Heritage news
HeritageThailand’s Chud Thai Stops in Paris Ahead of UNESCO Intangible Heritage Inscription BidHeritageOtsu Festival Parades Elaborate Floats Following UNESCO RecognitionSeasonsGreen Bay kicks off Hmong New Year celebrationsHeritageThailand showcases Chud Thai craftsmanship in Paris ahead of UNESCO reviewFestivalsWaldo Fall Festival celebrates 34 years of community traditionFestivalsItalian Festival at the Mount celebrates heritage, community and a taste of the old country (79 photos)ArtsFamily Folk DanceHeritageWhy is Kolkata’s Durga Puja recognised as a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage?HeritageWhy is Kolkata’s Durga Puja recognised as a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage?Carnival28th Latino Heritage Parade and Festival Set for Today, Recognizing City’s ‘Unsung Heroes’ Pasadena’s 28th annual Latino Heritage Parade and Festival is scheduled for this afternoon and evening, with organizers planning a special recognitioHeritageThailand’s Chud Thai Stops in Paris Ahead of UNESCO Intangible Heritage Inscription BidHeritageOtsu Festival Parades Elaborate Floats Following UNESCO RecognitionSeasonsGreen Bay kicks off Hmong New Year celebrationsHeritageThailand showcases Chud Thai craftsmanship in Paris ahead of UNESCO reviewFestivalsWaldo Fall Festival celebrates 34 years of community traditionFestivalsItalian Festival at the Mount celebrates heritage, community and a taste of the old country (79 photos)ArtsFamily Folk DanceHeritageWhy is Kolkata’s Durga Puja recognised as a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage?HeritageWhy is Kolkata’s Durga Puja recognised as a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage?Carnival28th Latino Heritage Parade and Festival Set for Today, Recognizing City’s ‘Unsung Heroes’ Pasadena’s 28th annual Latino Heritage Parade and Festival is scheduled for this afternoon and evening, with organizers planning a special recognitio
EveryParampara

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.

