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.
🇬🇧 London, United Kingdom and 5 moreChristmas cracker
A decorative paper tube pulled apart with a bang during Christmas dinnerFestival · Dinner
🇮🇳 Varanasi, India and 2 moreKartika Purnimaकार्त्तिकपूर्णिमा (Kārttikapūrṇimā)
A full moon festival of lights and holy baths celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs, and Jains across South Asia.Festival
🇹🇭 Thailand and 5 moreMāgha Pūjāមាឃបូជា
A Buddhist holy day honoring monastic unity, moral guidance and spiritual fellowshipSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇯🇵 Kyoto, JapanJidai Matsuri時代祭
An autumn costume procession celebrating Kyoto's imperial heritage and historyFestival
🇦🇲 Armenia and 2 moreVardavarՎարդավառ
An Armenian midsummer festival where people playfully douse each other with waterFestival
🇮🇳 Kolkata, India and 1 moreKali Pujaকালীপূজা
A Hindu festival of midnight worship and illuminated shrines honoring the goddess KaliSpiritual
🇳🇿 New ZealandMatariki
The Māori New Year marked by the midwinter rising of the Pleiades clusterSeasonal
🇭🇷 Dubrovnik, Croatia and 1 moreFestivity of Saint BlaiseFesta Svetog Vlaha
An annual patron saint festival in Dubrovnik with processions, relics and dovesFestival
🇮🇳 Goa, India and 2 moreBhai Doojभाई दूज
A Hindu festival of sibling bonds marked by forehead markings, feasts and blessingsFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇩🇰 Copenhagen, Denmark and 4 moreRisalamande
A chilled Danish Christmas rice dessert with cream, chopped almonds and cherry sauceTable custom · Sweets given and shared
🇩🇰 Copenhagen, Denmark and 5 moreFastelavn
A pre-Lenten carnival in Northern Europe where children dress up, sing for treats, and break candy-filled barrels.Festival · Sweets given and shared
🇶🇦 Doha, QatarQatar National Dayاليوم الوطني القطري (Al-Yawm al-Waṭani al-Qatari)
A national holiday in Qatar marking the unification of the peninsula under Sheikh Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani.Ceremony
🇪🇹 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and 1 moreMeskelመስቀል (Mesk'el)
A celebration in Ethiopia and Eritrea marking the discovery of the True Cross with a large bonfire.Spiritual
🇲🇦 Morocco and 4 moreMimounaמִימוּנָה
A Maghrebi Jewish celebration marking the end of Passover with sweets and open doorsFestival · Dinner
🇲🇲 Yangon, MyanmarThingyanသင်္ကြန်
A four-day water festival marking the Myanmar New Year, celebrated in April with merit-making and playful splashing.Festival
🇰🇷 Seoul, South KoreaYeondeunghoe연등회
A Korean lantern festival celebrating the Buddha's birthday with glowing lotus lightsSpiritual
🇬🇷 GreeceAnthesteriaἈνθεστήρια
An ancient Greek three-day spring festival of Dionysus, new wine, and the deadFestival
🇹🇭 Thailand and 5 moreKathina
A Buddhist season of offering new robes and gifts to monks after the rains retreatSpiritual
🇩🇪 Cologne, Germany and 3 moreRosenmontag
The peak of German carnival, celebrated with satirical street parades and sweetsFestival
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreDhanterasधनतेरस (Hindi), धनत्रयोदशी (Sanskrit)
The first day of Diwali, a festival of lamps, health and wealth kept across India and Nepal.Festival
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreHolika Dahanहोलिकादहन
A Hindu ritual bonfire lit on the eve of Holi to welcome the spring.Spiritual
🇹🇼 Taipei, TaiwanDouble Ten Day國慶日
The national holiday of Taiwan marking the start of the 1911 revolution.Ceremony
🇨🇿 Vlčnov, CzechiaRide of the KingsJízda králů
A Moravian spring procession where horsemen escort a silent boy king holding a roseFestival
🇨🇦 CanadaSaint-Jean-Baptiste DayFête nationale du Québec
An annual civic and cultural celebration observed across Quebec every June 24Ceremony
🇺🇦 Ukraine and 7 moreKoliadaКоляда
A traditional winter caroling and solstice festival kept across Slavic EuropeFestival
🇮🇷 Iran and 4 moreSizdah Bedarسیزدهبدر
An open-air picnic holiday concluding the Iranian New Year celebrationsFestival
🇳🇵 Kathmandu, Nepal and 4 moreDashainबडादशैँ
A fifteen-day festival of family gatherings, blessings, and feasts across NepalFestival
🇸🇷 Paramaribo, Suriname and 1 moreKetikotiKeti Koti
An annual Emancipation Day marking the end of slavery in Suriname and the NetherlandsFestival
🇻🇳 VietnamHùng Kings' Temple FestivalLễ hội đền Hùng
A Vietnamese national festival honoring the legendary founding kings with temple worship and processions.Festival
🇮🇳 Goa, IndiaGudi Padwaगुढी पाडवा
A spring festival marking the new year for Marathi and Konkani Hindus in Maharashtra and Goa.Festival
🇮🇳 IndiaVishuവിഷു
The Malayali new year, kept on 14 or 15 April with an auspicious first sightingSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreWagah Border Ceremony
A daily flag-lowering ritual at the India-Pakistan border featuring high kicks and synchronized drills.Ceremony
🇳🇵 Nepal and 2 moreTiharतिहार
A five-day Nepalese festival honoring animals, deities, and the bond between siblingsFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇨🇦 Toronto, CanadaVictoria DayFête de la Reine
A Canadian public holiday celebrating the monarch and welcoming the return of summerCeremony
🇷🇺 RussiaScarlet SailsАлые паруса
A summer graduation celebration on the Neva River in Saint PetersburgFestival
🇬🇪 Tbilisi, GeorgiaChichilakiჩიჩილაკი
A shaved hazelnut branch crafted as a Georgian Christmas tree and burned at EpiphanyFestival
🇰🇵 Pyongyang, North KoreaDay of the Shining Star광명성절
