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.
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.
🇲🇾 Malaysia and 1 moreMalam Tujuh Likurمالم توجوه ليكور
The Malay custom of lighting oil lamps during the closing nights of Ramadan.Spiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇬🇧 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
🇦🇹 Bludenz, AustriaBludenzer Tage zeitgemäßer Musik
An international festival of contemporary classical music held annually in BludenzPerformance
🇳🇦 Outapi, NamibiaOlufuko
A seven-day Aawambo initiation rite and festival held annually in Outapi, NamibiaRite of passage
🇪🇸 Córdoba, Spain and 5 moreFiesta de las Cruces
A May festival where communities decorate crosses with flowers and crafts to celebrate faith and local heritage.Festival
🇺🇸 New York, United StatesBark Mitzvah
A lighthearted coming of age celebration held by dog owners for their petsFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇿🇦 Durban, South AfricaPoetry Africa
A week or more of readings, music and workshops in Durban, with poets from AfricaPerformance
🇮🇹 Turin, Italy and 5 moreMary Help of ChristiansSancta Maria Auxilium Christianorum
A Christian feast and devotion honouring Mary as a protector, observed on 24 MaySpiritual
🇮🇹 L'Aquila, ItalyCelestinian PardonPerdonanza Celestiniana
A yearly Catholic jubilee in L'Aquila, Italy, and a pardon first granted in 1294Spiritual
🇵🇱 Olsztyn, PolandKortowiada
A student festival in Olsztyn with concerts, parades and faculty contestsFestival
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreTaiyin Xingjun太陰星君
The Chinese moon goddess, honoured at Mid-Autumn with incense, mooncakes and prayersSpiritual · Sweets given and shared
🇮🇹 Montepulciano, ItalyBravio delle botti
An annual uphill wine barrel race between the eight historic districts of MontepulcianoGame
🇮🇹 Italy and 2 moreFeast of Saint Thomas Aquinas
An annual Christian feast day honouring the medieval theologian Saint Thomas AquinasSpiritual
🇨🇱 Tarapacá, ChileFestival of San Lorenzo
An annual festival of religious dance and pilgrimage honoring Saint Lawrence in TarapacáSpiritual
🇷🇺 Moscow, RussiaSpartakiad of the Peoples of the USSRСпартакиада народов СССР
A massive multi-sport festival that brought together Soviet republics every four yearsGame
🇵🇸 al-Khader, PalestineFeast of Saint George
An annual gathering of Palestinian Christians and Muslims honouring Saint GeorgeSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇲🇹 Valletta, MaltaMużika Mużika
A national song competition in Malta that selects artists for the Eurovision contest and celebrates Maltese music.Performance
🇮🇩 Bali, IndonesiaNational costume of IndonesiaPakaian Nasional Indonesia
The formal attire worn by Indonesians to represent the nation's diverse cultural heritage.Dress
🇬🇧 York, United KingdomYorkshire Day
A yearly civic observance on 1 August to honour the historic county of Yorkshire and its people.Festival
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Yorkshire Day: Buttons0603, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- National costume of Indonesia: President of Indonesia, Public domain, source
- Mary Help of Christians: Didier Descouens, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Fiesta de las Cruces: Michelangelo-36, Public domain, source
- Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR: Scanning Dmitry Makeev , scan date - 2020 year., Public domain, source
- Taiyin Xingjun: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Festival of San Lorenzo: Freddy Alexander Bugueño Tolmo, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Feast of Saint George: Onceinawhile, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Malam Tujuh Likur: Qatrunan, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Jalsa Salana: Ceddyfresse, Public domain, source
- Olufuko: Pemba.mpimaji, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Feast of Saint Thomas Aquinas: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Celestinian Pardon: Verdenex84, CC BY-SA 4.0, source