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.
🇫🇮 FinlandChristmas in Finlandjoulu
A quiet midwinter festival of saunas, grave candles and table casseroles across FinlandSeasonal · Dinner
🇪🇸 Spain and 1 moreTió de Nadal
A Catalan Christmas tradition where a decorated log is fed and beaten to produce small gifts for children.Festival
🇪🇸 Alicante, SpainBonfires of Saint John in AlicanteFogueres de Sant Joan
A midsummer festival of towering satirical monuments, music and fire in AlicanteFestival
🇷🇺 Moscow, Russia and 5 moreNovy GodНовый Год
A secular winter celebration of decorated trees, family feasts and midnight giftsFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇵🇸 Jericho, PalestineNabi Musaٱلنَّبِي مُوْسَى
An annual Palestinian Muslim pilgrimage and festival honoring the prophet MosesSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇰🇪 Nairobi, KenyaMadaraka Day
Kenya's annual public holiday marking the start of self-governance on 1 June 1963Ceremony
🇷🇺 Moscow, Russia and 5 morePalm Sunday
A Christian Sunday feast marking Jesus's entry into Jerusalem with blessed branches.Spiritual
🇧🇬 Bulgaria and 1 moreBaba MartaБаба Марта
A Bulgarian day on 1 March, when red and white martenitsi are given and wornFestival
🇧🇬 Bulgaria and 4 moreBabindenБабинден
A Bulgarian feast honoring midwives and new mothers with rituals of bathing, feasting, and blessing.Festival · Feasts and festival meals
🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreMaypole
A tall wooden pole, garlanded and danced around, raised at May Day, Whitsun or MidsummerFestival
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 4 moreBonfire Night
Yearly nights of bonfires and fireworks, kept in Britain, Ireland and beyondFestival
🇬🇧 Brockworth, United KingdomCooper's Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake
A round of cheese, a steep hill, and runners chasing it down for the prizeGame
🇵🇱 Poland and 5 moreŚwięconka
The Polish Holy Saturday blessing of baskets filled with Easter morning foodSpiritual
🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreJumping the broom
A wedding ritual where newlyweds leap over a broom to mark their unionRite of passage
🇮🇳 Madurai, IndiaJallikattuஜல்லிக்கட்டு
A traditional bull-embracing event held during harvest celebrations in Tamil NaduGame
🇮🇪 Ireland and 1 moreSamhain
A Gaelic festival marking the start of winter with bonfires and ancestor feastsSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇪 Killorglin, Ireland and 1 moreLughnasadhLúnasa
A Gaelic festival marking the start of harvest with feasts, fairs and mountain walksSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇪🇸 Barcelona, Spain and 1 moreSardana
A Catalan circle dance, danced hand in hand to an eleven-player cobla bandPerformance
🇺🇸 New York City, United StatesTimes Square Ball
A ball of light slides down a pole in Times Square to mark the start of the new yearFestival
🇸🇪 Sweden and 3 moreCrayfish partykräftskiva
Boiled crayfish, snaps and paper lanterns at a late-summer party in Sweden and FinlandTable custom · Feasts and festival meals
🇵🇭 PhilippinesFilipino wedding customsKasalan
A blend of indigenous rituals and Christian traditions marking the union of two families in the Philippines.Rite of passage
🇲🇽 Tijuana, Mexico and 1 moreBirria
A rich, seasoned meat stew from western Mexico, cooked for gatherings and holidaysTable custom · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇱 Jerusalem, Israel and 5 moreBar and bat mitzvahבַּר מִצְוָה / בַּת מִצְוָה
A Jewish rite of passage marking when youth reach adulthood and take responsibility for their own actions.Rite of passage · Feasts and festival meals
🇧🇴 Tiwanaku, Bolivia and 2 moreWillkakuti
An Aymara new year at the June solstice, marking the sun's returnSeasonal
🇺🇸 New Orleans, United StatesMardi Gras Indians
A New Orleans carnival tradition where Black revelers wear elaborate Native American-inspired suits to honor historical Festival
🇮🇱 Jerusalem, Israel and 1 moreFour speciesארבעת המינים (Arba'at HaMinim)
A ritual waving of four plants during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.Spiritual
🇨🇱 Chile and 1 moreWe TripantuWiñoy Tripantu
The Mapuche new year, kept on the June solstice as the sun turns backFestival
🇭🇰 Cheung Chau, Hong KongCheung Chau Bun Festival包山節
A week of vegetarian days, bun towers and a midnight scramble on a Hong Kong islandFestival
🇮🇱 Jerusalem, Israel and 3 moreHanukkah menorah
A nine-branched lamp that gains one more flame on each of Hanukkah's eight nightsSpiritual
🇸🇪 Stockholm, Sweden and 2 moreSmorgasbordsmörgåsbord
A Swedish table of hot and cold dishes where guests serve themselvesTable custom · Lunch
🇮🇹 Venice, Italy and 5 moreCarnival
A season of parades, masks and feasting in the days before LentFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇬🇭 GhanaAdowa
A Ghanaian Akan dance where hands and feet carry the mood of the occasionPerformance
🇲🇽 Veracruz, Mexico and 3 moreBaile folklórico
Staged folk dances of Mexico and Central America, with regional dress and mariachi musicPerformance
🇺🇸 New York, United States and 5 moreKlezmerקלעזמער
An Ashkenazi Jewish instrumental tradition of lively dance tunes and ritual melodiesPerformance
🇺🇸 United States and 2 morePowwow
A communal gathering of dancing, singing and fellowship across Native North AmericaFestival
🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreBaby shower
A gift-giving party for a new or expected baby, kept in many countriesRite of passage
🇮🇳 IndiaSadyaസദ്യ
A vegetarian feast from Kerala, served on a banana leaf at Onam, Vishu and weddingsTable custom · Lunch
🇺🇦 UkraineTraditional Ukrainian wedding
A wedding spread over many days, with matchmaking, bread, wreaths and songRite of passage
🇵🇱 Kraków, PolandLajkonikLajkoniki
An annual hobby-horse pageant through the streets of Kraków each JuneFestival
🇮🇳 Kanchipuram, IndiaPanguni UthiramPaṅkuṉi Uttiram
A Tamil Hindu festival celebrating divine weddings and the virtues of married lifeSpiritual
🇳🇱 Amsterdam, Netherlands and 3 moreZwarte Piet
Saint Nicholas's companion in the Low Countries, who hands out sweets to childrenFolklore · Sweets given and shared
🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanKanda Matsuri神田祭
A major Shinto festival with massive parades through the streets of central TokyoFestival
🇫🇯 FijiFiji Week
A week of national celebration in Fiji marking independence and colonial history with cultural performances.Festival
🇮🇳 Amritsar, IndiaBandi Chhor Divasਬੰਦੀ ਛੋੜ ਦਿਵਸ
A Sikh festival of liberation marking the release of Guru Hargobind and fifty-two princes from Mughal imprisonment.Festival
🇩🇪 Germany and 5 morePolterabend
Guests smash porcelain the night before a wedding to wish the couple luckRite of passage
🇲🇽 Acolman, Mexico and 1 morePiñata
A festive decorated container broken open with a stick to scatter treats and fruitFestival
🇵🇰 Lahore, Pakistan and 1 moreBasant
A Punjabi spring festival marked by rooftop kite flying, yellow clothing and fairsFestival · Sweets given and shared
🇳🇴 Norway and 2 moreJulebord
A Scandinavian Christmas banquet of traditional dishes, festive drinks and celebrationTable custom · 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.
- Martenitsa: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Christmas in Finland: Uploaded by Sigketill, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tió de Nadal: Slastic, Public domain, source
- Bonfires of Saint John in Alicante: Fernando Pastor, CC BY 2.0, source
- Novy God: Евгений Самарин, CC BY 4.0, source
- Nabi Musa: Mujaddara, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Palm Sunday: Pietro Lorenzetti, Public domain, source
- Babinden: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Maypole: Uploaded by Mikael Häggström, CC0, source
- Bonfire Night: Jpdfive, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Cooper's Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake: Dave Farrance, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Święconka: Błażej Benisz, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Jumping the broom: credited only as "Hipstamatic shots, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Jallikattu: Mahendrabalan, CC BY 3.0, source
- Samhain: Daniel Maclise, Public domain, source
- Lughnasadh: Mountainash333, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Sardana: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Times Square Ball: Erik Drost, CC BY 2.0, source
- Crayfish party: Holger.Ellgaard, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Filipino wedding customs: John Ryan Cordova, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Birria: Equipo 9mkt, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Bar and bat mitzvah: Peter van der Sluijs, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Willkakuti: Tuco Quispe, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mardi Gras Indians: Infrogmation of New Orleans, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Four species: עוטה אור, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- We Tripantu: Lonkonao, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Cheung Chau Bun Festival: ．怪貓．, CC BY 2.0, source
- Hanukkah menorah: Musée d'art et d'histoire du Judaïsme, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Smorgasbord: Jordan Klein, CC BY 2.0, source
- Carnival: Etienne Le Cocq, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Adowa: Quami43, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Baile folklórico: AlejandroLinaresGarcia, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Klezmer: Unknown artist identified as "M.D.", Public domain, source
- Powwow: Smithsonian Institution, No restrictions, source
- Baby shower: Goizarin, CC0, source
- Sadya: Augustus Binu / facebook, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Traditional Ukrainian wedding: Пимоненко, Николай Корнильевич, Public domain, source
- Lajkonik: Igor123121, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Panguni Uthiram: Krithika.R.S, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Zwarte Piet: The illustrator is Daan Hoeksma, who died in 1935. The author is liste, Public domain, source
- Kanda Matsuri: Jose Fernando, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Bandi Chhor Divas: UrbanUrban_ru, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Polterabend: 4028mdk09, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Piñata: No machine-readable author provided. JEDIKNIGHT1970 assumed (based on, Public domain, source
- Basant: Haseeb Ahmad Farooqi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Julebord: Holger.Ellgaard, CC BY-SA 3.0, source