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.

🇱🇹 LithuaniaUžgavėnės A Lithuanian winter-ending festival of masks, mock battles and pancakesFestival

🇬🇷 GreeceMagiritsaΜαγειρίτσα A Greek lamb offal soup eaten after the midnight Easter service to break the fastTable custom · Fasting and breaking the fast

🇺🇦 Chernivtsi, Ukraine and 3 moreMalankaМаланка A Ukrainian folk celebration of masked mummers, feasting and New Year blessingsFestival · Feasts and festival meals

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

🇮🇹 Venice, ItalyFesta del RedentoreFesta del Redentor Venice's July festival of fireworks over the water, kept in thanks for the plague's endFestival

🇪🇸 Spain and 2 moreLas arras Thirteen gold coins, blessed at a wedding and given by the groom to the brideRite of passage

🇮🇹 Naples, Italy and 5 moreNativity scene A seasonal set of figures showing Jesus's birth, put up by Christians at ChristmasFestival

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

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

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

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

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

🇦🇹 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

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

🇮🇹 Rome, Italy and 2 moreAssumption of Mary A feast on 15 August, when Christians remember Mary taken up into heavenSpiritual

🇬🇧 London, United KingdomRoyal Maundy A Church of England service where the monarch gives silver Maundy coins to older peopleSpiritual

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

🇬🇷 Greece and 4 moreVasilopitaΒασιλόπιτα A New Year bread or cake with a coin baked inside, shared out slice by sliceTable custom · Sweets given and shared

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

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

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

🇧🇾 BelarusBatlejkaБатле́йка A two-level puppet booth from Belarus, playing Nativity and folk scenes at ChristmasPerformance

🇷🇺 RussiaSarafanсарафа́н A long, flared Russian dress, the everyday wear of peasant women for centuriesDress

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

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

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

🇺🇦 Kyiv, UkraineVertepвертеп A two-tiered Ukrainian puppet theatre that mixes the nativity story with satirical comedy and folk music.Performance

🇧🇪 Mons, BelgiumDucasse de Mons An eight-day festival in Mons featuring a golden carriage and a dragon combatFestival 🇮🇹 Florence, ItalyScoppio del Carro An Easter Sunday fireworks display ignited by a flying dove in FlorenceFestival

🇪🇸 SpainOlentzero A Basque Christmas tradition of a charcoal burner bringing presents in midwinterFestival 🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreCarol service A Christmas church service of seasonal hymns, scripture readings and candlelightSpiritual

🇬🇧 London, United KingdomRemembrance Sunday A day of solemn remembrance for military and civilian service members in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth.Ceremony 🇮🇪 Dublin, Ireland and 3 moreLittle ChristmasNollaig na mBan A January feast day marking the close of the twelve days of ChristmasSeasonal · Dinner

🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreEvil eye A belief in harm cast by envious glares, met with protective charms and spoken blessingsFolklore

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreChristmas dinner The festive family meal of Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, with roast meats and puddingsTable custom · Dinner

🇩🇪 Saalfeld, Germany and 5 moreEaster egg treeOstereierbaum A German springtime custom of dressing living trees and branches with blown eggsFestival

🇱🇺 Luxembourg and 3 moreBuergbrennen A bonfire festival marking the end of winter on the first Sunday of Lent in LuxembourgSeasonal 🇱🇻 Riga, LatviaZiemassvētki Latvia's midwinter festival of solstice customs, mumming and tree decorationSeasonal

🇩🇪 Cologne, Germany and 2 moreGerman CarnivalKarneval Pre-Lenten street parades, costume balls and local revels across German-speaking lands.Festival · Feasts and festival meals

🇫🇷 FranceConfirmation A Christian rite of laying on of hands that completes baptism and strengthens faithRite of passage

🇱🇮 Vaduz, LiechtensteinLiechtenstein National DayStaatsfeiertag Liechtenstein Liechtenstein's national holiday celebrated with castle speeches, bonfires and fireworksCeremony

🇧🇬 Bulgaria and 3 moreBanitsaБаница A layered Bulgarian cheese pastry baked for morning meals and holiday fortunesTable custom · Breakfast

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 4 moreSaffron bun A golden, spiced yeast roll flavoured with saffron, baked for festive and holy daysTable custom · Tea-time and snacking customs

🇷🇺 Khokhloma, RussiaKhokhlomaхохлома Russian folk painting of red, black and gold flowers and berries on wooden tablewareCraft

🇬🇧 United KingdomPlough Sunday An English church blessing of the land and farm tools at the start of the yearSpiritual

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

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

🇮🇪 Ireland and 5 moreSaint Patrick's DayLá Fhéile Pádraig An annual Irish holiday of parades, church services, green dress and shamrocksFestival

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
Plough Sunday: John Cowie, CC BY 3.0, source
Khokhloma: Dmfff, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Saffron bun: Nenniu, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Banitsa: Sheku80, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Liechtenstein National Day: Förkle, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
German Carnival: Neva Micheva, CC BY 2.5, source
Buergbrennen: luxpim, CC BY 2.0, source
Easter egg tree: Frank schubert, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Malanka: Viktoriyasechkar, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Magiritsa: Andrew Dalby, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Užgavėnės: Algirdas at Lithuanian Wikipedia, GFDL, source
Olentzero: Josu Goñi Etxabe, Public domain, source
Sarafan: Hanna Zelenko, 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
Vertep: Микола Василечко, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Ducasse de Mons: Jean-Pol GRANDMONT, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Remembrance Sunday: Philip Stevens, Public domain, source
Wigilia: Przykuta, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Festa del Redentore: Photographer: Riccardo Speziari, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Las arras: penny, CC BY 2.0, source
Nativity scene: Yvonne Bentele, CC BY-SA 4.0, 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
Royal Maundy: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Assumption of Mary: Jebulon, CC0, source
Epiphany: Gentile da Fabriano, Public domain, source
Vasilopita: Μυρμηγκάκι, 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
Batlejka: user:Хомелка, CC BY 3.0, source
Evil eye: FocalPoint, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Christmas dinner: Austin McGee, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Confirmation: Unknown author, CC BY 2.0, source
Saint Patrick's Day: rannṗáirtí anaiṫnid ( coṁrá ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source