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 KingdomJack o' Lent An English Lenten custom of abusing and burning a straw figureSeasonal

🇮🇸 IcelandChristmas in IcelandJól A winter festival of mountain folklore, family feasts and thirteen mischievous visitorsFestival · Dinner 🇸🇰 SlovakiaName days in SlovakiaMeniny The Slovak tradition of celebrating personal name days alongside birthdaysSeasonal

🇮🇹 Turin, Italy and 5 moreMary Help of ChristiansSancta Maria Auxilium Christianorum A Christian feast and devotion honouring Mary as a protector, observed on 24 MaySpiritual

🇪🇸 Córdoba, Spain and 5 moreFiesta de las Cruces A May festival where communities decorate crosses with flowers and crafts to celebrate faith and local heritage.Festival

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

🇩🇪 GermanySeven Sleepers' DaySiebenschläfertag A German feast day on June 27 where the weather predicts the next seven weeks of summer.Seasonal

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

🇬🇧 United KingdomRacial Justice Sunday A day of prayer and action for racial justice observed by British Christian churches in February.Spiritual 🇬🇷 GreeceKalanta ChristougenonΚάλαντα Χριστουγέννων A Greek Christmas carol, sung around the feast with triangle and guitarPerformance

🇬🇧 United KingdomHarvest Festival An autumn thanksgiving for the crops, kept in churches and schools across the UKSeasonal · Supper

🇮🇹 Italy and 2 moreFeast of Saint Thomas Aquinas An annual Christian feast day honouring the medieval theologian Saint Thomas AquinasSpiritual 🇸🇪 Sweden and 2 moreSaint Knut's DayTjugondag Knut A Nordic holiday marking the twentieth and final day of Christmas each JanuarySeasonal · Sweets given and shared

🇭🇷 CroatiaBadnjakBadnji dan A Christmas Eve oak log burned in the hearth across Croatia to welcome the holiday.Festival · Fasting and breaking the fast

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreCorpse road Historical paths used to carry the dead to parish burial grounds across Britain and Ireland.Rite of passage

🇫🇷 France and 5 moreRespite SanctuarySanctuaire à répit A historical Catholic custom of seeking brief revival to baptise stillborn infantsSpiritual 🇽🇰 Kosovo and 2 morePodruga A Balkan custom in which a childless wife agreed to a second wife joining the householdRite of passage 🇷🇸 SerbiaVertepвертеп A Serbian Orthodox Christmas Eve custom, named for the cave of the NativitySpiritual

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreScottish folk music Traditional ballads, fiddle tunes and bagpipe melodies from Scotland and its diasporaPerformance

🇬🇧 United KingdomChurch parade A formal military procession held to attend a religious serviceCeremony

🇮🇹 Palermo, ItalyFeast of Saint RosaliaFestino di Santa Rosalia An annual July festival in Palermo honouring the patron saint who ended the plague.Festival

🇪🇸 Valencia, Spain and 2 morePeineta A curved decorative comb worn by women beneath a lace mantilla in the Hispanic worldDress

🇫🇷 Paris, FranceParis CarnivalCarnaval de Paris An annual street celebration and costume procession across ParisFestival

🇮🇹 Venice, Italy and 2 moreFeast of Saint MarkFesta di san Marco Saint Mark's day on 25 April, kept with rosebuds in Venice and harvest care in LithuaniaSpiritual

🇷🇺 Russia and 3 moreGeorge's Day in AutumnЕгорий Осенний (Yegoriy Osenniy), Юрьев день (Yuriev den); Serbian: Ђурђиц (Đurđic) The autumn feast of Saint George, kept at harvest's end in Slavic landsFestival

🇭🇷 Hvar, CroatiaZa križen A night procession on Hvar island where six villages walk simultaneously to honor the cross.Spiritual

🇬🇧 London, United Kingdom and 1 moreMarriage vows The promises a couple speak to each other as they marryRite of passage

🇵🇹 Lisbon, PortugalGraça Procession of the Lord of the PassionProcissão do Senhor dos Passos da Graça Lisbon's Lenten walk of seven Passion stops, kept every year since 1587Spiritual

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreBridesmaid The companions and attendants who support a bride during a weddingRite of passage 🇮🇸 IcelandIcelandic weddings A blend of church rites and long feasts, where guests sit by family lines and gifts are saved for the morning.Rite of passage · Dinner

🇫🇷 Lyon, France and 2 moreWeek of Prayer for Christian Unity An eight-day international period of shared prayer for reconciliation among churchesSpiritual

🇪🇸 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

🇩🇪 Weingarten, Germany and 1 moreBlutritt An equestrian pilgrimage across southern Germany honoring a relic of the Holy BloodSpiritual

🇷🇸 Serbia and 2 moreZapisзапис A consecrated village tree marked with a cross, venerated in Serbian folk traditionSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals 🇮🇹 Montepulciano, ItalyBravio delle botti An annual uphill wine barrel race between the eight historic districts of MontepulcianoGame

🇮🇹 Benevento, ItalyWitches of Benevento A southern Italian tradition of walnut-tree gatherings and protective folk charmsFolklore

🇱🇹 LithuaniaLithuanian cross craftingLietuvos kryždirbystė A Lithuanian folk art of carving wooden crosses that blend Christian faith with ancient Baltic symbols.Craft

🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreSaint Nicholas Boots out on 6 December: sweets for good children, a switch for the restFestival · Sweets given and shared

🇮🇸 Skálholt, IcelandThorlak's MassÞorláksmessa Iceland's feast of its patron saint on 23 December, the last day before ChristmasSpiritual

Photo credits on this page

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

Mary Help of Christians: Didier Descouens, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Fiesta de las Cruces: Michelangelo-36, Public domain, source
Seven Sleepers' Day: either an unknown master or „Frater Rufillus“, Public domain, source
Thorlak's Mass: Orf3us, Public domain, source
Christmas in Iceland: Bryan Ledgard, CC BY 2.0, source
Missas do Parto: Porto Bay Events, CC BY 2.0, source
Feast of Saint Mark: No machine-readable author provided. Cremedia assumed (based on copyri, Public domain, source
Za križen: E.mil.mil, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Marriage vows: Tumi-1983, Public domain, source
Graça Procession of the Lord of the Passion: Franciscomendia, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity: Kaihsu Tai, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Feast of Saint Isidore the Laborer: Ángel Lizcano Monedero, Public domain, source
Blutritt: Joseph Bayer, Public domain, source
Witches of Benevento: Guglielmo della Porta, CC0, source
George's Day in Autumn: Sergey Ivanov, Public domain, source
Paris Carnival: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Peineta: Hiart, CC0, source
Feast of Saint Rosalia: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Church parade: Boris Kustodiev, Public domain, source
Scottish folk music: Kim Traynor, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Zapis: Zblagojevic, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Badnjak: Vidonjac, CC BY 2.0, source
Đurđevdan: Anonymous Russian icon painter (before 1917) Public domain image (acco, Public domain, source
Bridesmaid: Photographer not credited; relative or work for hire of relative., CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Respite Sanctuary: Atelier Roussel à Beauvais 1878, Public domain, source
Corpse road: Mick Garratt, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Feast of Saint Thomas Aquinas: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Racial Justice Sunday: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Lithuanian cross crafting: Vilensija, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Saint Nicholas: Chmee2, CC BY 3.0, source
Harvest Festival: Derek Harper, CC BY-SA 2.0, source