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.
🇷🇺 Moscow, RussiaChristmas in RussiaРождество Христово
An Orthodox winter feast marked by church vigils, fasting suppers and festive mealsSpiritual · Supper
🇪🇸 Barcelona, Spain and 4 moreCaganerEl Caganer
A defecating figurine placed in Catalan nativity scenes to bring good luck and fertilize the earth.Festival
🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreChuseok추석
A Korean harvest festival of ancestral rites, seasonal rice cakes, and folk gamesFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇭🇹 Port-au-Prince, HaitiIndependence Day
A national celebration of liberation, freedom, and unity observed every New Year's Day.Ceremony
🇪🇹 Ethiopia and 1 moreBuheቡሄ
An Orthodox feast day celebrated with neighborhood torches, songs, and gifts of breadSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreColumbus Day
An annual autumn holiday marking the 1492 arrival of Christopher Columbus in the AmericasCeremony
🇸🇳 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
🇧🇿 Dangriga, BelizeGarifuna Settlement Day
An annual Belizean holiday marking the arrival and heritage of the Garifuna peopleFestival
🇵🇱 PolandEaster in Poland
A spring holiday of family breakfasts, blessed baskets, decorated eggs, and water games.Festival · Breakfast
🇹🇭 Thailand and 5 moreAsalha Pujaอาสาฬหบูชา
A Theravada festival marking the Buddha's first sermon and the monastic orderSpiritual
🇵🇭 Manila, PhilippinesHoly Week in the PhilippinesMahal na Araw
An eight-day observance of the Passion, death, and resurrection of Christ in the Philippines.Spiritual
🇺🇸 United States and 4 moreBridal shower
A gift-giving party for a bride before her wedding, best known in North AmericaRite of passage
🇩🇴 Santo Domingo, Dominican RepublicDominican Carnival
A February street festival of masks, music and parades across the Dominican Republic.Festival
🇺🇸 Tahlequah, United StatesCherokee National Holiday
An annual gathering in Oklahoma marking the signing of the Cherokee ConstitutionFestival
🇲🇦 MoroccoThrone Dayعيد العرش
Morocco's annual national holiday marking the enthronement of the reigning kingCeremony
🇪🇹 Ethiopia and 1 moreFasikaፋሲካ
The celebration of Easter and the end of Lent across Ethiopia and EritreaSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇧🇪 Binche, BelgiumGillesGille
Costumed carnival figures of Binche and surrounding Belgian townsFestival
🇱🇦 Laos and 3 moreRocket Festivalບຸນບັ້ງໄຟ
A rainy-season festival of merit-making, music, parades and homemade rocketsFestival
🇷🇸 Serbia and 5 moreSerbian ChristmasБожић
A three-day midwinter observance focused on oak logs, floor straw and family gatheringsSpiritual · Dinner
🇫🇯 FijiFiji Week
A week of national celebration in Fiji marking independence and colonial history with cultural performances.Festival
🇹🇭 Bangkok, ThailandSongkranสงกรานต์
The three-day Thai New Year festival marked by water rituals and blessings for eldersFestival
🇷🇺 Moscow, Russia and 5 moreImmortal RegimentБессмертный полк (Bessmertnyy polk)
A civic procession where people carry portraits of relatives who served in the Second World War.Festival
🇨🇦 Canada and 2 moreMummering
A festive midwinter custom of disguised visits, music and playful guessing gamesFestival · Tea-time and snacking customs
🇺🇦 Kyiv, UkraineVertepвертеп
A two-tiered Ukrainian puppet theatre that mixes the nativity story with satirical comedy and folk music.Performance
🇵🇭 Bacolod, PhilippinesMassKara FestivalPista sang MassKara
A street festival of smiling masks, parades and music in Bacolod, PhilippinesFestival
🇮🇪 Ireland and 2 moreWren DayLá an Dreoilín
A Saint Stephen's Day custom where groups parade a stuffed wren on a decorated pole through their community.Festival
🇲🇽 Mexico City, MexicoMexican Revolution DayDía de la Revolución Mexicana
A Mexican civic holiday marking the 1910 uprising with parades and public ceremoniesCeremony
🇧🇪 Mons, BelgiumDucasse de Mons
An eight-day festival in Mons featuring a golden carriage and a dragon combatFestival
🇮🇹 Florence, ItalyScoppio del Carro
An Easter Sunday fireworks display ignited by a flying dove in FlorenceFestival
🇯🇵 Osaka, JapanTenjin Matsuri天神祭
A major Shinto festival in Osaka featuring a street procession and a river boat parade on the Okawa River.Festival
🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanSanja Matsuri三社祭
A loud three-day Shinto festival in Tokyo honoring the founders of Sensō-ji temple.Festival
🇺🇸 Washington, United StatesUnited States presidential inauguration
The formal swearing-in ceremony and celebrations for a new United States presidentCeremony
🇯🇵 Chichibu, JapanChichibu Night Festival秩父夜祭
A December shrine gathering in Chichibu featuring historic Japanese festival floats.Festival
🇺🇸 Philadelphia, United StatesMummers Parade
An annual New Year's Day street parade in Philadelphia featuring music and costumed clubsFestival
