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.
🇵🇱 Kraków, Poland and 5 moreTurońTuroń (Polish), Turoň (Slovak)
A shaggy horned beast led from house to house by carol singers at carnival timeFolklore
🇱🇧 Beirut, LebanonLebanese Independence Dayعيد الاستقلال اللبناني
Lebanon's national day, marking the end of French mandate rule in 1943Ceremony
🇮🇳 IndiaVidyarambhamविद्यारम्भ
A Hindu rite of passage introducing young children to reading, writing and the artsRite of passage
🇬🇭 Anloga, Ghana and 1 moreHogbetsotso festival
An Anlo Ewe festival in Anloga recalling an escape from NotsieFestival
🇮🇳 Imphal, India and 2 moreLai Haraobaꯂꯥꯏ ꯍꯔꯥꯎꯕ
A ritual dance and music festival kept by the Meitei people to please their deities.Festival
🇬🇭 Winneba, GhanaAboakyer festival
A deer hunt kept by the people of Winneba, Ghana, on the first Saturday in MayFestival
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreJur Sitalजुड़ शीतल
The first day of the Maithil year, kept with a rice meal, gifts and water blessingsSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇳 Thrissur, IndiaPooram
An annual Kerala temple festival with percussion orchestras, elephants and fireworksFestival
🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreBiikebrennenBiikebrånen
Fires lit at sunset on 21 February to send winter away in North FrisiaFestival
🇬🇷 Amyclae, GreeceHyacinthiaὙακίνθια
A three-day ancient Spartan festival marking the death and rebirth of HyacinthusFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇬🇷 Thebes, GreeceDaphnephoria
A nine-year festival in ancient Thebes featuring a laurel-bearer procession for Apollo.Festival
🇬🇷 Orchomenus, GreeceAgrionia
An ancient Greek nocturnal festival dedicated to Dionysus AgrioniusSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇨🇭 SwitzerlandChalandamarz
A bell-ringing march on the first of March that sends winter out of the Grisons valleysSeasonal
🇧🇴 San Ignacio de Moxos, BoliviaIchapekene Piesta
A four-day festival of dance, feathers and procession in San Ignacio de Moxos, BoliviaFestival
🇧🇪 Geraardsbergen, BelgiumKrakelingen and Tonnekensbrand
A bread throw and a hilltop bonfire that close the winter in GeraardsbergenFestival
🇮🇹 ItalyDivalia
A Roman festival held on December 21 to honor the goddess Angerona.Festival
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 4 moreHip hip hooray
A traditional celebratory cheer of call and response to honour someoneFestival
🇧🇪 Ghent, BelgiumGentse Feesten
Ten days of free music, theatre and street performance across central Ghent every JulyFestival
🇪🇸 Spain and 1 moreAberri Eguna
An annual Basque nationalist gathering held on Easter Sunday to celebrate national identity and culture.Festival
🇧🇦 Medjugorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina and 1 moreMedjugorje International Youth Festival
A six-day August gathering of Catholic youth in Medjugorje, Bosnia and HerzegovinaFestival
🇦🇱 Gjirokastër, Albania and 5 moreDodola and Perperuna
A rainmaking ritual kept across Southeast Europe, where children dressed in greenery lead processions to call for summerSpiritual
🇬🇷 Nicopolis, Greece and 1 moreActiaἌκτια
A festival of music, sport, and naval displays kept in ancient times to honor a Roman emperor's victory.Festival
🇬🇷 Athens, GreeceDionysiaΔιονύσια
Ancient Athenian festivals of theatre, processions and sacrifices in honour of the god Dionysus.Festival · Feasts and festival meals
🇷🇴 RomaniaCapra
A New Year's ritual in Romania where a masked dancer visits homes to bring luck and predict the weather.Festival
🇹🇭 Dan Sai, ThailandPhi Ta Khonผีตาโขน
A three-day festival in Dan Sai, north-east Thailand, of ghost masks and merit-makingFestival
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreFirst haircut
A rite of passage marking a child's first shave or trim across many cultures and faiths.Rite of passage
🇬🇹 Antigua Guatemala, GuatemalaHoly Week in GuatemalaSemana Santa
Street processions of floats, purple-robed penitents and sawdust carpets in GuatemalaSpiritual
🇦🇹 Austria and 2 morePerchten
Masked midwinter walks in the Alps, with carved wooden masks and sheepskinFolklore
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreDajiao打醮
An annual Taoist ritual and festival seeking peace and safety for the communitySpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇷🇴 Bucharest, Romania and 2 moreCaloian
A Romanian rainmaking and fertility ritual centered on the creation, funeral, and rebirth of a clay effigy.Festival
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreMischief Night
An informal autumn evening of neighbourhood tricks, practical jokes and street pranksFestival
🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreRäucherkerze
A scented incense cone burned in German and Czech homes during the Christmas season to fill rooms with fragrance.Festival
🇮🇷 IranKhāne-takānīخانهتکانی
A spring cleaning ritual in Iran that prepares homes for the Norouz new year.Festival
🇵🇱 Poland and 3 morePodłaźniczka
A decorated evergreen branch hung over the Christmas Eve table in Poland and SlovakiaFestival
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreMayian
