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.

🇬🇪 Tbilisi, GeorgiaTbilisobaთბილისობა An annual October festival celebrating the culture, harvest, and history of TbilisiFestival

🇸🇪 SwedenJul A midwinter holiday of feast tables, doorstep gift givers, and candlelit morningsSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals

🇨🇦 CanadaThanksgivingAction de grâce An annual Canadian autumn holiday celebrating the harvest with family feastsFestival · Dinner

🇪🇬 Cairo, EgyptSham Ennessimشم النسيم An Egyptian spring festival of picnics, salted fish, green onions and painted eggsSeasonal

🇺🇸 Washington, United StatesNational Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation An annual White House ceremony in which the American president spares a holiday turkey.Ceremony 🇫🇷 France and 5 moreRéveillon A luxurious late-night feast that stretches until dawn across the winter holidaysTable custom · Dinner

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

🇺🇸 Pasadena, United StatesRose Parade A New Year's Day floral parade of natural floats, bands and horses in CaliforniaFestival

🇭🇹 Port-au-Prince, HaitiHaitian CarnivalKanaval Haiti's annual street festival of music, satirical plays and costumed paradesFestival · Tea-time and snacking customs

🇧🇩 Dhaka, BangladeshPohela Falgunপহেলা ফাল্গুন A Bangladeshi festival welcoming the first day of spring with music and flowersSeasonal

🇨🇴 Cali, ColombiaCali FairLa Feria de Cali A six-day Colombian celebration of salsa music, street parades, and regional cultureFestival 🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreBank holiday Official days of rest and financial closure across the British IslesCeremony

🇧🇬 Kazanlak, BulgariaRose FestivalФестивал на розата An annual harvest celebration of damask roses across the Rose Valley of BulgariaFestival 🇱🇻 Riga, LatviaZiemassvētki Latvia's midwinter festival of solstice customs, mumming and tree decorationSeasonal

🇷🇼 Kigali, RwandaUmuganda A monthly morning of mandatory communal work and civic gathering across RwandaCeremony

🇺🇾 Montevideo, UruguayCarnival in Uruguay An extended festival of drum processions, stage satire, and dance across Uruguay.Festival

🇷🇺 Moscow, Russia and 5 moreNovy GodНовый Год A secular winter celebration of decorated trees, family feasts and midnight giftsFestival · Feasts and festival meals

🇨🇺 Santiago de Cuba, CubaCarnival of Santiago de CubaCarnaval A summer street celebration of percussion troupes, dancing, and parades in eastern CubaFestival

🇲🇽 Mazatlán, MexicoCarnival of MazatlánCarnaval de Mazatlán An annual five-day festival of parades, fireworks, poetry and dance in coastal MexicoFestival

🇨🇦 Quebec City, CanadaQuebec Winter CarnivalCarnaval de Québec A midwinter celebration of snow, outdoor sports and caribou in Quebec City.Festival · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies

🇺🇸 New York, United States and 1 moreEaster parade A festive Easter Sunday stroll featuring stylish clothes and elaborate bonnetsFestival

🇳🇴 Norway and 2 moreJulebord A Scandinavian Christmas banquet of traditional dishes, festive drinks and celebrationTable custom · Feasts and festival meals

🇹🇹 Trinidad and TobagoTrinidad and Tobago Carnival An annual festival of street parades, masquerade bands, steelpan music and danceFestival 🇮🇸 IcelandÞorrablót An Icelandic midwinter feast of dinner, speeches and poetryFestival · Dinner

🇦🇫 Mazar-i-Sharif, AfghanistanNowruzنوروز The Afghan spring new year, celebrated with picnics, wheat pudding and dried fruit.Seasonal · Feasts and festival meals

🇮🇪 Galway, IrelandGalway International Oyster Festival An annual autumn gathering in Galway honouring native oysters with shucking contestsTable custom · Feasts and festival meals 🇰🇪 Nairobi, KenyaMadaraka Day Kenya's annual public holiday marking the start of self-governance on 1 June 1963Ceremony

🇨🇱 Santiago, ChileFiestas Patrias Chile's homeland festivities celebrating national identity with music, dance, and foodCeremony

🇸🇪 Sweden and 2 moreGlögg A spiced, warm winter wine served across Nordic countries around ChristmasTable custom · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies

🇪🇸 Jijona, Spain and 5 moreTurrón A festive Mediterranean nut-and-honey confection shared at Christmas and local feastsTable custom · Sweets given and shared

🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreKorean New Year설날 A three-day Korean festival celebrating the lunisolar new year with family and feastsSeasonal

🇺🇸 New York City, United StatesWest Indian Day Parade A lively Caribbean street procession held every September in Brooklyn, New YorkFestival

🇳🇱 NetherlandsBloemencorso Bollenstreek An annual mid-April parade of flower-covered floats across the Dutch bulb regionFestival

🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreChuseok추석 A Korean harvest festival of ancestral rites, seasonal rice cakes, and folk gamesFestival · Feasts and festival meals

🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreColumbus Day An annual autumn holiday marking the 1492 arrival of Christopher Columbus in the AmericasCeremony

🇱🇺 Luxembourg City, LuxembourgSchueberfouer An annual late-summer funfair and historic fair held in Luxembourg CityFestival

🇲🇽 Oaxaca, MexicoNight of the RadishesNoche de Rábanos An annual festival of intricate sculptures carved from oversized radishes in OaxacaCraft

🇲🇽 Mexico City, MexicoMexican Revolution DayDía de la Revolución Mexicana A Mexican civic holiday marking the 1910 uprising with parades and public ceremoniesCeremony

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

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreMothering Sunday A mid-Lent Christian observance and family celebration of mothers and mother churchesSeasonal · Breakfast

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

🇦🇹 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 4 moreBonfire Night Yearly nights of bonfires and fireworks, kept in Britain, Ireland and beyondFestival

🇪🇸 Madrid, Spain and 5 moreTwelve GrapesLas doce uvas de la suerte A grape for every chime at midnight on 31 December, welcoming the new yearFestival · Tea-time and snacking customs

🇨🇳 Hong Kong, China and 5 moreLunar New Year New year festivals dated by the moon, kept from East Asia to the Middle EastFestival

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

🇺🇸 Spokane, United States and 5 moreFather's Day A day to honour fathers and fatherhood, kept on many different dates worldwideFestival 🇺🇦 Ukraine and 2 moreProgrammer's Day A professional day for programmers, fixed to the 256th day of the yearCeremony

Photo credits on this page

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

National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation: Trump White House Archived, Public domain, source
Jul: Holger.Ellgaard, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Tbilisoba: DDohler, CC BY 2.0, source
Sham Ennessim: Ikonact, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Thanksgiving: Lars Plougmann, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Cremà: Paula Ramírez Morant, 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
Umuganda: Masako Kato, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Carnival in Uruguay: Graham Stanley, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Novy God: Евгений Самарин, CC BY 4.0, source
Carnival of Santiago de Cuba: Christian Pirkl, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Carnival of Mazatlán: The New Foxy, CC0, source
Quebec Winter Carnival: Shapiros10, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Easter parade: Meister der Palastkapelle in Palermo, Public domain, source
Julebord: Holger.Ellgaard, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Trinidad and Tobago Carnival: Jean-Marc /Jo BeLo/Jhon-John, CC BY 2.0, source
Nowruz: Peretz Partensky, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Galway International Oyster Festival: Thoslee, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Fiestas Patrias: Osmar Valdebenito, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Glögg: Mr.choppers, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Turrón: Tamorlan, CC BY 3.0, source
Korean New Year: Kang Byeong Kee, CC BY 3.0, source
West Indian Day Parade: Fordmadoxfraud, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Bloemencorso Bollenstreek: W. Bulach, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Chuseok: by Joseph Steinberg (Baltimoron in Korea) at Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Columbus Day: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Schueberfouer: Denise Hastert, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Night of the Radishes: AlejandroLinaresGarcia, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Rose Parade: Prayitno / Thank you for (12 millions +) view, CC BY 2.0, source
Mexican Revolution Day: Ute Hagen, CC BY 2.0, source
Bonfires of Saint John in Alicante: Fernando Pastor, CC BY 2.0, source
Mothering Sunday: Jonathunder, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Boishakhi Mela: Ripon Miah, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Vienna New Year's Concert: Michal Osmenda, CC BY 2.0, source
Bonfire Night: Jpdfive, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Twelve Grapes: Ralf Roletschek, GFDL 1.2, source
Lunar New Year: Flying Pharmacist, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Pinkpop: Gianni Taranto, CC BY 3.0, source
Father's Day: Jjsarto, CC BY-SA 4.0, source