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.
🇬🇭 Ghana and 2 moreAgbadza
An Ewe music and dance, born of war songs and kept for funerals, weddings and festivalsPerformance
🇿🇦 South Africa and 1 moreDay of the VowGeloftedag
A religious public holiday in South Africa kept by Afrikaners to honour a vow made before the Battle of Blood River.Festival
🇺🇬 UgandaKwanjula
A formal marriage introduction ritual of the Baganda people in Uganda, where families meet to exchange gifts and seek blRite of passage
🇹🇿 Zanzibar, TanzaniaSauti za Busara
A February meeting of musicians in Zanzibar's Old FortPerformance
🇸🇳 Senegal and 1 moreSabar
A traditional Wolof and Serer drum played in Senegal and The Gambia, accompanying dance at weddings and festivals.Performance
🇦🇴 AngolaSemba
A traditional style of music and partner dance from AngolaPerformance
🇳🇬 Osogbo, NigeriaOsun-Osogbo FestivalOsun-Osogbo
An annual Yoruba festival of cleansing, procession and sacrifice to the river goddess Osun in Osogbo, Nigeria.Festival
🇧🇯 Ouidah, BeninVodun DaysFête du Vodoun
A Benin public holiday on January 10 honoring the Vodoun religion with rituals and community gatherings.Festival
🇳🇬 Ibadan, Nigeria and 1 moreYoruba naming ceremonyÌkòlọ́pọ̀ Orúkọ Yorùbá
A rite of passage where a newborn receives a destiny name through divination and family celebration.Rite of passage · Feasts and festival meals
🇳🇪 In-Gall, NigerCure Salée
A yearly gathering of Tuareg and Wodaabe nomads in In-Gall to mark the end of the rainy season.Festival
🇪🇹 Ethiopia and 1 moreHabesha coffee ceremonyቡና ማፍላት
A daily ritual of roasting, grinding and serving coffee to welcome guests in Ethiopia and EritreaEtiquette
🇸🇴 SomaliaBuraanbur
A traditional Somali poetic form composed by women, recited with drums and dance at weddings and gatherings.Performance
🇨🇻 Cape VerdeFunaná
An accordion and iron-scraper music and couple dance from Cape VerdePerformance
🇳🇬 Calabar, NigeriaCalabar Carnival
An annual December street festival and cultural gathering held in Calabar, NigeriaFestival
🇸🇳 Dakar, Senegal and 1 moreSenegalese wrestlingLaamb (Wolof), Njom (Serer)
A striking folk wrestling sport from Senegal that blends combat with oral poetry and music.Game
🇳🇬 Oyo, Nigeria and 1 moreEgungunEgúngún
Yoruba ancestral masquerades bringing blessings, counsel and moral renewalSpiritual
🇸🇳 Senegal and 1 moreKumpo
A palm-leaf figure of the Diola, danced at village festivals to urge good conductFolklore
🇲🇿 Island of Mozambique, MozambiqueTufo
A women's dance of northern Mozambique, performed at Islamic feasts to drums and songPerformance
🇳🇬 Onitsha, NigeriaAgbogho MmuoAgbọghọ Mmụọ
An Igbo masked dance celebrating maidenhood and the female spiritPerformance
🇳🇬 Enugu, NigeriaAtilogwu
A high-energy Igbo youth dance featuring acrobatics, drum music and rhythmic jumps.Performance
🇧🇯 Porto-Novo, Benin and 3 moreZangbeto
A traditional security institution and night-guardian cult among the Ogu people of West Africa.Ceremony
🇳🇪 In-Gall, Niger and 2 moreGuérewol
A week-long courtship ritual where Wodaabe men dance and sing to win the attention of marriageable women.Festival
🇿🇦 South AfricaHeritage DayErfenisdag
A nationwide South African public holiday honouring the country's diverse culturesCeremony
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 2 moreGeledeGẹlẹdẹ
A Yoruba masked dance festival honoring the spiritual power of mothers and social harmony.Festival
🇪🇹 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and 1 moreMeskelመስቀል (Mesk'el)
A celebration in Ethiopia and Eritrea marking the discovery of the True Cross with a large bonfire.Spiritual
🇳🇬 Argungu, NigeriaArgungu Fishing Festival
A four-day gathering in Nigeria where thousands compete to land giant river fishFestival
🇹🇿 Zanzibar City, TanzaniaZanzibar International Film Festival
An annual ten-day arts, music and cinema gathering held across Zanzibar.Performance
🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo and 5 moreCongolese rumba
An African dance music and guitar tradition born along the Congo RiverPerformance
🇬🇭 Ghana and 3 moreDamba festivalDamba chuɣu
A Ghanaian celebration of royal authority, ancestral memory, music and danceFestival
🇪🇹 Ethiopia and 2 moreSigdስግድ
An Ethiopian Jewish holiday of covenant renewal, fasting, and longing for ZionSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇬🇭 Accra, GhanaHomowo
A harvest festival of the Ga people in Ghana to remember surviving famineFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇪🇹 Ethiopia and 1 moreEnkutatashእንቁጣጣሽ
The Ethiopian New Year festival of song, yellow daisies and family feastsSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇳🇬 Kano, NigeriaDurbar festival
An equestrian gathering marking Muslim holidays across northern Nigerian emiratesFestival
🇬🇭 Cape Coast, GhanaFetu Afahye
A harvest festival of cleansing, boat races and royal durbars in Cape Coast, GhanaFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇳🇬 Lagos, NigeriaEyo FestivalAdamu Orisha Play