🇲🇽 Oaxaca, Mexico and 1 moreGuelaguetza
An annual Oaxacan festival of indigenous dance, music, costumes and communal sharingFestival
🇯🇵 Kyoto, JapanGozan no Okuribi五山送り火
Five giant bonfires lit across Kyoto's hills to bid farewell to ancestor spirits.Spiritual
🇦🇹 Salzburg, Austria and 5 morePerchta
A midwinter Alpine figure who checks spinning and tests good behaviourFolklore
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreCarol service
A Christmas church service of seasonal hymns, scripture readings and candlelightSpiritual
🇯🇵 Tokyo, Japan and 3 moreObonお盆 (Obon)
A Japanese Buddhist festival honoring the spirits of ancestors through dance, light, and family reunion.Festival
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreChapchar KutChapchâr Kût
A spring festival of dance and food kept by the Mizo people in Mizoram, India.Festival
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreThimithiதீமிதி
A South Indian firewalking festival honouring Draupadi Amman before DeepavaliSpiritual
🇮🇳 IndiaSanjhi
Autumn devotion honoring a mother goddess and sacred floor art of Radha and KrishnaSpiritual
🇮🇳 Ahmedabad, India and 1 moreGarbaगर्भ
A Gujarati circle dance performed around a sacred flame during the festival of NavratriPerformance
🇮🇳 Barsana, IndiaLathmar Holi
A playful spring festival in two Uttar Pradesh towns where women strike men with sticks to reenact a divine legend.Festival
🇮🇳 IndiaGanga Dussehra
A ten-day Hindu river festival celebrating the descent of the Ganges to earthSpiritual
🇲🇲 Yangon, Myanmar and 1 moreShinbyuရှင်ပြု
A Burmese Buddhist rite in which a boy goes forth as a novice monk, often at New YearRite of passage
🇮🇳 Kochi, IndiaVallam Kalivaḷḷaṃ kaḷi
A traditional canoe racing festival held across the waters of Kerala during OnamGame
🇮🇳 Kanchipuram, IndiaPanguni UthiramPaṅkuṉi Uttiram
A Tamil Hindu festival celebrating divine weddings and the virtues of married lifeSpiritual
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Christmas in Russia: Gzen92, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Caganer: Roeland P., CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Chuseok: by Joseph Steinberg (Baltimoron in Korea) at Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Buhe: Woyne, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Columbus Day: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Easter in Poland: Silar, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Asalha Puja: Chainwit., CC BY 4.0, source
- Holy Week in the Philippines: LMP 2001, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Bridal shower: The McClouds, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Dominican Carnival: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 2.0 de, source
- Gilles: Marie-Claire, CC BY 3.0, source
- Serbian Christmas: Petar Milošević, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Rocket Festival: Takeaway, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Songkran: ผู้สร้างสรรค์ผลงาน/ส่งข้อมูลเก็บในคลังข้อมูลเสรีวิกิมีเดียคอมมอนส์ - เ, CC BY 3.0, source
- Mummering: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jerry_curtis/, CC0, source
- Immortal Regiment: Presidential Press and Information Office, CC BY 4.0, source
- Vertep: Микола Василечко, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Wren Day: Manx James, CC0, source
- MassKara Festival: Ceslou, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Mexican Revolution Day: Ute Hagen, CC BY 2.0, source
- Ducasse de Mons: Jean-Pol GRANDMONT, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tenjin Matsuri: 663highland, CC BY 2.5, source
- Sanja Matsuri: View_of_mikoshi_from_sensoji_Sanja_Matsuri_2006-2.jpg : * View_of_miko, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- United States presidential inauguration: The White House, Public domain, source
- Chichibu Night Festival: ちちびあん, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Mummers Parade: Tyler McHenry at English Wikipedia ( Original text: Tyler McHenry (Thi, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Guelaguetza: A01321718, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Perchta: Holger Uwe Schmitt, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Gozan no Okuribi: J_o, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Obon: Batholith, Public domain, source
- Chapchar Kut: Ramesh Lalwani, CC BY 2.0, source
- Sanjhi: Veer jindal, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Garba: anurag agnihotri, CC BY 2.0, source
- Lathmar Holi: Original: Sachinghai09 Derivative work: Radomianin, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ganga Dussehra: Barry Silver, CC BY 2.0, source
- Shinbyu: Lionslayer, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Vallam Kali: Arun Sinha, CC BY 2.0, source
- Panguni Uthiram: Krithika.R.S, CC BY-SA 4.0, source