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. 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.

🇮🇪 Ireland and 2 moreJack-o'-lantern A carved pumpkin lantern lit with a candle to brighten and protect Halloween nightsFolklore

🇱🇻 LatviaDaina Short, traditional Latvian folk songs and verses sung across the human life cyclePerformance

🇮🇪 Galway, Ireland and 1 moreBrigid's crossCros Bhríde A cross of woven rushes or straw, made for Saint Brigid's Day on the first of FebruaryCraft

🇺🇸 United States and 4 moreFriday the 13th A Western folk superstition regarding the unluckiness of a Friday falling on the 13th.Folklore

🇪🇪 EstoniaJaanipäev Estonia's midsummer night of bonfires, song and fortune-telling, on 23 and 24 JuneFestival

🇮🇪 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

🇸🇪 Gävle, Sweden and 1 moreYule goatJulbocken A straw goat of northern Christmas, once a harvest spirit, now a tree ornamentFestival

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreYule log A log kept burning on the hearth through the twelve days of Christmas, for luckSeasonal

🇺🇦 Ukraine and 7 moreKoliadaКоляда A traditional winter caroling and solstice festival kept across Slavic EuropeFestival

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

🇱🇻 Riga, Latvia and 4 moreJāņi An annual Latvian summer solstice celebration of bonfires, singing and woven wreathsFestival

🇦🇱 Elbasan, Albania and 3 moreDita e Verës An Albanian spring festival of bonfires, sweets and nature renewal on March 14Seasonal

🇧🇬 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 🇬🇪 GeorgiaBerikaobaბერიკაობა An improvised Georgian folk theatre and masquerade of fertility, satire and dramaPerformance · Feasts and festival meals

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

🇦🇱 Albania and 1 moreKanunKanû Albanian customary law kept by word of mouth, centred on honour and the given wordEtiquette

🇪🇸 SpainOlentzero A Basque Christmas tradition of a charcoal burner bringing presents in midwinterFestival

🇵🇱 Kraków, PolandLajkonikLajkoniki An annual hobby-horse pageant through the streets of Kraków each JuneFestival

🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreJumping the broom A wedding ritual where newlyweds leap over a broom to mark their unionRite of passage

🇮🇪 Killorglin, Ireland and 1 moreLughnasadhLúnasa A Gaelic festival marking the start of harvest with feasts, fairs and mountain walksSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals

🇦🇹 Salzburg, Austria and 5 morePerchta A midwinter Alpine figure who checks spinning and tests good behaviourFolklore

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

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreTopping out A builders' rite for the day the last beam goes up, marked with a tree, a flag and a toastCraft

🇨🇳 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

🇮🇷 Iran and 5 moreWinter solstice The shortest day and longest night of the year, marked with fire, feasting and poetrySeasonal

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

🇦🇱 Albania and 3 moreXhubleta A rippling bell-shaped skirt made by Albanian women of the northern highlandsDress

🇮🇹 Rome, ItalyAmbarvalia An ancient Roman agricultural rite to purify farmland and ensure fertile cropsSpiritual

🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreTauroctonyταυροκτόνος The sacred bull-slaying imagery at the heart of the ancient Roman Mithraic mysteriesSpiritual 🇮🇹 Rome, ItalyFeraliaFerālia An ancient Roman day of offerings to the dead, marking the close of ParentaliaSpiritual 🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreIncubationἐγκοίμησις The sacred practice of sleeping in holy shrines to seek divine healing and dreamsSpiritual

🇬🇷 GreeceSparagmosσπαραγμός An ancient Greek Dionysian sacrificial rite of tearing an offering apartSpiritual

🇪🇬 EgyptHermetic Qabalah A Western esoteric tradition blending Kabbalah, astrology, tarot and classical mythSpiritual

🇵🇱 Kraków, Poland and 5 moreTurońTuroń (Polish), Turoň (Slovak) A shaggy horned beast led from house to house by carol singers at carnival timeFolklore

🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreBiikebrennenBiikebrånen Fires lit at sunset on 21 February to send winter away in North FrisiaFestival 🇬🇷 Orchomenus, GreeceAgrionia An ancient Greek nocturnal festival dedicated to Dionysus AgrioniusSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals

🇦🇹 Austria and 2 morePerchten Masked midwinter walks in the Alps, with carved wooden masks and sheepskinFolklore

🇵🇱 Poland and 3 morePodłaźniczka A decorated evergreen branch hung over the Christmas Eve table in Poland and SlovakiaFestival

🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreRussian superstitions Everyday omens, etiquette rules, and household rituals observed across RussiaFolklore

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

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

Photo credits on this page

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

Jack-o'-lantern: Toby Ord, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
Friday the 13th: Leonardo da Vinci, Public domain, source
Biikebrennen: Borstenpinsel, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Imbolc: Culnacreann, CC BY 3.0, source
Russian superstitions: Сергей Чеботарёв, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Beltane: Stefan Schäfer, Lich, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
May Day: Bryan Ledgard, CC BY 2.0, source
Koliada: Konstantin Trutovsky, Public domain, source
Ride of the Kings: Filipzverina, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Jāņi: Heinrihsons, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Dita e Verës: Bibiomn, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Buergbrennen: luxpim, CC BY 2.0, source
Malanka: Viktoriyasechkar, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Saint Jonas's Festival: Unknown author, CC0, source
Jaanipäev: Jaan Künnap, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Kanun: Lekë Dukagjini & Shtjefën Gjeçovi, Public domain, source
Olentzero: Josu Goñi Etxabe, Public domain, source
Lajkonik: Igor123121, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Jumping the broom: credited only as "Hipstamatic shots, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Lughnasadh: Mountainash333, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Perchta: Holger Uwe Schmitt, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Yule goat: John Bauer, Public domain, source
Yule log: Pehr Arvid Säve (1811—1887), Public domain, source
Daina: Savannah Rivka, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Martenitsa: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Krampus: Naturpuur, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Topping out: PKS at Danish Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
Ancestor worship: Lyn Gateley, CC BY 2.0, source
Nisse: AlphaZeta, CC0, source
Winter solstice: Image by Przemyslaw " Blueshade " Idzkiewicz, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Evil eye: FocalPoint, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Xhubleta: Albinfo, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Turoń: Museum: The Seweryn Udziela Ethnographic Museum in Kraków, CC0, source
Perchten: Anita Martinz, CC BY 2.0, source
Podłaźniczka: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Ambarvalia: Alberto Pisa, Public domain, source
Tauroctony: Jastrow, Public domain, source
Sparagmos: WolfgangRieger, Public domain, source
Hermetic Qabalah: Jean-Louis Durant (1654-1718), Public domain, source
Witches of Benevento: Guglielmo della Porta, CC0, source
Zapis: Zblagojevic, CC BY-SA 4.0, source