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.
🇺🇸 Punxsutawney, United States and 1 moreGroundhog DayGrund'sau dåk
A February ritual where communities watch a groundhog emerge to predict the length of winter.Festival
🇪🇸 Pamplona, SpainFestival of San FermínSanfermines
An annual nine-day festival in Pamplona featuring bull runs, parades, and street music.Festival
🇮🇳 India and 5 morePongal
Three or four days of boiling rice, garlanded cattle and thanks to the sunSeasonal · Sweets given and shared
🇮🇳 Kochi, India and 5 moreOnamഓണം
A ten-day harvest festival in Kerala celebrating the return of King Mahabali with feasts, flower carpets and boat races.Festival · Feasts and festival meals
🇨🇳 Shanghai, China and 1 moreJiaozi餃子
Crescent Chinese dumplings filled with meat or vegetables, eaten for fortune and feastsTable custom · Breakfast
🇮🇳 Mysuru, India and 2 moreVijayadashamiविजयदशमी (Vijayadaśamī)
A Hindu festival marking the end of Navaratri, celebrating the victory of good over evil across India and Nepal.Festival
🇷🇺 Kazan, Russia and 2 moreSabantuyСабан туе (Saban tuyı)
A summer festival of folk sports and feasting celebrated by Tatar, Bashkir, Chuvash, and Kazakh communities.Festival · Feasts and festival meals
🇸🇪 Stockholm, Sweden and 4 moreSaint Lucy's Day
A December festival of light and song held across Scandinavia and Italy to honour a Christian martyr.Festival · Breakfast
🇮🇳 Amritsar, India and 1 moreVaisakhi
A spring harvest and new year festival kept across India and Pakistan by Hindus and Sikhs.Festival
🇮🇳 Prayagraj, India and 6 moreMakar Sankrantiमकरसङ्क्रान्ति (Makarasaṅkrānti)
A mid-winter harvest festival marking the sun's northward journey, celebrated across South and Southeast Asia with fairsFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreGhost Festival中元節 / 中元节 (Zhōngyuán jié)
A full-moon night in the seventh lunar month for feeding ghosts and guiding souls homeSpiritual
🇹🇭 Chiang Mai, Thailand and 5 moreLoy Krathongลอยกระทง
A Thai festival of floating leaf baskets on rivers to honor water and release negativity.Festival
🇷🇺 Moscow, Russia and 5 moreDefender of the Fatherland DayДень защитника Отечества
A national holiday honouring military service and male relatives, observed across several post-Soviet states.Festival
🇳🇱 Amsterdam, NetherlandsKing's DayKoningsdag
A Dutch national holiday celebrating the monarch's birthday with street markets and orange attire.Festival
🇲🇳 Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia and 1 moreNaadamнаадам
A midsummer festival of wrestling, horse racing, and archery kept by Mongols in Mongolia and neighboring regions.Festival · Feasts and festival meals
🇧🇹 Bhutan and 4 moreLosarལོ་གསར་
The Tibetan Buddhist New Year festival of renewal, offerings, and family feastsSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇯🇵 Fukuoka, Japan and 4 moreWhite Dayホワイトデー
A day on 14 March when men give a return gift to the women who gave them chocolateFestival
🇺🇦 Ukraine and 5 moreKupala Night
A summer solstice folk festival marked by bonfires, water rituals and herbal gatherings across Eastern Europe.Festival
🇨🇳 China and 2 moreQixi Festival七夕
A Chinese night of romance, needlecraft wishes and stargazing for two mythic loversFestival
🇵🇱 Poland and 5 moreFat Thursday
A Thursday before Lent when doughnuts, grilled meat and Carnival take overFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇧🇩 Dhaka, Bangladesh and 1 morePohela Boishakhপহেলা বৈশাখ
The Bengali New Year festival marking the spring harvest and the start of the agricultural year.Festival
🇳🇴 Oslo, Norway and 3 moreConstitution DaySyttende mai
A national public holiday in Norway marked by children's parades, flags, and traditional food.Festival · Tea-time and snacking customs
🇧🇪 Belgium and 5 moreSaint Nicholas Day
The feast day of Saint Nicholas, kept in Advent with gifts, shoes and church servicesSpiritual
🇮🇳 Puri, India and 4 moreRatha Yatra
An annual Hindu festival where deities travel through the streets in towering carriagesFestival
🇮🇱 Jerusalem, IsraelPassover Sederסדר פסח
A ritual meal opening Passover, told over wine, matzah and symbolic foodsSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇷 Isfahan, Iran and 4 moreChaharshanbe Suriچهارشنبهسوری
An Iranian festival of fire and renewal celebrated on the eve of the final Wednesday before spring.Festival · Tea-time and snacking customs
🇫🇷 FranceFest nozfest noz (pl. festoù noz)
A Breton night festival of group dancing and live acoustic music, kept in Brittany and its diaspora.Festival · Tea-time and snacking customs
🇺🇸 United StatesLabor Day
A national American holiday honouring the working class with parades and picnicsCeremony
🇮🇪 Ireland and 5 moreSaint Stephen's Day
A Christian feast day celebrating the first martyr with feasts, rides and folk customs.Spiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇵🇪 Cusco, Peru and 2 moreInti Raymi
A major Andean festival honoring the sun god Inti and marking the winter solstice in Cusco.Festival
🇺🇦 Kyiv, Ukraine and 7 morePysankaписанка
A wax-resist egg decorating tradition kept by Slavic communities for Easter and spring renewal.Festival
🇮🇹 Siena, ItalyFerragosto
A public holiday on 15 August marking the Assumption of Mary and the traditional start of the Italian summer break.Festival · Lunch
🇮🇪 Dublin, Ireland and 5 moreBloomsdayLá Bloom
A celebration of James Joyce and his novel Ulysses, observed on 16 June in Dublin and worldwide.Festival · Breakfast
🇮🇹 Siena, ItalyPalio di SienaIl Palio
A bareback horse race held twice a year in Siena's Piazza del Campo, representing the city's historic wards.Festival
🇷🇸 SerbiaSlavaСлава