RegionSouth AsiaSoutheast AsiaEast AsiaCentral Asia and the CaucasusMiddle EastNorth AfricaSub-Saharan AfricaEuropeNorth AmericaLatin America and the CaribbeanOceania
MealBreakfastLunchDinnerSupperTea-time and snacking customsTea, coffee and drinking ceremoniesSweets given and sharedFeasts and festival mealsFasting and breaking the fast
🇧🇴 Tiwanaku, Bolivia and 2 moreWillkakuti An Aymara new year at the June solstice, marking the sun's returnSeasonal 🇮🇹 Venice, Italy and 5 moreCarnival A season of parades, masks and feasting in the days before LentFestival · Feasts and festival meals 🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreDoljanchi돌 (dol); 돌잔치 (doljanchi) A Korean first-birthday rite where a baby picks an object that hints at the years aheadRite of passage 🇱🇹 Vilnius, Lithuania and 3 moreSaint Casimir's FairKaziuko mugė A spring craft market and folk celebration across the historic streets of VilniusCraft 🇵🇱 Poland and 5 moreŚwięconka The Polish Holy Saturday blessing of baskets filled with Easter morning foodSpiritual 🇧🇬 Bulgaria and 1 moreBaba MartaБаба Марта A Bulgarian day on 1 March, when red and white martenitsi are given and wornFestival 🇧🇾 BelarusBatlejkaБатле́йка A two-level puppet booth from Belarus, playing Nativity and folk scenes at ChristmasPerformance 🇮🇱 Jerusalem, Israel and 3 moreHanukkah menorah A nine-branched lamp that gains one more flame on each of Hanukkah's eight nightsSpiritual 🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreHarvest festival A thanks for the gathered crop, kept with church meals, songs and shared foodSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals 🇮🇳 Palani, India and 5 moreKavadi Aattamகாவடி ஆட்டம் Tamil devotees of Murugan carry burdens as a vow during ThaipusamSpiritual 🇵🇰 PakistanPakistani weddingپاکستانی شادی Weddings across Pakistan: a match is found, a contract signed, two families joinedRite of passage 🇮🇪 Dublin, IrelandBarmbrackbairín breac A sweet Irish fruit loaf with charms baked in, eaten at Halloween and on New Year's EveTable custom · Tea-time and snacking customs 🇳🇱 Landgraaf, NetherlandsPinkpop A three-day pop and rock festival in the Netherlands, held on the Pentecost weekendFestival 🇩🇰 Roskilde, DenmarkRoskilde Festival A week-long Danish music festival south of Roskilde, run by volunteers since 1971Festival 🇺🇸 Chicago, United States and 5 moreLabour Day A day honouring workers, kept on 1 May in most countries and on other dates elsewhereFestival 🇺🇸 Spokane, United States and 5 moreFather's Day A day to honour fathers and fatherhood, kept on many different dates worldwideFestival 🇱🇧 Lebanon and 2 moreAnnunciationΟ Ευαγγελισμός της Θεοτόκου A Christian feast marking the angel Gabriel's message to Mary about bearing Jesus, kept on 25 March.Festival 🇬🇷 Olympia, GreeceAncient Olympic Gamesτὰ Ὀλύμπια A quadrennial athletic festival held in ancient Greece to honor the god ZeusGame 🇮🇱 Israel and 6 moreHoly SaturdaySabbatum Sanctum The closing day of Holy Week, a Saturday of waiting, fasting and vigil before EasterSpiritual 🇻🇪 Mérida, VenezuelaFeria del Sol Mérida's February fair: bullfights, parades, concerts and the Queen of the SunFestival 🇮🇳 India and 5 moreNativity of Mary A Christian feast day honouring the birth of Mary, the mother of JesusSpiritual · Lunch 🇮🇳 Delhi, India and 1 moreIndependence Day A public holiday on 15 August marking the end of British rule in India in 1947Ceremony 🇮🇹 Rome, ItalySaturnalia A December festival of ancient Rome, with feasting, gifts, gambling and role reversalSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals 🇬🇷 Eleusis, Greece and 1 moreEleusinian MysteriesἘλευσίνια Μυστήρια Secret annual initiations in ancient Greece dedicated to Demeter and Persephone, promising a blessed afterlife.Spiritual 🇮🇳 India and 1 moreYajnaयज्ञ A Hindu ritual of offering items into a sacred fire to honor deities and ancestors.Spiritual 🇬🇷 GreeceSymposiumσυμπόσιον An ancient Greek post-meal gathering for diluted wine, debate, music and lively gamesTable custom · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies 🇮🇹 Rome, ItalyBacchanalia An ancient Roman mystery festival dedicated to the god of wine and ecstasyFestival · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies 🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 4 moreTowel Day An annual worldwide celebration on 25 May honouring the author Douglas Adams.Festival 🇩🇪 Berlin, GermanyGerman Unity DayTag der Deutschen Einheit Germany's national day, marking reunification on 3 October 1990Ceremony 🇫🇷 France and 5 moreVictory in Europe Day8 mai 1945 The day Nazi Germany's surrender was accepted, marking the end of the war in EuropeCeremony 🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 6 moreSaint George's Day A saint's feast on 23 April, kept by churches and patron nations from England to GeorgiaSpiritual 🇷🇺 Moscow, RussiaCosmonautics DayДень космонавтики Russia's yearly day for Yuri Gagarin's 1961 flight, kept on 12 April with memorial walksCeremony 🇩🇪 Germany and 3 moreVisitation A Christian feast commemorating Mary's journey to visit her cousin ElizabethSpiritual 🇩🇪 Wittenberg, Germany and 5 moreReformation Day An annual Christian observance marking the start of the Protestant ReformationSpiritual 🇮🇳 New Delhi, IndiaGandhi Jayanti India's annual holiday on 2 October, for Mahatma Gandhi's birth and nonviolenceCeremony 🇺🇦 Kyiv, UkraineIndependence Day of UkraineДень Незалежності України Ukraine's national day, kept every 24 August with parades and flagsCeremony 🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreCyber Monday An annual online shopping observance held on the Monday following American Thanksgiving.Seasonal 🇰🇷 Seoul, South Korea and 2 moreHangul Day한글날 South Korea's public day for Hangul, the Korean alphabet, kept on 9 OctoberFestival 🇬🇧 St Andrews, United Kingdom and 10 moreSaint Andrew's DayLà Naomh Anndrais The feast of Andrew the Apostle, kept on 30 November and Scotland's national daySpiritual 🇨🇳 Nanjing, China and 4 moreSingles' Day光棍节 A day for people without a partner that grew into the world's biggest shopping eventFestival 🇨🇦 Toronto, Canada and 1 moreStar Wars Day An annual worldwide celebration of the Star Wars universe on May 4Festival 🇷🇺 Russia and 3 moreOld New YearСтарый Новый год (Russian), Стара Нова година (Macedonian), Српска Нова година (Serbian), Hen Galan (Welsh) An informal holiday marking the start of the Julian calendar year, celebrated on 14 January in the Gregorian calendar.Festival · Dinner 🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreWikipedia Day An annual gathering and birthday party for the Wikipedia community every JanuaryFestival 🇨🇳 Beijing, ChinaNational Day国庆节 (guóqìng jié) China's national day on 1 October, marking the republic's founding in 1949Ceremony 🇵🇱 Warsaw, PolandNational Independence DayNarodowe Święto Niepodległości Poland's national day on 11 November, marking the 1918 return of a sovereign Polish stateCeremony 🇰🇷 Seoul, South Korea and 1 moreNational Liberation Day of Korea광복절 (Gwangbokjeol) A public holiday on 15 August marking Korea's liberation from Japanese rule in 1945Ceremony 🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreYuri's Night An annual global celebration on April 12 marking milestones in space explorationFestival 🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanCulture Day文化の日 (Bunka no Hi) Japan's 3 November holiday for the arts, learning and the Order of CultureFestival
PreviousMore traditions

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

The weekly EveryParampara

Every week: one tradition from somewhere new, what is being celebrated around the world this week, and one idea explained.