Pagan and ancient traditions
Pagan and ancient traditions cover the old religions of Europe, the Mediterranean and the Near East, and their modern revivals: Norse Yule and Midsummer, Celtic Samhain and Beltane, Greek and Roman festivals such as Saturnalia, Egyptian rites, Slavic Kupala and the Baltic Joninės.
Pagan and ancient traditions cover the old religions of Europe, the Mediterranean and the Near East, and their modern revivals: Norse Yule and Midsummer, Celtic Samhain and Beltane, Greek and Roman festivals such as Saturnalia, Egyptian rites, Slavic Kupala and the Baltic Joninės. Many survive in folk custom, in the Christian calendar and in carnival, and some are now followed by modern Pagans, Heathens and Druids. These pages describe both the historical festivals and the living customs, taking care to separate evidence from legend.
Old festivals, new forms
The Wheel of the Year, with solstices, equinoxes and the cross-quarter days of Imbolc, Beltane, Lughnasadh and Samhain, gives the shape of many Pagan calendars, though it is a modern synthesis. Older customs, such as bonfires at midsummer, wreaths of herbs, the maypole and the wassail, are recorded in village life across Europe and are still kept, often without any link to religion.
Evidence and revival
Historians draw on texts, archaeology and folklore, and are cautious about claims of continuity from ancient times. Modern Pagan groups have revived rites in new forms, adapted to the present, and the resulting traditions are sincere and living. Public festivals at Stonehenge, Glastonbury and Uppsala bring crowds, and EveryParampara records what is known about each, and where scholars disagree. Visitors are asked to be respectful of those for whom the occasion is sacred.
About this page
Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Background on Pagan and ancient (faith). Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
RegionSouth AsiaSoutheast AsiaEast AsiaCentral Asia and the CaucasusMiddle EastNorth AfricaSub-Saharan AfricaEuropeNorth AmericaLatin America and the CaribbeanOceania
🇮🇷 Iran and 7 moreNowruzنوروز
The Iranian new year at the March equinox, kept with fire, greenery and picnicsSeasonal
🇪🇪 EstoniaJaanipäev
Estonia's midsummer night of bonfires, song and fortune-telling, on 23 and 24 JuneFestival
🇺🇸 United States and 4 moreFriday the 13th
A Western folk superstition regarding the unluckiness of a Friday falling on the 13th.Folklore
🇮🇪 Ireland and 1 moreImbolcLá Fhéile Bríde
A Gaelic festival heralding spring and honoring Saint Brigid with woven rush crossesSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇪 Dublin, Ireland and 3 moreMay Day
A traditional European festival welcoming summer with greenery, dances and bonfiresSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreYule log
A log kept burning on the hearth through the twelve days of Christmas, for luckSeasonal
🇪🇬 Luxor, EgyptOpet Festivalḥb nfr n jpt
An ancient Egyptian festival in Thebes celebrating divine kingship and the Nile floodSpiritual
🇨🇴 Barranquilla, ColombiaBarranquilla CarnivalCarnaval de Barranquilla
A four-day street festival of music, masquerade and dance in coastal ColombiaFestival
🇦🇲 Armenia and 2 moreVardavarՎարդավառ
An Armenian midsummer festival where people playfully douse each other with waterFestival
🇬🇷 GreeceAnthesteriaἈνθεστήρια
An ancient Greek three-day spring festival of Dionysus, new wine, and the deadFestival
🇨🇿 Vlčnov, CzechiaRide of the KingsJízda králů
A Moravian spring procession where horsemen escort a silent boy king holding a roseFestival
🇺🇦 Ukraine and 7 moreKoliadaКоляда
A traditional winter caroling and solstice festival kept across Slavic EuropeFestival
🇱🇻 Riga, Latvia and 4 moreJāņi
An annual Latvian summer solstice celebration of bonfires, singing and woven wreathsFestival
🇸🇪 SwedenJul
A midwinter holiday of feast tables, doorstep gift givers, and candlelit morningsSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇦🇱 Elbasan, Albania and 3 moreDita e Verës
An Albanian spring festival of bonfires, sweets and nature renewal on March 14Seasonal
🇪🇬 Cairo, EgyptSham Ennessimشم النسيم
An Egyptian spring festival of picnics, salted fish, green onions and painted eggsSeasonal
🇬🇧 United KingdomLammashlāfmæsse
A harvest festival marking the blessing of the first baked bread from the new wheat cropSeasonal
🇦🇹 Salzburg, Austria and 5 morePerchta
A midwinter Alpine figure who checks spinning and tests good behaviourFolklore
🇧🇬 Bulgaria and 5 moreMartenitsaмартеница
Red and white yarn dolls worn from 1 March until spring shows itselfFestival
🇮🇪 Uisneach, Ireland and 1 moreBeltaneBealtaine
A Gaelic first-of-summer festival of bonfires, May flowers and feasting on 1 MaySeasonal
🇱🇻 Riga, LatviaZiemassvētki
Latvia's midwinter festival of solstice customs, mumming and tree decorationSeasonal
🇱🇺 Luxembourg and 3 moreBuergbrennen
A bonfire festival marking the end of winter on the first Sunday of Lent in LuxembourgSeasonal
🇺🇦 Chernivtsi, Ukraine and 3 moreMalankaМаланка
A Ukrainian folk celebration of masked mummers, feasting and New Year blessingsFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇪🇬 Thebes, EgyptBeautiful Festival of the Valleyhb nfr n jnt
An ancient Egyptian festival honouring the dead with river processions across ThebesSpiritual
🇫🇮 FinlandChristmas in Finlandjoulu
A quiet midwinter festival of saunas, grave candles and table casseroles across FinlandSeasonal · Dinner
🇱🇹 LithuaniaSaint Jonas's FestivalJoninės
A Lithuanian midsummer night of bonfires, wreaths, song and morning dewSeasonal
🇩🇰 DenmarkJul
Winter feasts, carols around the tree, and family gatherings across DenmarkFestival · Lunch
🇮🇪 Ireland and 1 moreSamhain
A Gaelic festival marking the start of winter with bonfires and ancestor feastsSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇸 IcelandÞorrablót
