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.
🇮🇷 Yazd, Iran and 1 moreSadehسده
An ancient midwinter festival of fire, light, and the approach of springFestival · 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
🇱🇦 Luang Prabang, Laos and 5 moreLao New Yearປີໃໝ່ລາວ
A mid-April water festival and Buddhist celebration marking the Lao new yearFestival
🇮🇷 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
🇳🇴 Oslo, NorwayRussefeiring
A spring graduation rite of passage for Norwegian secondary school studentsRite of passage
🇹🇿 Zanzibar City, TanzaniaZanzibar International Film Festival
An annual ten-day arts, music and cinema gathering held across Zanzibar.Performance
🇷🇴 RomaniaDragobete
A Romanian festival of young love and spring, celebrated with early flowers and courtshipFestival
🇱🇻 Riga, Latvia and 4 moreJāņi
An annual Latvian summer solstice celebration of bonfires, singing and woven wreathsFestival
🇮🇳 Anandpur Sahib, IndiaHola Mohallaਹੋਲਾ-ਮਹੱਲਾ
A three-day Sikh festival of martial arts, poetry, shared meals and grand processionsFestival
🇦🇿 AzerbaijanNovruzNovruz Bayramı
The Azerbaijani spring equinox festival of bonfires, sweets and sprouted wheatSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇳🇷 NauruAngam Day
A national holiday in Nauru celebrating the survival and recovery of its peopleCeremony
🇸🇬 Singapore, SingaporeNational DayHari Kebangsaan Singapura
Singapore's annual civic holiday celebrating its national sovereignty on 9 AugustCeremony
🇧🇹 Thimphu, BhutanTshechuཚེས་བཅུ།
Annual Bhutanese Buddhist festivals of sacred Cham dances and colossal cloth scrollsFestival
🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo and 5 moreCongolese rumba
An African dance music and guitar tradition born along the Congo RiverPerformance
🇲🇽 Mexico City, MexicoMexican Independence DayDía de la Independencia de México
An annual Mexican national holiday marking the 1810 uprising against Spanish ruleCeremony
🇮🇳 Mysuru, IndiaMysore Dasara
Karnataka's ten-day Dasara, with the lit Mysuru Palace and a Vijayadashami processionFestival
🇨🇳 Beijing, ChinaLaba Festival臘八節
A winter porridge festival marking the start of the Chinese New Year seasonFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇦🇹 Austria and 4 moreAlmabtrieb
An Alpine autumn custom of leading decorated cattle from high pastures to valley barnsSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇦🇿 Goychay, AzerbaijanGoychay Pomegranate FestivalGöyçay nar festivalı
An annual gathering in Azerbaijan honouring regional pomegranates, crafts and musicFestival
🇸🇮 Slovenia and 1 morePrešeren DayPrešernov dan
A national celebration of arts and literature observed across Slovenia on 8 FebruaryCeremony
🇰🇭 Siem Reap, CambodiaCambodian New Yearបុណ្យចូលឆ្នាំថ្មី ប្រពៃណីជាតិ
A three-day harvest festival marking the traditional solar new year across CambodiaSeasonal
🇮🇳 Jaipur, IndiaGangaurगणगौर
A North Indian spring festival honouring Shiva and Gauri with clay idols and processionsFestival · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇳🇵 Kathmandu, NepalIndra JatraYenyā Punhi
An eight-day street festival in Nepal featuring masked dances, chariot processions, and sacred pole ceremonies.Festival
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreNaraka Chaturdashi
The dawn festival of oil baths, ancestor lamps, and harvest foods during DiwaliFestival · Breakfast
🇸🇦 Jenadriyah, Saudi ArabiaJenadriyahمهرجان الجنادرية
A two-week Saudi cultural festival of camel racing, folk dance, poetry, and craftsFestival
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreLakshmi Pujaलक्ष्मीपूजा
A Hindu festival of lamps, prayers and offerings welcoming the goddess of prosperitySpiritual · Sweets given and shared
🇵🇪 Lima, PeruLord of MiraclesSeñor de los Milagros
An October Catholic festival in Lima honouring a miraculous mural of ChristSpiritual · Sweets given and shared
🇩🇪 Cologne, GermanyCologne CarnivalKölner Karneval
A street festival in Cologne with parades, masquerades and a ruling trioFestival
🇪🇸 Seville, SpainHoly Week in SpainSemana Santa
Annual Catholic penitential processions across Spain featuring floats, robes and music to mark the Passion of Christ.Spiritual
🇪🇸 Pamplona, Spain and 5 moreProcessional giants
Towering costumed figures carried through town streets during communal festivalsFestival
🇵🇪 Cusco, PeruQoyllur Rit'iQuyllurit'i
An Andean mountain pilgrimage uniting indigenous star lore and Catholic devotionSpiritual
🇨🇭 Zurich, SwitzerlandSechseläutenSächsilüüte
Zurich's spring festival marked by guild parades and the burning of a snowman effigySeasonal
🇲🇽 Mexico and 8 moreLas Posadas
A nine-night Christmas pageant remembering Mary and Joseph seeking shelterSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇪🇸 Barcelona, SpainLa Mercè
Barcelona’s main annual city festival, honoring the Virgin of Mercy each September.Festival
🇳🇵 Kathmandu, NepalGai JatraSā Pāru (𑐳𑐵𑐥𑐵𑐬𑐸)
A Newar festival in the Kathmandu Valley to honor relatives who died that year through processions and satire.Festival
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreSohrai
A harvest and cattle observance kept by indigenous communities in eastern IndiaSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇬🇭 Ghana and 3 moreDamba festivalDamba chuɣu
