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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
🇺🇸 Philadelphia, United StatesMummers Parade An annual New Year's Day street parade in Philadelphia featuring music and costumed clubsFestival 🇺🇸 Washington, United StatesUnited States presidential inauguration The formal swearing-in ceremony and celebrations for a new United States presidentCeremony 🇲🇽 Mexico City, MexicoMexican Revolution DayDía de la Revolución Mexicana A Mexican civic holiday marking the 1910 uprising with parades and public ceremoniesCeremony 🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreBachelor party A send-off for a groom-to-be, kept in the days and weeks before a weddingRite of passage 🇨🇦 Canada and 2 moreMummering A festive midwinter custom of disguised visits, music and playful guessing gamesFestival · Tea-time and snacking customs 🇺🇸 Hilo, United StatesMerrie Monarch Festival A spring week of hula in Hilo, closing with three nights of competitionFestival 🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreWedding reception The party after a wedding, where the couple greet guests over food, cake and dancingFestival · Feasts and festival meals 🇺🇸 United StatesLūʻau A Hawaiian feast of kālua pig and poi, eaten by hand outdoors with music and hulaTable custom · Feasts and festival meals 🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreTailgate party Grilling, sharing and drinking beside a car before the game, mostly in North AmericaTable custom · Feasts and festival meals 🇺🇸 Cleveland, United StatesClambake Shellfish steamed over seaweed in a pit, eaten outdoors along the New England coastTable custom · Feasts and festival meals 🇲🇽 Mexico City, MexicoOfrenda A home altar of food, flowers and candles that welcomes the dead home at Día de MuertosSpiritual 🇲🇽 Mexico and 1 moreCalaca Skull and skeleton figures made for the Day of the Dead, joyful rather than sadCraft 🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreColumbus Day An annual autumn holiday marking the 1492 arrival of Christopher Columbus in the AmericasCeremony 🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreSweet sixteen A North American coming-of-age celebration marking a sixteenth birthdayRite of passage 🇨🇦 Montreal, CanadaMontreal International Jazz FestivalFestival international de Jazz de Montréal A ten-day summer jazz festival filling downtown Montreal with free and ticketed concertsPerformance 🇺🇸 United StatesRehearsal dinner A meal the night before a US wedding, when the wedding party gathers to toast and thankRite of passage · Dinner 🇺🇸 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 🇺🇸 United States and 2 morePowwow A communal gathering of dancing, singing and fellowship across Native North AmericaFestival 🇺🇸 United StatesMakahiki A four-month Hawaiian new year season of peace, harvest gifts, feasts and gamesSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals 🇲🇽 Oaxaca, MexicoNight of the RadishesNoche de Rábanos An annual festival of intricate sculptures carved from oversized radishes in OaxacaCraft 🇲🇽 Mazatlán, MexicoCarnival of MazatlánCarnaval de Mazatlán An annual five-day festival of parades, fireworks, poetry and dance in coastal MexicoFestival 🇲🇽 Acolman, Mexico and 1 morePiñata A festive decorated container broken open with a stick to scatter treats and fruitFestival 🇲🇽 Mexico City, MexicoPassion Play of Iztapalapa A community passion play staged across Iztapalapa during Holy WeekSpiritual 🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreJumping the broom A wedding ritual where newlyweds leap over a broom to mark their unionRite of passage 🇺🇸 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 🇲🇽 Tijuana, Mexico and 1 moreBirria A rich, seasoned meat stew from western Mexico, cooked for gatherings and holidaysTable custom · Feasts and festival meals 🇺🇸 New Orleans, United StatesMardi Gras Indians A New Orleans carnival tradition where Black revelers wear elaborate Native American-inspired suits to honor historical Festival 🇲🇽 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 5 moreBaby shower A gift-giving party for a new or expected baby, kept in many countriesRite of passage 🇺🇸 Tahlequah, United StatesCherokee National Holiday An annual gathering in Oklahoma marking the signing of the Cherokee ConstitutionFestival 🇺🇸 United States and 4 moreBridal shower A gift-giving party for a bride before her wedding, best known in North AmericaRite of passage 🇺🇸 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 🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreCyber Monday An annual online shopping observance held on the Monday following American Thanksgiving.Seasonal 🇨🇦 Toronto, Canada and 1 moreStar Wars Day An annual worldwide celebration of the Star Wars universe on May 4Festival 🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreWikipedia Day An annual gathering and birthday party for the Wikipedia community every JanuaryFestival 🇺🇸 United StatesFestivus A secular December observance marked by bare poles, voiced grievances, and wrestlingFestival · Dinner 🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreInternational Masturbation Month An annual May observance promoting sexual health, pleasure, and open dialogueSeasonal 🇺🇸 United States and 4 moreLine-crossing ceremony A naval initiation rite marking a sailor's first voyage across the equatorRite of passage 🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreArmed Forces Day A civic holiday honouring national military services, their history and active personnelCeremony 🇺🇸 New York, United States and 5 moreWorld Religion Day An annual day in January dedicated to spiritual unity and harmony across all faiths.Spiritual 🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreLGBTQ History Month An annual month of education and remembrance celebrating queer lives and civil rightsCeremony 🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreBanned Books Week An annual autumn campaign celebrating the freedom to read and access challenged booksCeremony
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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.