An Icelandic midwinter feast of dinner, speeches and poetryFestival · Dinner
🇬🇪 GeorgiaAlaverdobaალავერდობა
A harvest and saint's feast celebrated at Alaverdi Cathedral in eastern GeorgiaSpiritual
🇵🇹 Porto, PortugalFesta de São João do Porto
Porto's midsummer festival of street feasts, fireworks and playful hammer tapsFestival
🇪🇸 SpainOlentzero
A Basque Christmas tradition of a charcoal burner bringing presents in midwinterFestival
🇪🇸 Alicante, SpainBonfires of Saint John in AlicanteFogueres de Sant Joan
A midsummer festival of towering satirical monuments, music and fire in AlicanteFestival
🇮🇪 Killorglin, Ireland and 1 moreLughnasadhLúnasa
A Gaelic festival marking the start of harvest with feasts, fairs and mountain walksSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇦🇲 Armenia and 1 moreTrndezտրնդեզ
An Armenian fire feast forty days after Christmas, kept with bonfires and shared sweetsSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 4 moreBonfire Night
Yearly nights of bonfires and fireworks, kept in Britain, Ireland and beyondFestival
🇮🇸 Iceland and 2 moreYuleġēol (Old English); jól (Old Norse)
The Germanic midwinter festival that Christmas grew out of, kept today by HeathensSpiritual
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreAncestor worship
Honouring dead relatives with offerings and prayers, kept in many cultures worldwideSpiritual
🇩🇰 Denmark and 3 moreNissenisse (Danish, Norwegian); tomte (Swedish); tonttu (Finnish)
A small farm spirit of Nordic folklore, given porridge at midwinterFolklore
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreHarvest festival
A thanks for the gathered crop, kept with church meals, songs and shared foodSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇹 Venice, Italy and 5 moreCarnival
A season of parades, masks and feasting in the days before LentFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇷 Iran and 5 moreWinter solstice
The shortest day and longest night of the year, marked with fire, feasting and poetrySeasonal
🇳🇴 NorwayJul
An eight-week Norwegian midwinter season of feasts, family gatherings, and gift-givingSeasonal · Lunch
🇮🇹 Rome, ItalySaturnalia
A December festival of ancient Rome, with feasting, gifts, gambling and role reversalSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇵🇱 Kraków, Poland and 5 moreDozhinkiDożynki
A Slavic harvest festival of the last sheaf, a woven wreath and a shared mealSeasonal
🇮🇹 Rome, ItalyAmbarvalia
An ancient Roman agricultural rite to purify farmland and ensure fertile cropsSpiritual
🇮🇹 Rome, ItalyFeraliaFerālia
An ancient Roman day of offerings to the dead, marking the close of ParentaliaSpiritual
🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreNavigium Isidis
An ancient Roman ship procession honouring Isis and the opening of sea travelSpiritual
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Friday the 13th: Leonardo da Vinci, Public domain, source
- Imbolc: Culnacreann, CC BY 3.0, source
- Beltane: Stefan Schäfer, Lich, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- May Day: Bryan Ledgard, CC BY 2.0, source
- Opet Festival: Marc Ryckaert, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Barranquilla Carnival: el heraldo, Public domain, source
- Vardavar: Камалян001, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Anthesteria: Unknown artist, Public domain, source
- Koliada: Konstantin Trutovsky, Public domain, source
- Jul: Holger.Ellgaard, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ride of the Kings: Filipzverina, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Jāņi: Heinrihsons, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Nowruz: Katzenfee50, CC0, source
- Dita e Verës: Bibiomn, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sham Ennessim: Ikonact, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Buergbrennen: luxpim, CC BY 2.0, source
- Malanka: Viktoriyasechkar, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Beautiful Festival of the Valley: Norman de Garis Davies, Nina Davies (2-dimensional 1 to 1 Copy of an 1, Public domain, source
- Christmas in Finland: Uploaded by Sigketill, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Saint Jonas's Festival: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Jaanipäev: Jaan Künnap, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Jul: Erik Christensen, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Samhain: Daniel Maclise, Public domain, source
- Alaverdoba: Grigory Gagarin, Public domain, source
- Festa de São João do Porto: Hugo Cadavez, CC BY 2.0, source
- Olentzero: Josu Goñi Etxabe, Public domain, source
- Bonfires of Saint John in Alicante: Fernando Pastor, CC BY 2.0, source
- Lughnasadh: Mountainash333, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Lammas: Paddy, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Perchta: Holger Uwe Schmitt, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Yule log: Pehr Arvid Säve (1811—1887), Public domain, source
- Martenitsa: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Trndez: Armineaghayan, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Bonfire Night: Jpdfive, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Yule: Robert Chambers, Public domain, source
- Ancestor worship: Lyn Gateley, CC BY 2.0, source
- Nisse: AlphaZeta, CC0, source
- Harvest festival: High Contrast, CC BY 3.0 de, source
- Carnival: Etienne Le Cocq, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Winter solstice: Image by Przemyslaw " Blueshade " Idzkiewicz, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Saturnalia: Themadchopper, Antoine-François Callet, CC0, source
- Dozhinki: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Ambarvalia: Alberto Pisa, Public domain, source
- Navigium Isidis: ArchaiOptix, CC BY-SA 4.0, source