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. 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.

🇺🇦 Kyiv, UkraineBanduraБандура A Ukrainian plucked string instrument played to accompany epic songs and folk balladsPerformance

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreMumming A medieval European custom of masked house-to-house visits, performances and seasonal revelry.Festival

🇫🇷 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

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreChristmas carol Festive songs and hymns sung during the Christmas season and door to doorPerformance

🇫🇷 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

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreBurns supperBurns Nicht A Scottish celebratory meal of haggis, poetry and toasts in honour of Robert BurnsFestival · Dinner

🇷🇺 RussiaScarlet SailsАлые паруса A summer graduation celebration on the Neva River in Saint PetersburgFestival

🇸🇮 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

🇨🇭 Vevey, SwitzerlandFête des Vignerons A once-in-a-generation wine festival and arena spectacle in Vevey, SwitzerlandFestival · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 4 moreMummers' play A comic folk drama of staged combat, death, and revival by an eccentric doctorPerformance

🇪🇸 Valencia, SpainCremà The ceremonial burning of large artistic street monuments across the Valencian communityFestival

🇱🇻 Riga, Latvia and 4 moreLatvian Song and Dance FestivalVispārējie latviešu Dziesmu un Deju svētki A grand gathering of choirs, dancers and folk artists held every five years in LatviaPerformance

🇪🇸 Seville, SpainSeville FairFeria de Abril de Sevilla A week-long spring festival in Seville of carriage parades, marquee tents and dancingFestival · Dinner

🇱🇹 Vilnius, LithuaniaLithuanian Song FestivalLietuvių dainų ir šokių šventė A periodic national festival of choral singing, dance and folklore in LithuaniaFestival

🇬🇧 Abbots Bromley, United KingdomAbbots Bromley Horn Dance A September folk dance in an English village featuring dancers with reindeer antlers and a hobby horse.Performance

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

🇬🇧 London, United Kingdom and 6 moreBoishakhi Melaবৈশাখী মেলা A Bengali New Year fair in London each May, with a parade, music and food stallsFestival

🇧🇬 Kazanlak, BulgariaRose FestivalФестивал на розата An annual harvest celebration of damask roses across the Rose Valley of BulgariaFestival

🇲🇹 Valletta, MaltaMaltese Carnivalil-Karnival ta' Malta A lively week of costumed parades, dancing, satirical floats and sweets across Malta.Festival · Sweets given and shared

🇷🇸 Guča, SerbiaGuča Trumpet FestivalФестивал трубача у Гучи A weekend brass band competition and folk festival in western SerbiaFestival

🇪🇸 Alicante, SpainBonfires of Saint John in AlicanteFogueres de Sant Joan A midsummer festival of towering satirical monuments, music and fire in AlicanteFestival

🇦🇹 Vienna, AustriaViennese coffee house cultureWiener Kaffeehauskultur A Viennese social ritual where patrons linger for hours with a single coffee and newspapers.Etiquette · Tea-time and snacking customs

🇦🇹 Vienna, AustriaVienna New Year's ConcertNeujahrskonzert der Wiener Philharmoniker A morning of waltzes and polkas on 1 January, played by the Vienna PhilharmonicPerformance

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreLast Post A bugle call sounded at military funerals and remembrance services across the Commonwealth to honour those who died in sPerformance

🇮🇸 Vestmannaeyjar, IcelandÞjóðhátíð An annual outdoor island festival of concerts, bonfires and hillside singing in IcelandFestival

🇫🇮 Helsinki, FinlandKalevala DayKalevalan päivä A Finnish national flag day celebrating the country's epic poetry and living artsCeremony

🇧🇪 Aalst, BelgiumAalst CarnivalAalst Carnaval A three-day street carnival of satire, costumed parades and folk rituals in AalstFestival

🇳🇱 Landgraaf, NetherlandsPinkpop A three-day pop and rock festival in the Netherlands, held on the Pentecost weekendFestival

🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreYuri's Night An annual global celebration on April 12 marking milestones in space explorationFestival

🇪🇪 Tartu, Estonia and 5 moreEuropeade An annual gathering of folk dancers, musicians and singers across EuropeFestival

🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreDelphic Games of the modern era Global competitions and exhibitions across the arts, modelled on ancient Greek gamesPerformance