A two-day national holiday in North Korea honouring the birth of Kim Jong Il.Ceremony
🇨🇿 Czechia and 2 moreEaster whippingpomlázka
An Easter Monday custom of tapping women with braided willow switches for vitalitySeasonal
🇨🇴 Pasto, ColombiaBlacks and Whites' CarnivalCarnaval de Negros y Blancos
A week of street games, parades and music held every January in Pasto, ColombiaFestival
🇧🇴 Oruro, BoliviaCarnival of OruroEl carnaval de Oruro
A Bolivian festival of masked pilgrimage dances honoring the Virgin of the MineshaftFestival
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreSharad Purnima
A Hindu autumn full moon festival of night vigils, moonlit sweets and sacred dancesSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇳 Chandigarh, India and 1 moreTeejतीज (Tīja)
A monsoon festival where women fast and sing to celebrate the union of Shiva and Parvati.Festival
🇯🇵 Osaka, JapanTsukimi月見 (Tsukimi) / お月見 (Otsukimi)
A Japanese autumn festival honoring the harvest moon with seasonal foods and pampas grass decorations.Festival · Dinner
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreClean MondayΚαθαρά Δευτέρα
The Monday that opens Great Lent, kept with fasting, forgiveness and kite-flyingSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇮🇳 IndiaMahavir Janma Kalyanak
A Jain festival of temple worship, street processions and acts of charitySpiritual
🇳🇬 Argungu, NigeriaArgungu Fishing Festival
A four-day gathering in Nigeria where thousands compete to land giant river fishFestival
🇮🇷 Amol, Iran and 3 moreTirganتیرگان (Tirgān)
An ancient Iranian summer festival of water, poetry and rainbow bands, kept on the thirteenth day of Tir.Festival · Feasts and festival meals
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreChinese New Year's Evechúxī
A reunion day for ethnic Chinese families before the Lunar New Year, marked by feasts, rituals, and staying up late.Festival · Dinner
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Wagah Border Ceremony: Vengolis, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Argungu Fishing Festival: Jaekel, Francis., Public domain, source
- Festivity of Saint Blaise: August Dominus, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Matariki: Robert Gendler, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kali Puja: Jonoikobangali, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Vardavar: Камалян001, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Rosenmontag: Aymx, Public domain, source
- Kathina: Thai Government, CC BY 2.0, source
- Anthesteria: Unknown artist, Public domain, source
- Māgha Pūjā: myself, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Yeondeunghoe: Korea.net / Korean Culture and Information Service (Jeon Han), CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Thingyan: Pagan era painter(s), Public domain, source
- Kartika Purnima: Pictowrit, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Meskel: DanielGirmaTsige, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Qatar National Day: Mohamod Fasil, CC BY 2.0, source
- Fastelavn: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Hùng Kings' Temple Festival: Xuannguyen1133, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ketikoti: StarNieuws, CC BY 3.0, source
- Dashain: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Sizdah Bedar: PersianDutchNetwork, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Koliada: Konstantin Trutovsky, Public domain, source
- Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day: Montrealais, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Carnival of Oruro: Pame82s, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Blacks and Whites' Carnival: camiloAndres, CC BY 2.0, source
- Easter whipping: Chmee2, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ride of the Kings: Filipzverina, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Risalamande: Lorie Shaull, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Day of the Shining Star: Nicor, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Chichilaki: Mostafameraji, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Scarlet Sails: Kora27, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Bhai Dooj: SandeshLamsalNepal, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Victoria Day: abdallahh, CC BY 2.0, source
- Tihar: Sreekumar K. S., CC BY 2.0, source
- Chinese New Year's Eve: Mickey Đại Phát, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tirgan: LACIPETO, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Christmas cracker: en:User:Cgros841, Public domain, source
- Dhanteras: The original uploader was F16 at Hebrew Wikipedia ., CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Jidai Matsuri: PlusMinus, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Gudi Padwa: Abhijit Tembhekar, CC BY 2.0, source
- Teej: Ganesh Paudel at ne.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tsukimi: katorisi, CC BY 3.0, source
- Mahavir Janma Kalyanak: Francis Harry Roy S, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sharad Purnima: ShotgunMavericks, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Vishu: Vishnu Kunnathully, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Clean Monday: Перов, Public domain, source
- Mimouna: U.S. Embassy Tel Aviv, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Double Ten Day: 總統府, CC BY 2.0, source
- Holika Dahan: Banswalhemant, CC BY-SA 4.0, source