremony
🇺🇾 Montevideo, Uruguay and 3 moreMurga
A lively Carnival musical theatre of chorus, percussion and social satirePerformance
🇨🇺 Remedios, CubaParrandas
Central Cuban street festivals featuring district rumba music, floats and fireworksFestival
🇬🇾 Georgetown, GuyanaMashramani
Guyana's national republic celebration filled with street pageantry, music and dance.Festival
🇨🇱 Santiago, ChileFiestas Patrias
Chile's homeland festivities celebrating national identity with music, dance, and foodCeremony
🇩🇴 Santiago, Dominican Republic and 3 moreMerengue
A fast-paced folk dance and music tradition born in the Dominican RepublicPerformance
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Barranquilla Carnival: el heraldo, Public domain, source
- Inti Raymi: Cyntia Motta, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Trinidad and Tobago Carnival: Jean-Marc /Jo BeLo/Jhon-John, CC BY 2.0, source
- Carnival of Oruro: Pame82s, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Qoyllur Rit'i: AgainErick, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Alasitas: Ener6, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Haitian Carnival: User:Doron, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Cali Fair: Jyon, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Reggae Sumfest: Psycler who is also known as AlfredMoya.com for Jamaica MAX, CC BY 3.0, source
- Mama Negra: Agencia de Noticias ANDES, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Hosay: Julius Eduard Muller, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Forró: As fotos da Virada!, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Diablada: Elemaki, CC BY 3.0, source
- Carnival of Santiago de Cuba: Christian Pirkl, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Día de la Tradición: GCBA, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Murga: Mediared, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Parrandas: Juan ramon colina, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Rara: Lombinodr Alfonso Lomba, CC BY 3.0, source
- Mashramani: King sheik at English Wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Fiestas Patrias: Osmar Valdebenito, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Merengue: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Cueca: Manuel Antonio Caro, Public domain, source
- Plena: Raylaur15, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ngillatun: Francisco Cavallo, Public domain, source
- Steelpan: Shanel, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Chilean rodeo: Marco Antonio Correa Flores, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Carimbó: Palácio do Planalto, CC BY 2.0, source
- Punta: Pitxiquin, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tinku: CassandraW1, CC BY 2.0, source
- Tuk band: Ronaldwalcott, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Jongo: Vanessa Freitas, Public domain, source
- Vejigante: Oscar Rohena, CC BY 2.0, source
- Maracatu: Prefeitura de Olinda, CC BY 2.0, source
- Morenada: Alfredobi, CC BY 3.0, source
- Moko Jumbie: COD Newsroom, CC BY 2.0, source
- Rio Carnival: Sergio Luiz, CC BY 2.0, source
- Lord of Miracles: Miguel Chong, Public domain, source
- Ketikoti: StarNieuws, CC BY 3.0, source
- Blacks and Whites' Carnival: camiloAndres, CC BY 2.0, source