Secular and civic traditions
Secular and civic traditions are those kept without a religious frame: national days, parades, remembrance days, birthdays, graduations, school and university rituals, sporting customs, workplace habits and the rites of clubs and communities.
Secular and civic traditions are those kept without a religious frame: national days, parades, remembrance days, birthdays, graduations, school and university rituals, sporting customs, workplace habits and the rites of clubs and communities. They give people shared moments and symbols outside any faith, and many have grown over a century or two. EveryParampara includes them alongside older traditions, because a Fourth of July barbecue or a Burns Night supper is as much a tradition as any ancient rite, and is kept with equal feeling.
Nations and communities
National days, flags, anthems, parades and minutes of silence create a sense of belonging. Remembrance of war dead, in poppies, wreaths and the Last Post, is observed by millions. Local clubs, guilds and societies keep their own rituals, from the mayor's procession to the Rotary meeting. Each reflects the history and the values of the group, and many invite the public to attend.
Milestones without a church
Birthdays, graduations, retirements, housewarmings and baby showers are secular milestones, kept with cakes, speeches and gifts. Many couples hold civil weddings and non-religious naming ceremonies and funerals led by celebrants. These customs show how people create meaning and mark time together, and how traditions are made as well as inherited. Some of them are only a few decades old, and already feel like old friends. A tradition begins the first time a group of people decides to do something again next year.
About this page
Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Background on Secular and civic (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
🇮🇳 Kolkata, IndiaJana Gana Mana
India's national anthem, from a Bengali hymn of 1911, sung at civic occasionsCeremony
🇨🇻 Cape VerdeFunaná
An accordion and iron-scraper music and couple dance from Cape VerdePerformance
🇬🇪 Tbilisi, GeorgiaGeorgian danceქართული ცეკვა
Martial, courtship, and celebratory regional dances from across GeorgiaPerformance
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreLion dance舞獅
A dynamic ritual dance featuring costumed lions, drums and martial acrobaticsPerformance
🇻🇳 Hoa Lư, VietnamChèo嘲
Satirical folk musical theatre performed by village troupes across northern VietnamPerformance
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreMumming
A medieval European custom of masked house-to-house visits, performances and seasonal revelry.Festival
🇸🇬 Singapore, SingaporeNational Day Parade
Singapore's annual independence day celebration of parades, music and fireworksCeremony
🇺🇦 Kyiv, UkraineBanduraБандура
A Ukrainian plucked string instrument played to accompany epic songs and folk balladsPerformance
🇳🇿 Auckland, New ZealandMāori Language WeekTe Wiki o te Reo Māori
An annual nationwide week promoting the learning and use of te reo across New ZealandCeremony
🇺🇾 Montevideo, UruguayNostalgia NightNoche de la Nostalgia
Uruguay's nationwide retro music and dance celebration held every 24 AugustFestival
🇵🇰 Karachi, Pakistan and 2 moreSouth Asian truck art
The craft of painting and adorning cargo trucks and buses across India and Pakistan.Craft
🇺🇸 New York, United StatesVillage Halloween Parade
An annual costumed puppetry march through Greenwich Village on Halloween nightFestival
🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago and 3 moreSteelpan
A tuned percussion tradition forged from industrial steel containers in TrinidadPerformance
🇵🇷 Ponce, Puerto Rico and 1 morePlena
Puerto Rican folk songs and dance sharing community news with rhythmic frame drumsPerformance
🇺🇸 New Orleans, United StatesKrewe
Carnival clubs that stage parades, balls, and pageantry along the Gulf CoastFestival
🇦🇷 Córdoba, ArgentinaCuarteto
An upbeat partner dance and music tradition born in Córdoba, ArgentinaPerformance
🇳🇬 Calabar, NigeriaCalabar Carnival
An annual December street festival and cultural gathering held in Calabar, NigeriaFestival
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreChristmas carol
Festive songs and hymns sung during the Christmas season and door to doorPerformance
🇰🇷 South KoreaHanji한지
The Korean craft of making durable paper from mulberry fiber and root mucilage.Craft
🇫🇷 Paris, France and 3 moreFête de la Musique
An annual celebration where people play music in public spaces on the summer solstice.Festival
🇬🇧 Pilton, United KingdomGlastonbury Festival
A five-day summer performing arts festival held on Somerset farmlandFestival
🇫🇷 FranceFest nozfest noz (pl. festoù noz)
A Breton night festival of group dancing and live acoustic music, kept in Brittany and its diaspora.Festival · Tea-time and snacking customs
🇮🇪 Dublin, Ireland and 5 moreBloomsdayLá Bloom
A celebration of James Joyce and his novel Ulysses, observed on 16 June in Dublin and worldwide.Festival · Breakfast
🇬🇧 London, United KingdomNotting Hill Carnival
An annual London street carnival celebrating British Caribbean culture and musicFestival
🇮🇳 Guwahati, IndiaBihuবিহু (Assamese)
Three annual festivals in Assam marking the new year, crop cycles and harvest with dance, music and feasts.Festival · Feasts and festival meals
🇰🇵 Pyongyang, North KoreaArirang Mass Games아리랑 축제
A massive civic spectacle of gymnastics, dance, and card stunts in PyongyangCeremony
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreBurns supperBurns Nicht
A Scottish celebratory meal of haggis, poetry and toasts in honour of Robert BurnsFestival · Dinner
🇨🇴 Barranquilla, ColombiaBarranquilla CarnivalCarnaval de Barranquilla
A four-day street festival of music, masquerade and dance in coastal ColombiaFestival
🇷🇺 RussiaScarlet SailsАлые паруса
A summer graduation celebration on the Neva River in Saint PetersburgFestival
🇨🇴 Pasto, ColombiaBlacks and Whites' CarnivalCarnaval de Negros y Blancos
