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.

🇵🇱 Poland and 5 moreChristmas Eve The evening before Christmas, marked by church services, family meals, and gift preparations across Christian cultures.Festival · Dinner

🇲🇽 Mexico City, Mexico and 2 moreDay of the DeadDía de Muertos A Mexican remembrance of deceased family and friends with altars, marigolds and feastsFestival · Sweets given and shared 🇳🇬 Ibadan, Nigeria and 1 moreYoruba naming ceremonyÌkòlọ́pọ̀ Orúkọ Yorùbá A rite of passage where a newborn receives a destiny name through divination and family celebration.Rite of passage · Feasts and festival meals

🇺🇸 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

🇮🇪 Ireland and 1 moreImbolcLá Fhéile Bríde A Gaelic festival heralding spring and honoring Saint Brigid with woven rush crossesSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals

🇮🇪 Ireland and 6 moreSaint Stephen's Day A Christian feast day celebrating the first martyr with feasts, rides and folk customs.Spiritual · Feasts and festival meals

🇷🇸 SerbiaSlavaСлава An annual Serbian family feast honouring their patron saint with blessed bread and wineSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreTwelfth Night The closing evening of the Christmas season, kept with cake, carols and wassailSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals

🇲🇽 Mexico and 8 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

🇬🇭 Cape Coast, GhanaFetu Afahye A harvest festival of cleansing, boat races and royal durbars in Cape Coast, GhanaFestival · Feasts and festival meals

🇪🇨 Quito, EcuadorFanesca Ecuador's Holy Week soup of grains, beans and salt cod, made for Good FridayTable custom · Lunch

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

🇪🇹 Ethiopia and 1 moreBuheቡሄ An Orthodox feast day celebrated with neighborhood torches, songs, and gifts of breadSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals

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

🇬🇷 GreeceMagiritsaΜαγειρίτσα A Greek lamb offal soup eaten after the midnight Easter service to break the fastTable custom · Fasting and breaking the fast 🇮🇪 Dublin, Ireland and 3 moreLittle ChristmasNollaig na mBan A January feast day marking the close of the twelve days of ChristmasSeasonal · Dinner

🇷🇺 Moscow, RussiaChristmas in RussiaРождество Христово An Orthodox winter feast marked by church vigils, fasting suppers and festive mealsSpiritual · Supper 🇬🇭 GhanaOutdooringkpojiemɔ (Ga), abadinto (Akan), vihehedego (Ewe) A Ghanaian ceremony eight days after birth, when a baby is brought outdoors and namedRite of passage · Feasts and festival meals

🇵🇱 PolandEaster in Poland A spring holiday of family breakfasts, blessed baskets, decorated eggs, and water games.Festival · Breakfast 🇪🇹 Ethiopia and 1 moreFasikaፋሲካ The celebration of Easter and the end of Lent across Ethiopia and EritreaSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals

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

🇦🇲 Armenia and 1 moreTrndezտրնդեզ An Armenian fire feast forty days after Christmas, kept with bonfires and shared sweetsSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals

🇵🇱 PolandWigilia Poland's meatless Christmas Eve supper, begun when the first star appearsTable custom · Feasts and festival meals

🇱🇧 Beirut, Lebanon and 7 moreEid il-Burbaraعيد البربارة A winter feast of costumes, sweet boiled wheat, and sprouting seeds across the LevantFestival · Feasts and festival meals

🇪🇹 Lalibela, Ethiopia and 1 moreTimkatጥምቀት The Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Epiphany celebrating the baptism of JesusSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreMothering Sunday A mid-Lent Christian observance and family celebration of mothers and mother churchesSeasonal · Breakfast

🇮🇹 Venice, Italy and 5 moreCarnival A season of parades, masks and feasting in the days before LentFestival · Feasts and festival meals

🇮🇳 India and 5 moreNativity of Mary A Christian feast day honouring the birth of Mary, the mother of JesusSpiritual · Lunch

🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreLibation The ceremonial gift of drink given to deities, ancestors, and the earthSpiritual · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies

🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreRadonitsaРа́доница (Russian), Ра́даўніца (Belarusian) A spring day when Orthodox families visit graves, share Easter food and greet the deadSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 4 moreTwelve Days of Christmas A festive Christian liturgical season linking Christmas Day to the eve of EpiphanySeasonal · Feasts and festival meals

🇩🇰 Denmark and 1 moreQuinquagesima The last Sunday before Lent in Western Christianity, marking the start of Carnival and Shrovetide.Festival · Feasts and festival meals

🇮🇹 Rome, Italy and 8 moreSaint Joseph's Day A 19 March feast honouring Jesus' earthly father, kept with altars and processionsSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals

🇦🇲 Armenia and 5 moreFeast of the TransfigurationՊայծառակերպութիւն A Christian holy day marking the revelation of Christ's divine glory on Mount TaborSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals

🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreSaint Sylvester's Day A Christian feast day and year-end celebration marked across Europe and beyondSeasonal · Dinner

🇵🇸 al-Khader, PalestineFeast of Saint George An annual gathering of Palestinian Christians and Muslims honouring Saint GeorgeSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals

🇪🇸 Madrid, Spain and 4 moreFeast of Saint Isidore the LaborerFiestas de San Isidro Labrador A May festival honoring the patron saint of farmers, marked by processions and harvest gratitude in Spain and former colFestival · Feasts and festival meals

🇵🇹 PortugalMissas do Parto Nine morning Masses in Madeira that follow Mary through the last days of her pregnancySpiritual · Feasts and festival meals

🇷🇸 Serbia and 2 moreZapisзапис A consecrated village tree marked with a cross, venerated in Serbian folk traditionSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals

🇷🇸 Serbia and 5 moreĐurđevdanЂурђевдан A spring festival and feast of Saint George kept across the Balkans and Eastern EuropeFestival · 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.

Harvest festival: High Contrast, CC BY 3.0 de, source
Imbolc: Culnacreann, CC BY 3.0, source
Slava: Petar Milošević, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Las Posadas: Yavidaxiu, CC BY 3.0, source
Fetu Afahye: Kofiarkohbaidoo, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Magiritsa: Andrew Dalby, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Christmas in Russia: Gzen92, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Buhe: Woyne, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Easter in Poland: Silar, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Serbian Christmas: Petar Milošević, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Twelfth Night: Hablot Knight Browne: scanned by Steven J Plunkett, Public domain, source
Saint Patrick's Day in the United States: White House/Chuck Kennedy, Public domain, source
Trndez: Armineaghayan, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Wigilia: Przykuta, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Fanesca: Agencia de Noticias ANDES, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Easter: Piero della Francesca, Public domain, source
Radonitsa: Perohanych, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Saint Joseph's Day: Guido Reni, Public domain, source
Nativity of Mary: Giotto, Public domain, source
Missas do Parto: Porto Bay Events, CC BY 2.0, source
Libation: Arkady Zarubin ( Аркадий Зарубин ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Twelve Days of Christmas: Giotto, Public domain, source
Quinquagesima: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Feast of the Transfiguration: Unknown artist, Public domain, source
Feast of San Gennaro: MusikAnimal, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Feast of Saint Isidore the Laborer: Ángel Lizcano Monedero, Public domain, source
Christmas Eve: Carl Larsson, Public domain, source
Day of the Dead: RubeHM, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Saint Stephen's Day: Carlo Crivelli, Public domain, source
Saint Sylvester's Day: Unknown medieval artist in Rome, Public domain, source
Eid il-Burbara: Durziil89, CC0, source
Timkat: Jean Rebiffé, CC BY 4.0, source
Mothering Sunday: Jonathunder, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Feast of Saint George: Onceinawhile, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Zapis: Zblagojevic, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Đurđevdan: Anonymous Russian icon painter (before 1917) Public domain image (acco, Public domain, source
Carnival: Etienne Le Cocq, CC BY-SA 3.0, source