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.
🇪🇹 Ethiopia and 1 moreEnkutatashእንቁጣጣሽ
The Ethiopian New Year festival of song, yellow daisies and family feastsSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇳 IndiaBathukammaబతుకమ్మ
A nine-day floral festival celebrated by women across Telangana and Andhra PradeshFestival
🇮🇳 IndiaChaturmasyaचातुर्मास्य
A four-month sacred monsoon season of fasting, vows, and monastic retreat in IndiaSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇰🇷 Boryeong, South KoreaBoryeong Mud Festival보령머드축제
A summer festival of mud baths, slides and music on the coast of South KoreaFestival
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreCheti Chandچيٽي چنڊ
The Sindhi New Year festival celebrating the arrival of spring and JhulelalSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇳 Tiruvannamalai, India and 1 moreKarthika DeepamKārtikai Tīpam
A Tamil and Malayali Hindu festival of lights honouring Shiva, Kartikeya and ParvatiSpiritual · Sweets given and shared
🇲🇰 Galičnik, North MacedoniaGaličnik Wedding FestivalГаличка свадба
An annual village wedding festival celebrated every July in North MacedoniaFestival
🇨🇭 Vevey, SwitzerlandFête des Vignerons
A once-in-a-generation wine festival and arena spectacle in Vevey, SwitzerlandFestival · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇺🇸 New York, United States and 1 moreFeast of San GennaroFesta di San Gennaro
A patronal festival of parades, street food and prayer honouring Saint JanuariusFestival · Tea-time and snacking customs
🇮🇳 IndiaAyudha Pujaआयुध पूजा
A Hindu festival blessing the tools, vehicles, books and instruments of daily workSpiritual
🇮🇳 Kohima, IndiaHornbill Festival
A ten-day December gathering of Nagaland's ethnic groups, held at Kisama near KohimaFestival
🇮🇳 Kolkata, IndiaDurga Puja in Kolkataকলকাতার দুর্গাপূজা
The grand annual autumn festival honouring the mother goddess Durga across KolkataSpiritual
🇨🇦 Canada and 5 moreTartan DayLà an Tartain
An annual celebration of Scottish culture, clan tartans, and diaspora heritageFestival
🇳🇬 Kano, NigeriaDurbar festival
An equestrian gathering marking Muslim holidays across northern Nigerian emiratesFestival
🇨🇦 CanadaThanksgivingAction de grâce
An annual Canadian autumn holiday celebrating the harvest with family feastsFestival · Dinner
🇦🇱 Elbasan, Albania and 3 moreDita e Verës
An Albanian spring festival of bonfires, sweets and nature renewal on March 14Seasonal
🇪🇬 Cairo, EgyptSham Ennessimشم النسيم
An Egyptian spring festival of picnics, salted fish, green onions and painted eggsSeasonal
🇮🇩 IndonesiaGalungan
A Balinese Hindu festival welcoming ancestral spirits and honouring good over evilSpiritual
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreDol Purnima
A Hindu spring festival honouring Radha and Krishna with swing processions and colourFestival
🇮🇳 Sambalpur, IndiaNuakhai
An agricultural festival in Western Odisha welcoming the first rice of the seasonSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇳 Guwahati, IndiaBohag Bihu
A multi-day Assamese New Year festival of cattle rites, music, gifts and feastsSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇱🇰 Kandy, Sri LankaEsala Perahera
A Sri Lankan procession of sacred relics, drummers and elephants honouring the BuddhaSpiritual
🇮🇳 Cuttack, IndiaBali Jatraବାଲିଯାତ୍ରା
An Odia festival and vast open fair commemorating ancient voyages across the seaFestival
🇬🇪 Tbilisi, GeorgiaTbilisobaთბილისობა
An annual October festival celebrating the culture, harvest, and history of TbilisiFestival
🇨🇳 Lhasa, China and 2 moreSho Dun Festivalཞོ་སྟོན། (Tibetan), 雪頓節 (Chinese)
A summer festival in Lhasa where a monks' retreat ends with yogurt and all-day operaFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇳 Puri, IndiaRajaRaja Parba (Odia: ରଜ ପର୍ବ)
A three-day festival of womanhood and earth in Odisha, celebrating the monsoon and fertility.Festival
🇸🇪 SwedenJul
A midwinter holiday of feast tables, doorstep gift givers, and candlelit morningsSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇳 Madurai, IndiaGoluபொம்மை கொலு
An autumn festival display of stepped dolls and figurines in South Indian homesFestival · Sweets given and shared
🇮🇳 Chidambaram, India and 1 moreThiruvathira
A Hindu festival celebrating Shiva's cosmic dance, observed in Tamil Nadu and Kerala with fasting, processions, and dancFestival
🇬🇭 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
🇵🇭 Kalibo, PhilippinesAti-Atihan
A week of drumbeats, street dancing, and devotion to the Infant Jesus in AklanFestival
🇹🇳 Douz, TunisiaInternational Festival of the Sahara
A four-day gathering celebrating desert life, horse racing and poetry in Douz, TunisiaFestival
🇺🇸 Washington, United StatesNational Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation
An annual White House ceremony in which the American president spares a holiday turkey.Ceremony
