Christian traditions

Christian traditions span the globe, from Ethiopian Orthodox fasts and Filipino Simbang Gabi to Swedish Lucia, Mexican posadas, Easter in Greece and the harvest services of Britain.

Christian traditions span the globe, from Ethiopian Orthodox fasts and Filipino Simbang Gabi to Swedish Lucia, Mexican posadas, Easter in Greece and the harvest services of Britain. They centre on Christmas, Lent, Holy Week and Easter, Pentecost, saints' days and the sacraments of baptism, communion, marriage and burial. Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant and Pentecostal churches each have their customs, and local cultures have shaped them in distinct ways. Here they are described with respect for the believers who keep them, and for the variety of ways of keeping them.

The church year

The year begins with Advent and builds to Christmas, then Epiphany, Lent, Holy Week and Easter, followed by Pentecost and the long season of ordinary time. Saints' days mark local patrons, and many towns have a patronal feast with a procession and fair. Orthodox churches keep their own calendar, so Christmas falls on 7 January in several countries. Fasting seasons shape food, and feasts follow.

Around the world

Christians in different countries have made the faith their own: the dawn masses of the Philippines, the carols of Wales, the gospel choirs of the American South, the white-clad pilgrims of Lalibela, the Corpus Christi carpets of flowers in Spain, and the Nativity scenes of Naples. These customs combine faith with local food, music and craft, and are among the most visible traditions of the world.

About this page

Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Background on Christian (faith). Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreEgg rolling A spring game of rolling decorated hard-boiled eggs down hills or along lawnsGame

🇭🇷 Sinj, CroatiaSinjska Alka An annual jousting tournament in Sinj where galloping riders strike a hanging ringGame

🇭🇷 Dubrovnik, Croatia and 1 moreFestivity of Saint BlaiseFesta Svetog Vlaha An annual patron saint festival in Dubrovnik with processions, relics and dovesFestival

🇬🇧 London, United Kingdom and 5 moreChristmas cracker A decorative paper tube pulled apart with a bang during Christmas dinnerFestival · Dinner

🇩🇰 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

🇩🇪 Cologne, Germany and 3 moreRosenmontag The peak of German carnival, celebrated with satirical street parades and sweetsFestival

🇨🇿 Vlčnov, CzechiaRide of the KingsJízda králů A Moravian spring procession where horsemen escort a silent boy king holding a roseFestival

🇺🇦 Ukraine and 12 moreKoliadaКоляда A traditional winter caroling and solstice festival kept across Slavic EuropeFestival

🇨🇿 Czechia and 2 moreEaster whippingpomlázka An Easter Monday custom of tapping women with braided willow switches for vitalitySeasonal

🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreClean MondayΚαθαρά Δευτέρα The Monday that opens Great Lent, kept with fasting, forgiveness and kite-flyingSpiritual · 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

🇩🇪 Cologne, GermanyCologne CarnivalKölner Karneval A street festival in Cologne with parades, masquerades and a ruling trioFestival

🇪🇸 Barcelona, SpainLa Mercè Barcelona’s main annual city festival, honoring the Virgin of Mercy each September.Festival

🇪🇸 Pamplona, Spain and 5 moreProcessional giants Towering costumed figures carried through town streets during communal festivalsFestival

🇪🇸 Seville, SpainHoly Week in SpainSemana Santa Annual Catholic penitential processions across Spain featuring floats, robes and music to mark the Passion of Christ.Spiritual

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 4 moreMummers' play A comic folk drama of staged combat, death, and revival by an eccentric doctorPerformance

🇪🇸 Barcelona, Spain and 2 moreDiada de Sant Jordi A Catalan feast day of literature and love, marked by giving books and red rosesFestival

🇸🇪 SwedenJul A midwinter holiday of feast tables, doorstep gift givers, and candlelit morningsSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals 🇫🇷 France and 5 moreRéveillon A luxurious late-night feast that stretches until dawn across the winter holidaysTable custom · Dinner

🇪🇸 Valencia, SpainCremà The ceremonial burning of large artistic street monuments across the Valencian communityFestival

🇷🇸 Serbia and 5 moreSerbian ChristmasБожић A three-day midwinter observance focused on oak logs, floor straw and family gatheringsSpiritual · Dinner

🇧🇪 Binche, BelgiumGillesGille Costumed carnival figures of Binche and surrounding Belgian townsFestival

🇵🇱 PolandEaster in Poland A spring holiday of family breakfasts, blessed baskets, decorated eggs, and water games.Festival · Breakfast

🇪🇸 Barcelona, Spain and 4 moreCaganerEl Caganer A defecating figurine placed in Catalan nativity scenes to bring good luck and fertilize the earth.Festival

🇷🇺 Moscow, RussiaChristmas in RussiaРождество Христово An Orthodox winter feast marked by church vigils, fasting suppers and festive mealsSpiritual · Supper

🇪🇸 SpainOlentzero A Basque Christmas tradition of a charcoal burner bringing presents in midwinterFestival 🇮🇪 Dublin, Ireland and 3 moreLittle ChristmasNollaig na mBan A January feast day marking the close of the twelve days of ChristmasSeasonal · Dinner

🇵🇹 Porto, PortugalFesta de São João do Porto Porto's midsummer festival of street feasts, fireworks and playful hammer tapsFestival

