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.
🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreMother's Day
A worldwide annual celebration dedicated to mothers, maternal bonds and family careHome
🇺🇸 Philadelphia, United States and 1 moreIndependence Day
The United States' national day of parades, barbecues and fireworks, kept each July 4Ceremony
🇲🇽 Mexico City, Mexico and 1 moreDay of the DeadDía de Muertos
A Mexican remembrance of deceased family and friends with altars, marigolds and feastsFestival · Sweets given and shared
🇺🇸 Boise, United States and 3 moreBasque festivalEuskal jaiak
Gatherings of dance, sport and food that keep Basque culture alive far from homeFestival
🇺🇸 Honolulu, United StatesLei Day
A statewide celebration in Hawaii honoring the art of lei making and the aloha spirit.Festival
🇲🇽 Mexico and 1 moreTamalada
A gathering where tamales are the main dish or a communal tamale-making party in Mexican and Hispanic cultures.Festival · Lunch
🇧🇲 Hamilton, BermudaBermuda Day
A public holiday in Bermuda marking the start of summer activities with a parade and road race.Festival
🇺🇸 Fairbanks, United States and 2 moreWorld Eskimo-Indian Olympics
An annual Arctic gathering of traditional survival games, athletics, and cultural artsGame
🇲🇽 San Salvador Huixcolotla, Mexico and 1 morePapel picado
A Mexican folk art of cutting intricate designs into tissue paper for festive and spiritual displays.Festival
🇺🇸 New Orleans, United StatesKrewe
Carnival clubs that stage parades, balls, and pageantry along the Gulf CoastFestival
🇺🇸 New York, United StatesGhost Dance
A circle dance ceremony kept by Native American communities to reunite with ancestors and restore peace.Spiritual
🇧🇲 Hamilton, BermudaGombey
A Bermudian masquerade of dance and drumming with African and British rootsPerformance
🇺🇸 New Orleans, United StatesSecond line
A New Orleans parade where clubs march and a crowd dances along behind the bandFestival
🇺🇸 United StatesFeast of the Seven FishesFesta dei sette pesci
An Italian-American Christmas Eve seafood dinner marking abstinence from meat.Table custom · Dinner
🇺🇸 New York, United States and 2 moreSalsa
A lively Latin partner dance rooted in Afro-Caribbean rhythms and social dance traditionsPerformance
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreSaint Patrick's Day in the United States
An annual celebration of Irish heritage across America with parades, feasts and green dyeFestival · Dinner
🇺🇸 United StatesNalukataq
A spring whaling festival of the Iñupiat in Northern Alaska, featuring a blanket toss and communal feast.Festival · Feasts and festival meals
🇺🇸 United StatesFancy dance
A fast-paced, athletic Indigenous dance kept at powwows across North America and beyond.Performance
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreTrunk-or-treating
A safer Halloween alternative where treats are handed out from decorated car trunks in parking lots.Festival
🇺🇸 New York, United StatesFlag Day
An annual American observance marking the 1777 adoption of the national flagCeremony
🇺🇸 Falcon Heights, United StatesMinnesota State Fair
Minnesota's twelve-day fair of farm animals, contests and food, ending on Labor DayFestival
🇲🇽 Huamantla, Mexico and 4 moreSawdust carpettapete de aserrín
Colored sawdust designs laid on streets to greet religious processions in Latin America and beyond.Festival
🇧🇲 BermudaBermuda kite
Flying bright geometric kites on Good Friday across Bermuda to mark EasterCraft
🇺🇸 New York, United StatesRockefeller Center Christmas Tree
A towering spruce lit annually in New York City to mark the start of the holiday season.Festival
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreQuilting bee
A communal gathering where people stitch quilts together while sharing news and strengthening community bonds.Festival
🇺🇸 Los Angeles, United StatesSuper Bowl
The annual championship game of American professional football, held every February.Game
🇺🇸 New York, United StatesVillage Halloween Parade
An annual costumed puppetry march through Greenwich Village on Halloween nightFestival
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreBarn raising
A communal tradition where neighbours assemble to erect a farm barn in a few daysCraft · Lunch
🇲🇽 Mexico City, Mexico and 2 moreOur Lady of GuadalupeNuestra Señora de Guadalupe
A Mexican devotion to Mary, with a feast on 12 December and an image kept on a cloakSpiritual
🇺🇸 New Orleans, United States and 5 moreMardi Gras
A festive day of parades and rich foods marking the final celebration before the Christian fasting season of Lent beginsFestival
🇺🇸 Chicago, United States and 4 moreKwanzaa
A seven-day African American celebration of heritage, family and community valuesFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇲🇽 Guadalajara, Mexico and 1 moreMariachi
A Mexican string and trumpet music tradition featuring charro attire and communal singing.Performance
🇺🇸 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
🇺🇸 United StatesLabor Day
A national American holiday honouring the working class with parades and picnicsCeremony
🇨🇦 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
🇺🇸 Washington, United StatesPresidents' DayWashington's Birthday
