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.
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.
🇵🇷 Ponce, Puerto Rico and 1 morePlena
Puerto Rican folk songs and dance sharing community news with rhythmic frame drumsPerformance
🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago and 3 moreSteelpan
A tuned percussion tradition forged from industrial steel containers in TrinidadPerformance
🇺🇾 Montevideo, UruguayNostalgia NightNoche de la Nostalgia
Uruguay's nationwide retro music and dance celebration held every 24 AugustFestival
🇨🇴 Barranquilla, ColombiaBarranquilla CarnivalCarnaval de Barranquilla
A four-day street festival of music, masquerade and dance in coastal ColombiaFestival
🇨🇴 Pasto, ColombiaBlacks and Whites' CarnivalCarnaval de Negros y Blancos
A week of street games, parades and music held every January in Pasto, ColombiaFestival
🇨🇺 Santiago de Cuba, CubaCarnival of Santiago de CubaCarnaval
A summer street celebration of percussion troupes, dancing, and parades in eastern CubaFestival
🇺🇾 Montevideo, Uruguay and 3 moreMurga
A lively Carnival musical theatre of chorus, percussion and social satirePerformance
🇬🇾 Georgetown, GuyanaMashramani
Guyana's national republic celebration filled with street pageantry, music and dance.Festival
🇩🇴 Santiago, Dominican Republic and 3 moreMerengue
A fast-paced folk dance and music tradition born in the Dominican RepublicPerformance
🇨🇺 Santiago de Cuba, CubaTumba francesa
An Afro-Cuban art of dance, song and drumming kept by societies in eastern CubaPerformance
🇺🇾 Montevideo, UruguayCarnival in Uruguay
An extended festival of drum processions, stage satire, and dance across Uruguay.Festival
🇹🇹 Trinidad and TobagoTrinidad and Tobago Carnival
An annual festival of street parades, masquerade bands, steelpan music and danceFestival
🇭🇹 Port-au-Prince, HaitiHaitian CarnivalKanaval
Haiti's annual street festival of music, satirical plays and costumed paradesFestival · Tea-time and snacking customs
🇨🇴 Cali, ColombiaCali FairLa Feria de Cali
A six-day Colombian celebration of salsa music, street parades, and regional cultureFestival
🇯🇲 Montego Bay, JamaicaReggae Sumfest
An annual week-long reggae and dancehall music festival in Montego Bay, JamaicaFestival
🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago and 3 moreHosay
An Indo-Caribbean Muharram commemoration with ornate floats, drumming and processionsSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇰🇳 Charlestown, Saint Kitts and NevisCulturama
An annual summer carnival celebrating Nevisian heritage and returning islandersFestival
🇸🇷 Suriname and 1 moreSuriPop
A biennial songwriting festival and gala performance held in SurinamePerformance
🇦🇷 Buenos Aires, ArgentinaBuenos Aires International Festival of Independent CinemaBuenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente
An annual independent film festival bringing screenings and workshops to Buenos AiresFestival
🇯🇲 Kingston, JamaicaJamaica Independence Festival
An August festival of music, pageantry and parades marking Jamaican freedomCeremony
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Barranquilla Carnival: el heraldo, Public domain, source
- Trinidad and Tobago Carnival: Jean-Marc /Jo BeLo/Jhon-John, CC BY 2.0, source
- Haitian Carnival: User:Doron, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Cali Fair: Jyon, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Reggae Sumfest: Psycler who is also known as AlfredMoya.com for Jamaica MAX, CC BY 3.0, source
- Hosay: Julius Eduard Muller, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Carnival of Santiago de Cuba: Christian Pirkl, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Murga: Mediared, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Mashramani: King sheik at English Wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Merengue: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Plena: Raylaur15, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Steelpan: Shanel, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tumba francesa: Christian Pirkl, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Blacks and Whites' Carnival: camiloAndres, CC BY 2.0, source
- Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema: Foto de Roblespepe, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Carnival in Uruguay: Graham Stanley, CC BY-SA 2.0, source