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.
🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreKorean New Year설날
A three-day Korean festival celebrating the lunisolar new year with family and feastsSeasonal
🇭🇷 Dubrovnik, CroatiaDubrovnik Summer FestivalDubrovačke ljetne igre
An annual summer celebration of theatre, music and dance held in the historic streets of Dubrovnik.Festival
🇫🇷 Nice, FranceNice CarnivalCarnaval de Nice
A two-week winter festival of papier-mâché floats and flower battles in Nice, FranceFestival
🇫🇷 Lyon, FranceFestival of LightsFête des lumières
A four-day festival in Lyon marking December 8 with illuminated windows and light artFestival
🇱🇰 Anuradhapura, Sri LankaSinhala New Yearඅලුත් අවුරුද්ද
The April solar New Year and harvest festival celebrated across Sri LankaSeasonal
🇱🇺 Nospelt, LuxembourgEmaischen
An Easter Monday market in Luxembourg known for small bird-shaped clay whistlesFestival
🇲🇰 Ohrid, North MacedoniaOhrid Summer FestivalОхридско лето
A summer season of concerts and theatre in Ohrid, running from mid-July to late AugustFestival
🇲🇦 Rabat, Morocco and 5 moreFantasiaالفانتازيا
A North African equestrian display of synchronized charging and simultaneous rifle fireGame
🇩🇿 AlgeriaMawlid in Algeriaيوم المولد النبوي
The Prophet Muhammad's birthday celebration in Algeria with family feasts and prayersFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇲🇹 Valletta, MaltaMaltese Carnivalil-Karnival ta' Malta
A lively week of costumed parades, dancing, satirical floats and sweets across Malta.Festival · Sweets given and shared
🇲🇹 Nadur, MaltaNadur Carnival
An unscripted five-day costume festival filling the streets of Nadur before LentFestival
🇺🇸 Pasadena, United StatesRose Parade
A New Year's Day floral parade of natural floats, bands and horses in CaliforniaFestival
🇺🇸 New York, United States and 1 moreEaster parade
A festive Easter Sunday stroll featuring stylish clothes and elaborate bonnetsFestival
🇺🇸 United StatesGreen Corn CeremonyPuskita
A Southeastern harvest and new year ceremony of fasting, dancing and renewalSeasonal
🇺🇸 New York City, United StatesWest Indian Day Parade
A lively Caribbean street procession held every September in Brooklyn, New YorkFestival
🇨🇦 Quebec City, CanadaQuebec Winter CarnivalCarnaval de Québec
A midwinter celebration of snow, outdoor sports and caribou in Quebec City.Festival · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇸🇪 Sweden and 3 moreGlögg
A spiced, warm winter wine served across Nordic countries around ChristmasTable custom · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇩🇰 DenmarkJul
Winter feasts, carols around the tree, and family gatherings across DenmarkFestival · Lunch
🇳🇴 Norway and 2 moreJulebord
A Scandinavian Christmas banquet of traditional dishes, festive drinks and celebrationTable custom · Feasts and festival meals
🇯🇵 Tokushima, JapanAwa Dance Festival阿波踊り
A summer street dance festival held in Tokushima during the Buddhist season of ObonFestival
🇹🇷 Turkey and 5 moreNewrozنەورۆز
A Kurdish spring festival and new year celebration marked by bonfires, dance, and the lighting of fires.Festival
🇵🇰 Lahore, Pakistan and 1 moreBasant
A Punjabi spring festival marked by rooftop kite flying, yellow clothing and fairsFestival · Sweets given and shared
🇮🇱 Tel Aviv, Israel and 1 moreAdloyadaעדלאידע
A humorous Purim parade in Israel featuring giant puppets and satirical floats.Festival
🇮🇳 Pushkar, IndiaPushkar FairKartik Mela
An annual camel and livestock fair with lake pilgrimage rites in Rajasthan, IndiaFestival
🇳🇱 Noordwijk, Netherlands and 1 moreBloemencorso
Annual parades of flower-covered floats and boats in the Netherlands and BelgiumFestival
🇳🇱 NetherlandsBloemencorso Bollenstreek
An annual mid-April parade of flower-covered floats across the Dutch bulb regionFestival
🇧🇪 Bruges, BelgiumProcession of the Holy BloodHeilig Bloedprocessie
An annual sacred parade and historical pageant through the streets of Bruges, Belgium.Spiritual
🇮🇹 Florence, ItalyCalcio storico fiorentino
A fierce Renaissance ball game played on sand between four Florentine districtsGame
🇪🇸 Valencia, SpainFallasFalles de València
Valencia's five-day March fiesta of giant paper figures and bonfiresFestival
🇨🇴 Medellín, ColombiaFestival of the FlowersFeria de las Flores
An annual week-long celebration of floral craft and regional culture in MedellínFestival
🇱🇹 Vilnius, Lithuania and 3 moreSaint Casimir's FairKaziuko mugė
A spring craft market and folk celebration across the historic streets of VilniusCraft
🇨🇳 Suzhou, China and 3 moreDongzhi冬至
A midwinter festival celebrating the return of light with family feasts and dumplingsSeasonal · Dinner
🇱🇺 Luxembourg City, LuxembourgSchueberfouer
An annual late-summer funfair and historic fair held in Luxembourg CityFestival
🇲🇳 Ölgii, MongoliaGolden Eagle FestivalБүргэдийн баяр
An annual gathering in western Mongolia celebrating Kazakh eagle hunting and horsemanshipFestival
🇧🇸 Bahamas and 3 moreJunkanoo
A Caribbean masquerade festival of masked dancing, goatskin drumming, and cowbellsFestival
🇺🇾 Montevideo, UruguayCarnival in Uruguay
An extended festival of drum processions, stage satire, and dance across Uruguay.Festival
🇪🇹 Lalibela, Ethiopia and 1 moreTimkatጥምቀት
The Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Epiphany celebrating the baptism of JesusSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇪🇹 Lalibela, Ethiopia and 1 moreEthiopian Christmasገና
The Christian Nativity feast, marked by night vigils, white garments and field hockeySpiritual
🇧🇩 Dhaka, BangladeshPohela Falgunপহেলা ফাল্গুন
A Bangladeshi festival welcoming the first day of spring with music and flowersSeasonal
🇬🇭 Accra, GhanaChale Wote Street Art Festival
An annual street art festival in Accra featuring murals, theater, and music.Performance
🇨🇭 Basel, SwitzerlandCarnival of BaselBasler Fasnacht
A 72-hour masked carnival of drums, flutes and satire in northern SwitzerlandFestival
🇧🇪 Binche, BelgiumCarnival of BincheCarnaval de Binche
A Belgian pre-Lenten festival known for masked dancers and orange tossingFestival
🇷🇸 Guča, SerbiaGuča Trumpet FestivalФестивал трубача у Гучи
A weekend brass band competition and folk festival in western SerbiaFestival
🇮🇳 IndiaPushkaram
A river worship festival rotating across twelve sacred Indian rivers over twelve yearsSpiritual
🇮🇳 IndiaVat PurnimaVaṭapūrṇimā
An annual Hindu festival where married women fast and pray around a banyan treeSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇮🇳 Hyderabad, India and 3 moreBonalu
An annual festival of thanksgiving to Goddess Mahakali across Telangana, IndiaFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇺🇸 United StatesMakahiki
A four-month Hawaiian new year season of peace, harvest gifts, feasts and gamesSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇧🇷 Salvador, BrazilLavagem do Bonfim
An annual inter-religious procession and cleansing ritual in Salvador, BrazilSpiritual
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Gilles: Marie-Claire, CC BY 3.0, source
- Korean New Year: Kang Byeong Kee, CC BY 3.0, source
- Dubrovnik Summer Festival: Roberta F., CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Nice Carnival: Honeydew, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Festival of Lights: Corentin Eustacchi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sinhala New Year: Anna Anichkova, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Emaischen: Christian Ries, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Fantasia: Jfcapdet, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Mawlid in Algeria: Hammiche Hakim, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Maltese Carnival: Ronny Siegel, CC BY 3.0, source
- Nadur Carnival: Thyes, Public domain, source
- Rose Parade: Prayitno / Thank you for (12 millions +) view, CC BY 2.0, source
- Easter parade: Meister der Palastkapelle in Palermo, Public domain, source
- Green Corn Ceremony: George Catlin, Public domain, source
- West Indian Day Parade: Fordmadoxfraud, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Quebec Winter Carnival: Shapiros10, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Glögg: Mr.choppers, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Jul: Erik Christensen, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Julebord: Holger.Ellgaard, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Awa Dance Festival: Rosino, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Newroz: Salar Arkan - سالار ارکان, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Basant: Haseeb Ahmad Farooqi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Adloyada: ד"ר אבישי טייכר, CC BY 2.5, source
- Pushkar Fair: sheetal saini, CC BY 2.0, source
- Bloemencorso: Dekraaie, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Bloemencorso Bollenstreek: W. Bulach, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Procession of the Holy Blood: Cbl62, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Calcio storico fiorentino: Stradanus / After Giorgio Vasari, Public domain, source
- Fallas: Goodnighmoon, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Festival of the Flowers: SajoR, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Saint Casimir's Fair: Sirex at Lithuanian Wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Dongzhi: N509FZ, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Schueberfouer: Denise Hastert, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Golden Eagle Festival: Altaihunters, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Junkanoo: WikiPedant, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Carnival in Uruguay: Graham Stanley, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Timkat: Jean Rebiffé, CC BY 4.0, source
- Ethiopian Christmas: Tanjagari, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Pohela Falgun: Ashraf Siddiqui, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Chale Wote Street Art Festival: Fquasie, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Carnival of Basel: Claude TRUONG-NGOC, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Guča Trumpet Festival: svickova, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Pushkaram: Adityamadhav83, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Vat Purnima: Kiran Gopi, CC BY-SA 2.5 in, source
- Bonalu: Randhirreddy at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Lavagem do Bonfim: Adenilson Nunes/ AGECOM, CC BY 2.0, source
- Makahiki: Unknown author, Public domain, source