A pre-wedding cleansing ritual in Punjabi traditions, using turmeric paste to prepare the couple for marriage.Rite of passage
🇲🇽 Tlayacapan, MexicoChinelos
Masked dancers from Morelos who spoof colonial manners at CarnivalPerformance
🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreStatue rubbing
A global custom of touching public statues to seek luck, love, or a return to the city.Festival
🇮🇩 Yogyakarta, IndonesiaPadusan
A Javanese purification bath kept by the Abangan community before Ramadan begins.Spiritual
🇨🇭 Basel, Switzerland and 4 moreScheibenschlagen
A Central European custom where glowing wooden disks are flung from hillsides into valleys at dusk.Festival
🇷🇸 SerbiaVertepвертеп
A Serbian Orthodox Christmas Eve custom, named for the cave of the NativitySpiritual
🇬🇧 Worldham, United Kingdom and 5 moreJalsa Salanaجلسہ سالانہ
A three-day annual assembly for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, featuring lectures, prayers and communal meals.Festival · Feasts and festival meals
🇬🇧 Atherstone, United KingdomAtherstone Ball Game
An annual medieval football match played in Atherstone on Shrove Tuesday to honour a 12th-century victory.Game
🇷🇸 Belgrade, Serbia and 2 moreMerlinka Festival
An annual queer film festival held across Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and MontenegroFestival
🇷🇸 Belgrade, Serbia and 5 moreSerbian traditional clothingсрпска народна ношња (srpska narodna nošnja)
The regional folk attire of Serbs, featuring wool, linen, and leather, worn for celebrations and cultural identity.Dress
🇫🇷 FranceBreton costume
The traditional folk dress and lace headdresses worn for festivals across BrittanyDress
🇨🇭 Zurich, SwitzerlandSwiss traditional costumeSchweizer Trachten
Distinct regional festive dress worn across the cantons of SwitzerlandDress
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 1 moreOkpu Aguokpu agụ
A knitted wool cap from southeastern Nigeria, historically worn by warriors to display status and now used in ceremoniesDress
🇳🇦 Outapi, NamibiaOlufuko
A seven-day Aawambo initiation rite and festival held annually in Outapi, NamibiaRite of passage
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Padusan: Muhammad Khafidz Riza, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Mischief Night: Roseohioresident, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Khāne-takānī: Niloofar Rakhshan, CC BY 4.0, source
- Turoń: Museum: The Seweryn Udziela Ethnographic Museum in Kraków, CC0, source
- Lebanese Independence Day: Adib Ibrahim, Public domain, source
- Lai Haraoba: Kullachandra Singh, Ngariyambam, CC0, source
- Aboakyer festival: Fquasie, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Gentse Feesten: Gordito1869, CC BY 3.0, source
- Jur Sital: PCNWorld at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Phi Ta Khon: E.D.W., Public domain, source
- Chinelos: AlejandroLinaresGarcia, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Dionysia: Unknown artist, Public domain, source
- Pooram: Augustus Binu : flickr, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Daphnephoria: Frederic Leighton, Public domain, source
- Actia: Flavius Hermogenes at English Wikipedia, Public domain, source
- First haircut: https://www.flickr.com/people/69061470@N05, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Capra: Michał Elwiro Andriolli, Public domain, source
- Caloian: Costică Acsinte Archive, No restrictions, source
- Mayian: Rakzika, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Holy Week in Guatemala: derivative work: Sir James ( talk ) VolcanAguaPascuas.jpg :Infrogmatio, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Perchten: Anita Martinz, CC BY 2.0, source
- Chalandamarz: Claudio Schneider, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Räucherkerze: Richard Huber, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Biikebrennen: Borstenpinsel, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Krakelingen and Tonnekensbrand: Jan Coppens at nl.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 1.0, source
- Hogbetsotso festival: JY midey, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Aberri Eguna: Fondo Marín. Pascual Marín, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Podłaźniczka: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Scheibenschlagen: Josef Saurwein, Zams, Public domain, source
- Atherstone Ball Game: Adrian Roebuck, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Serbian traditional clothing: Kolega2357, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Breton costume: XIIIfromTOKYO, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Swiss traditional costume: Robertuswiki, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Okpu Agu: Justice kelechi achinefu, CC0, source
- Ichapekene Piesta: Viaje al corazón de Bolivia, CC BY 2.0, source
- Medjugorje International Youth Festival: Piotr Frydecki, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Statue rubbing: Matthias Rosenkranz, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Jalsa Salana: Ceddyfresse, Public domain, source
- Olufuko: Pemba.mpimaji, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Dajiao: 29cm, CC BY-SA 2.0, source