An annual American holiday honouring George Washington and the nation's past leadersCeremony
🇺🇸 Washington, United StatesThanksgiving
An annual American holiday of gratitude, family gatherings and an autumn harvest feastFestival · Dinner
🇨🇦 Calgary, CanadaCalgary StampedeStampede de Calgary
A ten-day July festival of rodeo, racing, and community breakfasts in Alberta.Festival · Breakfast
🇨🇦 CanadaSaint-Jean-Baptiste DayFête nationale du Québec
An annual civic and cultural celebration observed across Quebec every June 24Ceremony
🇨🇦 Toronto, CanadaVictoria DayFête de la Reine
A Canadian public holiday celebrating the monarch and welcoming the return of summerCeremony
🇲🇽 Mexico City, MexicoMexican Independence DayDía de la Independencia de México
An annual Mexican national holiday marking the 1810 uprising against Spanish ruleCeremony
🇲🇽 Mexico and 7 moreLas Posadas
A nine-night Christmas pageant remembering Mary and Joseph seeking shelterSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇺🇸 New York, United States and 1 moreFeast of San GennaroFesta di San Gennaro
A patronal festival of parades, street food and prayer honouring Saint JanuariusFestival · Tea-time and snacking customs
🇨🇦 Canada and 5 moreTartan DayLà an Tartain
An annual celebration of Scottish culture, clan tartans, and diaspora heritageFestival
🇨🇦 CanadaThanksgivingAction de grâce
An annual Canadian autumn holiday celebrating the harvest with family feastsFestival · Dinner
🇺🇸 Washington, United StatesNational Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation
An annual White House ceremony in which the American president spares a holiday turkey.Ceremony
🇲🇽 Mazatlán, MexicoCarnival of MazatlánCarnaval de Mazatlán
An annual five-day festival of parades, fireworks, poetry and dance in coastal MexicoFestival
🇺🇸 United StatesMakahiki
A four-month Hawaiian new year season of peace, harvest gifts, feasts and gamesSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation: Trump White House Archived, Public domain, source
- World Eskimo-Indian Olympics: Andrew Otto, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Our Lady of Guadalupe: Sebastian Wallroth, CC BY 3.0, source
- Groundhog Day: Anthony Quintano, CC BY 2.0, source
- Mariachi: Elidealista, CC0, source
- Mother's Day: Dave Parker, CC BY 2.0, source
- Potlatch: James Gilchrist Swan (1818–1900), Public domain, source
- Kwanzaa: Apavlo at English Wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Second line: Infrogmation of New Orleans, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Calgary Stampede: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Labor Day: Author not known, but more than 100 years old, Image edited, Public domain, source
- Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day: Montrealais, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Presidents' Day: Alexander Gardner, Public domain, source
- Victoria Day: abdallahh, CC BY 2.0, source
- Thanksgiving: Jennie Augusta Brownscombe, Public domain, source
- Mexican Independence Day: PetrohsW, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Las Posadas: Yavidaxiu, CC BY 3.0, source
- Feast of San Gennaro: MusikAnimal, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Thanksgiving: Lars Plougmann, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Tartan Day: daniel2177, CC BY 2.0, source
- Makahiki: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Basque festival: Ken Lund, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Carnival of Mazatlán: The New Foxy, CC0, source
- Barn raising: Alexander W. Galbraith, Public domain, source
- Minnesota State Fair: Jonathunder at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Feast of the Seven Fishes: GW Fins, CC BY 2.0, source
- Krewe: Tim Ross, Public domain, source
- Salsa: Edil Villa, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Saint Patrick's Day in the United States: White House/Chuck Kennedy, Public domain, source
- Super Bowl: John Tornow, CC BY 2.0, source
- Village Halloween Parade: InSapphoWeTrust, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Flag Day: Freekee /Kevin Hansen, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Papel picado: Ferfive, CC BY 4.0, source
- Fancy dance: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Nalukataq: Floyd Davidson, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Lei Day: Janine, CC BY 2.0, source
- Independence Day: John Trumbull, Public domain, source
- Ghost Dance: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Quilting bee: Carol M. Highsmith via Library of Congress, Commons, CC0, source
- Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree: Praneeth Thalla, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Gombey: Smithsonian Institution, No restrictions, source
- Trunk-or-treating: Lance Cpl. Scott L. Tomaszycki, Public domain, source
- Sawdust carpet: Rosalba Muñoz RomeroLia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Bermuda kite: Aodhdubh ( talk ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Day of the Dead: RubeHM, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Mardi Gras: Infrogmation of New Orleans, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tamalada: Tania Solá (WMMX), CC BY-SA 4.0, source