🇬🇭 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
🇮🇳 IndiaMagh Bihu
A harvest festival of bonfires, feasts and winter games in AssamSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇨🇲 Douala, CameroonNgondo
An annual coastal water festival celebrated by the Sawa people in CameroonFestival
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreWangala
A post-harvest thanksgiving festival of drums, dance and song among the Garo peopleFestival · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇮🇳 Guwahati, IndiaAmbubachi Melaঅম্বুবাচী মেলা
An annual gathering at Kamakhya Temple marking the earth's seasonal fertility.Spiritual
🇵🇭 Baguio, PhilippinesPanagbenga Festival
A month-long flower festival and parade in the mountain city of BaguioFestival
🇳🇬 Oyo, Nigeria and 3 moreSango Festival
An annual Yoruba gathering in Nigeria honoring the deity of thunder and lightningFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇺🇿 Bukhara, UzbekistanNavruzNavroʻz
The spring equinox festival celebrated across Uzbekistan with sumalak and family visits.Seasonal · Sweets given and shared
🇳🇬 NigeriaIgbo New Yam FestivalIri ji
A harvest thanksgiving and feast marking the first yam crop among the Igbo of NigeriaSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇩 Yogyakarta, IndonesiaSekatenꦱꦼꦏꦠꦺꦤ꧀
A week-long Javanese royal festival and market honouring the birth of the ProphetFestival
🇲🇾 Malaysia and 1 moreGawai DayakAri Gawai
An annual harvest and thanksgiving festival of the Dayak peoples in BorneoSeasonal
🇮🇩 IndonesiaBau Nyale
An annual night-time gathering on Lombok to collect spawning sea worms from the shoreFestival
🇫🇷 France and 5 moreRéveillon
A luxurious late-night feast that stretches until dawn across the winter holidaysTable custom · Dinner
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation: Trump White House Archived, Public domain, source
- Golu: Ksiva21, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Jul: Holger.Ellgaard, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Boryeong Mud Festival: Stinkie Pinkie, CC BY 2.0, source
- Enkutatash: Nati Tad, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Dol Purnima: Satyabrata sahoo369, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Fetu Afahye: Kofiarkohbaidoo, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Galungan: Davidelit, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Dita e Verës: Bibiomn, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Thanksgiving: Lars Plougmann, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Sham Ennessim: Ikonact, 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
- Sekaten: Kembangraps, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Gawai Dayak: Zahirulnukman, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tartan Day: daniel2177, CC BY 2.0, source
- Durga Puja in Kolkata: Biswarup Ganguly, CC BY 3.0, source
- Dipo: FatawuY1, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ati-Atihan: Bernardo "Berniemack" Arellano III, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Cheti Chand: Coolross ( talk ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Bathukamma: Randhirreddy at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Bohag Bihu: Diganta Talukdar, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Nuakhai: Mamata Padhi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ngondo: Photokadaffi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Magh Bihu: Diganta Talukdar, CC BY 2.0, source
- Thiruvathira: Kalakki at Malayalam Wikipedia, CC BY 2.5, source
- New Yam Festival: Adimora chidinma, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Raja: Saroj Bal, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Sango Festival: Demola Ajayi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Navruz: dalbera, CC BY 2.0, source
- Feast of San Gennaro: MusikAnimal, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Bau Nyale: Focusfeel, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Fête des Vignerons: "Groupement des photographes officiels" / Fête des vignerons Vevey / S, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Panagbenga Festival: lolay, CC BY 2.0, source
- Ambubachi Mela: Kunal Dalui, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Sho Dun Festival: No machine-readable author provided. John Hill assumed (based on copyr, CC BY 2.5, source
- Karthika Deepam: SriniG, Public domain, source
- Tbilisoba: DDohler, CC BY 2.0, source
- Esala Perahera: Ashan96, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Bali Jatra: Kamalakanta777, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Eyo Festival: Slashme, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Galičnik Wedding Festival: IvanaKrstik, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ayudha Puja: Augustus Binu / facebook, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Hornbill Festival: Vikramjit Kakati, CC BY-SA 4.0, source