A Ghanaian celebration of royal authority, ancestral memory, music and danceFestival
🇲🇾 Penampang, MalaysiaKaamatanTadau Kaamatan
An annual May harvest celebration of thanksgiving and community across Sabah, MalaysiaSeasonal
🇬🇭 Accra, GhanaHomowo
A harvest festival of the Ga people in Ghana to remember surviving famineFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇳 Vrindavan, India and 2 moreGovardhan Puja
A Hindu festival of piled vegetarian foods and sculpted earth, honouring KrishnaSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇪🇹 Ethiopia and 2 moreSigdስግድ
An Ethiopian Jewish holiday of covenant renewal, fasting, and longing for ZionSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇬🇷 Athens, Greece and 1 moreCelebration of the Greek RevolutionΕορτασμός της Ελληνικής Επανάστασης του 1821
An annual civic holiday of parades and church services marking Greek independenceCeremony
🇹🇲 Ashgabat, TurkmenistanMelon Day
A nationwide summer holiday in Turkmenistan honoring the country's prized melonsTable custom
🇮🇩 Indonesia and 4 moreLebaranHari Raya Lebaran
Indonesia's festive season of homecoming, seeking forgiveness and shared feastsFestival · Breakfast
🇲🇰 Galičnik, North MacedoniaGaličnik Wedding FestivalГаличка свадба
An annual village wedding festival celebrated every July in North MacedoniaFestival
🇮🇳 Tiruvannamalai, India and 1 moreKarthika DeepamKārtikai Tīpam
A Tamil and Malayali Hindu festival of lights honouring Shiva, Kartikeya and ParvatiSpiritual · Sweets given and shared
🇨🇭 Vevey, SwitzerlandFête des Vignerons
A once-in-a-generation wine festival and arena spectacle in Vevey, SwitzerlandFestival · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇪🇸 Barcelona, Spain and 2 moreDiada de Sant Jordi
A Catalan feast day of literature and love, marked by giving books and red rosesFestival
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Congolese rumba: Jeanne Vu Van, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Zanzibar International Film Festival: Peter Bennett / ZIFF, CC BY 2.0, source
- Russefeiring: Unknown author, CC BY 2.0, source
- Tshechu: Stephen Shephard, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Angam Day: Taken in 1896 by Augustin Krämer and uploaded by Rémih, Public domain, source
- National Day: Brian Jeffery Beggerly, CC BY 2.0, source
- Cambodian New Year: Sam Sith, CC BY 2.0, source
- Prešeren Day: Franz von Kurz zum Thurn und Goldenstein, Public domain, source
- Celebration of the Greek Revolution: Stefanos Kofopoulos, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Tirgan: LACIPETO, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Novruz: Abutalub, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sigd: האגודה הישראלית למען יהודי אתיופיה, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Govardhan Puja: Ms Sarah Welch, CC0, source
- Damba festival: Bash222, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kaamatan: CEphoto, Uwe Aranas, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Gai Jatra: Krish Dulal, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Las Posadas: Yavidaxiu, CC BY 3.0, source
- Sechseläuten: anonymous, Public domain, source
- Qoyllur Rit'i: AgainErick, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Diada de Sant Jordi: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Gangaur: Avinashmaurya, CC BY 3.0, source
- Jenadriyah: Abodi009, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mysore Dasara: Kalyan Kumar, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Homowo: Agbleyjill, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Lao New Year: Darren On The Road, CC BY 2.0, source
- Processional giants: Jesús Serna, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Holy Week in Spain: Rodelar, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Fête des Vignerons: "Groupement des photographes officiels" / Fête des vignerons Vevey / S, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Goychay Pomegranate Festival: Moonsun1981, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Cologne Carnival: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Almabtrieb: Feel free to use my photos, but please mention me as the author and if, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Lord of Miracles: Miguel Chong, Public domain, source
- Karthika Deepam: SriniG, Public domain, source
- Lakshmi Puja: Subharnab Majumdar, CC BY 2.0, source
- Naraka Chaturdashi: India (Delhi Agra area), Public domain, source
- Jāņi: Heinrihsons, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Galičnik Wedding Festival: IvanaKrstik, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mexican Independence Day: PetrohsW, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Indra Jatra: Kamal Ratna Tuladhar, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Melon Day: AltynAsyr, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Lebaran: Nurudin Jauhari, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Sadeh: Farzad j, Public domain, source
- La Mercè: larry&flo, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Hola Mohalla: Aayush sharma 923, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Chinese New Year's Eve: Mickey Đại Phát, CC BY-SA 4.0, source