An annual Serbian family feast honouring their patron saint with blessed bread and wineSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇯🇵 Sapporo, JapanSapporo Snow Festival札幌雪祭り (Sapporo Yuki-matsuri)
A week-long winter festival in Sapporo featuring hundreds of large snow and ice sculptures.Festival
🇮🇳 Varanasi, India and 1 moreNaga Panchamiनागपञ्चमी (Nāgapañcamī)
A day of worship for serpent deities and cobras, observed by Hindus, Jains, and Buddhists across South Asia.Spiritual
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreUgadiఉగాది
A South Indian New Year feast celebrating life with sweet, sour, and bitter tastesSeasonal
🇷🇸 Serbia and 1 moreVidovdanВидовдан
A Serbian church feast on 28 June, kept in memory of those who died at KosovoSpiritual
🇫🇮 Helsinki, FinlandIndependence Day of FinlandSuomen itsenäisyyspäivä
Finland's national day on 6 December, marked with window candles and a presidential ballCeremony
🇬🇧 Edinburgh, United KingdomHogmanay
The Scottish celebration of New Year's Eve and the first days of the new year.Festival · Feasts and festival meals
🇨🇦 Canada and 1 morePotlatch
A ceremonial feast of gift-giving and wealth distribution among First Nations on the Northwest Coast.Festival · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇪 Dublin, Ireland and 3 moreMay Day
A traditional European festival welcoming summer with greenery, dances and bonfiresSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇪 Ireland and 2 moreMichaelmas
A Christian festival honouring the archangels, marked by autumn harvest foods and legal terms in the British Isles.Festival · Dinner
🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanShichi-Go-San七五三
A Japanese festival celebrating the growth of three-year-old girls, five-year-old boys, and seven-year-old girls.Rite of passage
🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanSetsubun節分
A Japanese ritual of throwing roasted soybeans to banish evil spirits and welcome spring.Festival · Feasts and festival meals
🇹🇷 Turkey and 6 moreHıdırellez
A spring festival marking the meeting of two prophets, celebrated across Turkey and the Balkans.Festival · Feasts and festival meals
🇯🇵 JapanChildren's Dayこどもの日
A Japanese holiday on May fifth celebrating the happiness and growth of childrenFestival
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Saint Lucy's Day: Fredrik Magnusson, CC BY 2.0, source
- Pongal: Saral Shots, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Vijayadashami: DiplomatTesterMan, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Makar Sankranti: Saloni Desai, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Losar: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Naadam: Chongkian, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Festival of San Fermín: SanchoPanzaXXI, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Groundhog Day: Anthony Quintano, CC BY 2.0, source
- Slava: Petar Milošević, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Vaisakhi: Michael Clark, CC BY 2.0, source
- Constitution Day: evelinagustafsson@live.se, Public domain, source
- King's Day: Carmelrmd, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Defender of the Fatherland Day: И. Мартынов, Public domain, source
- Loy Krathong: John Shedrick, CC BY 2.0, source
- Kupala Night: Ivan Sokolov, Public domain, source
- Onam: Jiteshgt, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Chaharshanbe Suri: Philippe Giabbanelli, CC BY 3.0, source
- Ghost Festival: Chong Fat, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Pysanka: Lubap, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Pohela Boishakh: Abidhasan00, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Inti Raymi: Cyntia Motta, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Palio di Siena: Mirco, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Hıdırellez: Правительство Республики Крым, CC BY 4.0, source
- Michaelmas: Julian P Guffogg, CC BY 2.0, source
- May Day: Bryan Ledgard, CC BY 2.0, source
- Potlatch: James Gilchrist Swan (1818–1900), Public domain, source
- Bloomsday: No machine-readable author provided. Flapdragon assumed (based on copy, Public domain, source
- Ratha Yatra: G.-U. Tolkiehn, CC BY 2.5, source
- Saint Stephen's Day: Carlo Crivelli, Public domain, source
- Hogmanay: Robbie Shade, CC BY 2.0, source
- Ferragosto: Ra Boe, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Independence Day of Finland: Wikimedia Commons: LPfi, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ugadi: Kalyan Kanuri, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Qixi Festival: shizhao ( talk )拍摄，画者不明, Public domain, source
- Naga Panchami: No machine-readable author provided. Krish Dulal assumed (based on cop, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Sapporo Snow Festival: Materialscientist, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Jiaozi: Bioniclepluslotr, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Labor Day: Author not known, but more than 100 years old, Image edited, Public domain, source
- Shichi-Go-San: Bergmann at Japanese Wikipedia, CC BY 3.0, source
- Children's Day: Comissão de Jovens, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Setsubun: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- White Day: Flickr user mersy ( Masashi Yanagiya), CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Fat Thursday: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Saint Nicholas Day: Chmee2, CC BY 3.0, source
- Passover Seder: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Vidovdan: Радосав Стојановић at Serbian Wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Fest noz: Man vyi, Public domain, source
- Sabantuy: Якупов Рамиль, CC BY 3.0, source