🇽🇰 Pristina, KosovoDAM Festival Pristina An annual gathering in Pristina showcasing emerging classical and contemporary musiciansPerformance

🇬🇧 United KingdomGarland dance A nineteenth-century English dance tradition performed with flower-covered garlandsPerformance 🇩🇰 Copenhagen, DenmarkCopenhagen Distortion A week of street parties, club nights and a rave in Copenhagen celebrating new dance music.Festival

🇮🇸 Reykjavík, IcelandIceland Noir An annual November literature and storytelling festival held in central ReykjavíkPerformance 🇫🇷 France and 2 moreReynard the FoxRoman de Renart A medieval European beast fable cycle starring a cunning trickster foxFolklore 🇷🇸 Belgrade, Serbia and 2 moreMerlinka Festival An annual queer film festival held across Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and MontenegroFestival 🇱🇺 LuxembourgCinEast An October film festival in Luxembourg showing new cinema from Central and Eastern EuropeFestival 🇲🇪 Herceg Novi, MontenegroSunčane Skale A three-day summer pop music festival and song competition in MontenegroPerformance 🇲🇹 Valletta, MaltaL-Għanja tal-Poplu An annual Maltese music festival celebrating original songs in MaltesePerformance

🇳🇱 Netherlands and 6 moreManifesta A roving European contemporary art festival held in a new host city every two yearsPerformance

🇽🇰 Prizren, KosovoAutostrada Biennale A biennial contemporary art festival and cultural exhibition in Prizren, KosovoPerformance 🇱🇻 Riga, LatviaRiga International Short Film Festival 2ANNASRīgas Starptautiskais īsfilmu festivāls 2ANNAS An annual autumn film competition and screening event held in Riga, LatviaPerformance

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
Patras Carnival: www.infocenterpatras.gr, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Garland dance: Tim Green, CC BY 2.0, source
Delphic Games of the modern era: Achilles Painter, Public domain, source
Notting Hill Carnival: Diliff, CC BY 2.5, source
Scarlet Sails: Kora27, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Burns supper: Kim Traynor, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Prešeren Day: Franz von Kurz zum Thurn und Goldenstein, Public domain, source
Diada de Sant Jordi: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Cremà: Paula Ramírez Morant, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Þjóðhátíð: Drumstick21, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Kalevala Day: Vladimir Menkov, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Latvian Song and Dance Festival: Laima Gūtmane (simka), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Aalst Carnival: Wikisid, CC BY 3.0, source
Seville Fair: Sevilla Congress & Convention Bureau, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Lithuanian Song Festival: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Glastonbury Festival: Czampal, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Christmas carol: Prathyush Thomas, GFDL 1.2, source
Abbots Bromley Horn Dance: Caeciliusinhorto, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Boishakhi Mela: Ripon Miah, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Mumming: Flemish illuminator Jehan de Grise and his workshop, 1338-1344, Public domain, source
Fête de la Musique: dalbera, CC BY 2.0, source
Viennese coffee house culture: Photo: Andreas Praefcke, CC BY 3.0, source
Last Post: User:EnEdC, Public domain, source
Pinkpop: Gianni Taranto, CC BY 3.0, source
Iceland Noir: TommyBee, CC0, source
Manifesta: Manifesta8 manifesta 8, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Autostrada Biennale: Lajmmoore, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Yuri's Night: Ryan Somma, CC BY 2.0, source
Fest noz: Man vyi, Public domain, source
Processional giants: Jesús Serna, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
Fête des Vignerons: "Groupement des photographes officiels" / Fête des vignerons Vevey / S, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Europeade: Niklas Lydeen, CC BY 3.0, source
Bloomsday: No machine-readable author provided. Flapdragon assumed (based on copy, Public domain, source
Mummers' play: Aladjov, CC BY 3.0, source
Rose Festival: Animsaj, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
DAM Festival Pristina: Lyra Cela, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Maltese Carnival: Ronny Siegel, CC BY 3.0, source
Guča Trumpet Festival: svickova, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Bonfires of Saint John in Alicante: Fernando Pastor, CC BY 2.0, source
Vienna New Year's Concert: Michal Osmenda, CC BY 2.0, source