A Yoruba masquerade procession honouring departed leaders and royalty in LagosFestival
🇳🇬 NigeriaIgbo New Yam FestivalIri ji
A harvest thanksgiving and feast marking the first yam crop among the Igbo of NigeriaSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇳🇬 Oyo, Nigeria and 3 moreSango Festival
An annual Yoruba gathering in Nigeria honoring the deity of thunder and lightningFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇬🇭 Odumase Krobo, GhanaDipo
An annual Ghanaian coming-of-age ceremony welcoming Krobo girls into womanhoodRite of passage
🇬🇭 Akropong, GhanaOdwira Festival
An annual harvest and purification festival celebrated by the Akuapem in GhanaFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇨🇲 Douala, CameroonNgondo
An annual coastal water festival celebrated by the Sawa people in CameroonFestival
🇸🇳 Touba, Senegal and 1 moreGrand Magal of Touba
An annual pilgrimage to the holy city of Touba in Senegal, kept by followers of the Mouride Sufi order.Spiritual
🇪🇹 Ethiopia and 1 moreBuheቡሄ
An Orthodox feast day celebrated with neighborhood torches, songs, and gifts of breadSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇿🇦 Nongoma, South AfricaUmkhosi Wokweshwama
The annual Zulu first fruits and harvest festival held around the December solsticeSeasonal
🇬🇭 GhanaPanafest
A biennial Ghanaian festival uniting Africans and the diaspora through arts and healingFestival
🇪🇹 Mekelle, EthiopiaAshendaአሸንዳ
An Ethiopian festival celebrating women and girls with song, dance and tall grass attireFestival
🇬🇭 GhanaAdae Festival
A sacred day of rest and ancestral rites observed across the Ashanti Region in GhanaSpiritual
🇷🇼 RwandaKwita Izina
Rwanda's yearly ceremony naming newborn mountain gorillas, after a baby-naming customRite of passage
🇲🇬 MadagascarFandroana
The Merina new year of Madagascar's highlands, with zebu feasting and a royal bathFestival · Feasts and festival meals
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Cure Salée: NigerTZai, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Argungu Fishing Festival: Jaekel, Francis., Public domain, source
- Agbadza: JY midey, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Congolese rumba: Jeanne Vu Van, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Meskel: DanielGirmaTsige, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Zanzibar International Film Festival: Peter Bennett / ZIFF, CC BY 2.0, source
- Sigd: האגודה הישראלית למען יהודי אתיופיה, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Damba festival: Bash222, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Enkutatash: Nati Tad, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Fetu Afahye: Kofiarkohbaidoo, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kwita Izina: Thesmiler de, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Durbar festival: Omotayo Tajudeen, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Odwira Festival: Duncanoff, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kumpo: Pietervp, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tufo: JCPBFerreira, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Dipo: FatawuY1, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ashenda: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Umkhosi Wokweshwama: 撮影者はカールおじさんです。, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Buhe: Woyne, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ngondo: Photokadaffi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Semba: Thesupermat, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Calabar Carnival: Raji kunle, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Egungun: Ìṣẹ̀ṣeAssembly, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Agbogho Mmuo: Vivian Amalachukwu, CC BY 4.0, source
- Zangbeto: Grete Howard, CC BY 3.0, source
- Guérewol: Dan Lundberg, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Osun-Osogbo Festival: Cheeka 2.0, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Atilogwu: Arch-Angel Raphael the Artist, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sabar: AbaDiop, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Day of the Vow: South African Railways and Harbours public relations department, Public domain, source
- Senegalese wrestling: Pierre-Yves Beaudouin, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Habesha coffee ceremony: sameffron, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Vodun Days: Eureka9090, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Funaná: Xandu, Public domain, source
- Gelede: Gogeafrica, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- New Yam Festival: Adimora chidinma, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Homowo: Agbleyjill, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sango Festival: Demola Ajayi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Eyo Festival: Slashme, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Heritage Day: CoralBrowne, CC BY-SA 4.0, source