🇪🇸 Jijona, Spain and 5 moreTurrón A festive Mediterranean nut-and-honey confection shared at Christmas and local feastsTable custom · Sweets given and shared

🇷🇴 Romania and 1 moreColindă A Romanian and Moldovan Christmas carol tradition where village groups sing Nativity songs door to door.Festival

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreHarvest festival A thanks for the gathered crop, kept with church meals, songs and shared foodSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals

🇸🇮 Ptuj, Slovenia and 1 moreKurentovanje A rite of spring and carnival in Ptuj with masked bell-ringers chasing winter awayFestival

🇪🇸 Seville, SpainSeville FairFeria de Abril de Sevilla A week-long spring festival in Seville of carriage parades, marquee tents and dancingFestival · Dinner

🇬🇧 Llangollen, United Kingdom and 5 moreEisteddfod A Welsh festival of poetry and music competitions, featuring the chairing and crowning of winning bards.Festival

🇺🇦 UkraineTraditional Ukrainian wedding A wedding spread over many days, with matchmaking, bread, wreaths and songRite of passage

🇧🇪 Aalst, BelgiumAalst CarnivalAalst Carnaval A three-day street carnival of satire, costumed parades and folk rituals in AalstFestival

🇬🇷 Patras, GreecePatras CarnivalPatrino karnavali A winter carnival of parades, street games and satirical floats in western GreeceFestival

🇱🇹 LithuaniaSaint Jonas's FestivalJoninės A Lithuanian midsummer night of bonfires, wreaths, song and morning dewSeasonal

🇦🇹 Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria and 2 moreSilent NightStille Nacht, heilige Nacht A Christmas carol composed in Austria in 1818, now sung worldwide as a symbol of peace.Performance

🇧🇪 Antwerp, Belgium and 2 moreOmmegangommegang (Dutch) Medieval town processions of the Low Countries, with giants, guilds and horsesCeremony

🇮🇹 Italy and 5 moreEasterΠάσχα The day Christians mark the resurrection, kept with vigils, feasts and eggsSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals

🇬🇧 United KingdomPlough Monday England's old start of the farming year, kept with ploughs, straw bears and sword dancesSeasonal

🇬🇧 Lewes, United KingdomLewes Bonfire A Sussex town marks 5 November with torchlit processions, burning crosses and bonfiresFestival

🇩🇪 Germany and 2 moreSwabian-Alemannic FastnachtFastnacht A late-winter carnival of masks and jesters kept before Lent in the Alemannic landsFestival

🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreEpiphany A January feast of the Magi, the Jordan baptism and the Cana miracle, kept by ChristiansSpiritual

🇷🇺 RussiaRussian wedding traditions A Russian wedding runs two days to a week, with ransom games, crowns and toastsRite of passage

🇦🇹 Austria and 5 moreKrampus Saint Nicholas's horned companion, who comes for misbehaving children on 5 DecemberFolklore

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

Patras Carnival: www.infocenterpatras.gr, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Harvest festival: High Contrast, CC BY 3.0 de, source
Egg rolling: White House/Lawrence Jackson, Public domain, source
Rosenmontag: Aymx, Public domain, source
Fastelavn: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Jul: Holger.Ellgaard, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Easter whipping: Chmee2, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Risalamande: Lorie Shaull, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Celebration of the Greek Revolution: Stefanos Kofopoulos, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Christmas cracker: en:User:Cgros841, Public domain, source
Diada de Sant Jordi: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Cremà: Paula Ramírez Morant, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Saint Jonas's Festival: Unknown author, CC0, source
Aalst Carnival: Wikisid, CC BY 3.0, source
Seville Fair: Sevilla Congress & Convention Bureau, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Kurentovanje: Aleš Kravos, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Colindă: Post of Moldova, Public domain, source
Turrón: Tamorlan, CC BY 3.0, source
Festa de São João do Porto: Hugo Cadavez, CC BY 2.0, source
Olentzero: Josu Goñi Etxabe, Public domain, source
Christmas in Russia: Gzen92, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Caganer: Roeland P., CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Easter in Poland: Silar, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Gilles: Marie-Claire, CC BY 3.0, source
Serbian Christmas: Petar Milošević, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Krampus: Naturpuur, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Russian wedding traditions: GeorgeLouis, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Lewes Bonfire: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Plough Monday: Rawpixel, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Ommegang: Zorro2212, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Silent Night: Franz Xaver Gruber (1787–1863), Public domain, source
Swabian-Alemannic Fastnacht: Photo: Andreas Praefcke, CC BY 3.0, source
Epiphany: Gentile da Fabriano, Public domain, source
Traditional Ukrainian wedding: Пимоненко, Николай Корнильевич, Public domain, source
Eisteddfod: Llywelyn2000, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Easter: Piero della Francesca, Public domain, source
Ride of the Kings: Filipzverina, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Sinjska Alka: L. Carević, CC0, source
Processional giants: Jesús Serna, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
Holy Week in Spain: Rodelar, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Festivity of Saint Blaise: August Dominus, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Cologne Carnival: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Koliada: Konstantin Trutovsky, Public domain, source
La Mercè: larry&flo, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Clean Monday: Перов, Public domain, source
Mummers' play: Aladjov, CC BY 3.0, source