A week of street games, parades and music held every January in Pasto, ColombiaFestival
🇹🇿 Zanzibar City, TanzaniaZanzibar International Film Festival
An annual ten-day arts, music and cinema gathering held across Zanzibar.Performance
🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo and 5 moreCongolese rumba
An African dance music and guitar tradition born along the Congo RiverPerformance
🇸🇮 Slovenia and 1 morePrešeren DayPrešernov dan
A national celebration of arts and literature observed across Slovenia on 8 FebruaryCeremony
🇪🇸 Pamplona, Spain and 5 moreProcessional giants
Towering costumed figures carried through town streets during communal festivalsFestival
🇪🇸 Barcelona, Spain and 2 moreDiada de Sant Jordi
A Catalan feast day of literature and love, marked by giving books and red rosesFestival
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 4 moreMummers' play
A comic folk drama of staged combat, death, and revival by an eccentric doctorPerformance
🇨🇭 Vevey, SwitzerlandFête des Vignerons
A once-in-a-generation wine festival and arena spectacle in Vevey, SwitzerlandFestival · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇵🇭 Baguio, PhilippinesPanagbenga Festival
A month-long flower festival and parade in the mountain city of BaguioFestival
🇪🇸 Valencia, SpainCremà
The ceremonial burning of large artistic street monuments across the Valencian communityFestival
🇯🇲 Montego Bay, JamaicaReggae Sumfest
An annual week-long reggae and dancehall music festival in Montego Bay, JamaicaFestival
🇧🇬 Kazanlak, BulgariaRose FestivalФестивал на розата
An annual harvest celebration of damask roses across the Rose Valley of BulgariaFestival
🇨🇴 Cali, ColombiaCali FairLa Feria de Cali
A six-day Colombian celebration of salsa music, street parades, and regional cultureFestival
🇧🇩 Dhaka, BangladeshPohela Falgunপহেলা ফাল্গুন
A Bangladeshi festival welcoming the first day of spring with music and flowersSeasonal
🇭🇹 Port-au-Prince, HaitiHaitian CarnivalKanaval
Haiti's annual street festival of music, satirical plays and costumed paradesFestival · Tea-time and snacking customs
🇸🇬 Singapore and 2 moreChingay Parade妝藝
A lively street procession of floats, giant flags, and performing arts in Southeast AsiaFestival
🇺🇸 New York City, United StatesWest Indian Day Parade
A lively Caribbean street procession held every September in Brooklyn, New YorkFestival
🇩🇴 Santiago, Dominican Republic and 3 moreMerengue
A fast-paced folk dance and music tradition born in the Dominican RepublicPerformance
🇮🇸 Vestmannaeyjar, IcelandÞjóðhátíð
An annual outdoor island festival of concerts, bonfires and hillside singing in IcelandFestival
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Bandura: Julianhayda, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Processional giants: Jesús Serna, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Jana Gana Mana: Rabindranath Tagore, Public domain, source
- Bloomsday: No machine-readable author provided. Flapdragon assumed (based on copy, Public domain, source
- Notting Hill Carnival: Diliff, CC BY 2.5, source
- Barranquilla Carnival: el heraldo, Public domain, source
- Arirang Mass Games: Michael Day, CC BY 2.0, source
- Congolese rumba: Jeanne Vu Van, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Blacks and Whites' Carnival: camiloAndres, CC BY 2.0, source
- Chichilaki: Mostafameraji, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Scarlet Sails: Kora27, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Zanzibar International Film Festival: Peter Bennett / ZIFF, CC BY 2.0, source
- Burns supper: Kim Traynor, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Prešeren Day: Franz von Kurz zum Thurn und Goldenstein, Public domain, source
- Mummers' play: Aladjov, CC BY 3.0, source
- Diada de Sant Jordi: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Fête des Vignerons: "Groupement des photographes officiels" / Fête des vignerons Vevey / S, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Bihu: Diganta Talukdar, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Panagbenga Festival: lolay, CC BY 2.0, source
- Cremà: Paula Ramírez Morant, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Þjóðhátíð: Drumstick21, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Chingay Parade: HundenvonPenang, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Haitian Carnival: User:Doron, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Pohela Falgun: Ashraf Siddiqui, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Cali Fair: Jyon, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Rose Festival: Animsaj, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Reggae Sumfest: Psycler who is also known as AlfredMoya.com for Jamaica MAX, CC BY 3.0, source
- Merengue: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- West Indian Day Parade: Fordmadoxfraud, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- South Asian truck art: Alexandros.Papadopoulos, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Plena: Raylaur15, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Glastonbury Festival: Czampal, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Hanji: Arghun, Public domain, source
- Christmas carol: Prathyush Thomas, GFDL 1.2, source
- Calabar Carnival: Raji kunle, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Krewe: Tim Ross, Public domain, source
- Village Halloween Parade: InSapphoWeTrust, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Chèo: Thomas Schoch, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Māori Language Week: Government House (New Zealand) https://gg.govt.nz/copyright-and-licens, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Steelpan: Shanel, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- National Day Parade: chensiyuan, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Lion dance: Alfresco24, CC BY 3.0, source
- Mumming: Flemish illuminator Jehan de Grise and his workshop, 1338-1344, Public domain, source
- Fest noz: Man vyi, Public domain, source
- Fête de la Musique: dalbera, CC BY 2.0, source
- Funaná: Xandu, Public domain, source