Traditions of London
A great port of many peoples, where Trooping the Colour, pearly kings and Notting Hill Carnival all belong to the year.
London has been a capital for two thousand years, and its ceremonies range from royal pageantry to the markets of the East End. The calendar is full of events held in the same way for centuries, such as the Lord Mayor's Show and the Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower, side by side with festivals of the city's many communities.
Pageant and carnival
Trooping the Colour, in June, marks the monarch's official birthday with a parade of guards in red and bearskin hats. The Lord Mayor's Show, in November, is a procession of floats and carriages. In August, the Notting Hill Carnival, started by Caribbean communities, brings steel bands, costumes and food to the streets.
At the table
A full English breakfast, afternoon tea with scones and cream, Sunday roast with Yorkshire pudding, and fish and chips are classics. Pie and mash, with eel and liquor, is an East End tradition. Curry, Chinese, Turkish and Caribbean dishes shape the modern city's food.
Signature traditions of London
Also part of it, and being written: Afternoon tea (The tea meal.), Sunday roast (The family meal.), Pearly Kings and Queens (The costermonger tradition.).
A trail idea for London
- Borough Market Taste cheese and street food.
- Tower of London See the Ceremony of the Keys.
- Columbia Road Flower Market Visit on Sunday.
Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Opening hours, markets and festival dates change; check locally before travelling. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago and 3 moreSteelpan
A tuned percussion tradition forged from industrial steel containers in TrinidadPerformance
🇬🇧 London, United KingdomChelsea Flower Show
A five-day May horticultural festival held in London by the Royal Horticultural SocietyFestival
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreBeating Retreat
A military ceremony of music and drill held at sunset to mark the end of a day or a festival.Ceremony
🇧🇩 Dhaka, Bangladesh and 5 moreInternational Mother Language Day
An annual observance on 21 February to protect linguistic diversity and honour the Bengali language movement.Festival
🇬🇧 London, United KingdomLord Mayor's Show
An annual civic parade in London marking the inauguration of the Lord Mayor with a procession and pageantry.Ceremony
🇬🇧 London, United KingdomNotting Hill Carnival
An annual London street carnival celebrating British Caribbean culture and musicFestival
🇬🇧 London, United KingdomTrooping the Colour
The annual British military parade marking the official birthday of the monarch.Ceremony
🇳🇿 Waitangi, New Zealand and 2 moreWaitangi DayTe Rā o Waitangi
New Zealand's national day remembering the 1840 founding agreement.Ceremony · Breakfast
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreTwelfth Night
The closing evening of the Christmas season, kept with cake, carols and wassailSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇬🇧 London, United Kingdom and 5 moreChristmas cracker
A decorative paper tube pulled apart with a bang during Christmas dinnerFestival · Dinner
🇭🇺 Budapest, Hungary and 3 moreTáncház
A Hungarian folk dance gathering where anyone can learn the steps and dance to live musicPerformance
🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreJumping the broom
A wedding ritual where newlyweds leap over a broom to mark their unionRite of passage
🇬🇧 London, United KingdomRemembrance Sunday
A day of solemn remembrance for military and civilian service members in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth.Ceremony
🇬🇧 London, United Kingdom and 6 moreBoishakhi Melaবৈশাখী মেলা
A Bengali New Year fair in London each May, with a parade, music and food stallsFestival
🇮🇱 Jerusalem, Israel and 3 moreHanukkah menorah
A nine-branched lamp that gains one more flame on each of Hanukkah's eight nightsSpiritual
🇬🇧 London, United Kingdom and 4 moreAfternoon tea
A late-afternoon spread of tea, small sandwiches and cakes, kept across BritainTable custom · Tea-time and snacking customs
🇺🇾 Uruguay and 3 moreTango
A social partner dance of the Río de la Plata, improvised step by stepPerformance
🇬🇧 London, United KingdomRoyal Maundy
A Church of England service where the monarch gives silver Maundy coins to older peopleSpiritual
🇫🇷 France and 5 moreVictory in Europe Day8 mai 1945
The day Nazi Germany's surrender was accepted, marking the end of the war in EuropeCeremony
🇨🇦 Toronto, Canada and 1 moreStar Wars Day
An annual worldwide celebration of the Star Wars universe on May 4Festival
🇳🇬 Lagos, Nigeria and 2 moreIndependence Day
Nigeria's national day, marking the end of British rule on 1 October 1960Ceremony
🇬🇧 London, United Kingdom and 2 moreOyez
A traditional ceremonial call chanted to open court sessions and civic assembliesCeremony
🇬🇧 Ashbourne, United Kingdom and 1 moreRoyal Shrovetide Football
A medieval mob football game played in Ashbourne on Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday.Game
🇬🇧 United KingdomRacial Justice Sunday
A day of prayer and action for racial justice observed by British Christian churches in February.Spiritual
🇬🇧 London, United KingdomQueen Charlotte's Ball
A historic coming-of-age gala where young women curtsey to an ornate birthday cakeRite of passage
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Remembrance Day: Philip Stevens, Public domain, source
- Oyez: Bryan Ledgard, CC BY 2.0, source
- Waitangi Day: Ryan762 ( talk ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Notting Hill Carnival: Diliff, CC BY 2.5, source
- Trooping the Colour: Carfax2, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Christmas cracker: en:User:Cgros841, Public domain, source
- Jumping the broom: credited only as "Hipstamatic shots, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Royal Shrovetide Football: Adrian Roebuck, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Twelfth Night: Hablot Knight Browne: scanned by Steven J Plunkett, Public domain, source
- Racial Justice Sunday: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Steelpan: Shanel, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Chelsea Flower Show: Nzfauna, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Boishakhi Mela: Ripon Miah, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Beating Retreat: Beating Retreat, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- International Mother Language Day: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Lord Mayor's Show: Yamen, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Hanukkah menorah: Musée d'art et d'histoire du Judaïsme, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Afternoon tea: joyosity, CC BY 2.0, source
- Tango: carlos luque, CC BY 2.5, source
- Royal Maundy: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Victory in Europe Day: Fotograaf Onbekend / Anefo, CC0, source
- Independence Day: AMISOM Public Information, CC0, source
- Queen Charlotte's Ball: The Illustrated London News, Public domain, source