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
🇳🇿 Waitangi, New Zealand and 2 moreWaitangi DayTe Rā o Waitangi
New Zealand's national day remembering the 1840 founding agreement.Ceremony · Breakfast
🇺🇸 Washington, United StatesPresidents' DayWashington's Birthday
An annual American holiday honouring George Washington and the nation's past leadersCeremony
🇨🇦 Calgary, CanadaCalgary StampedeStampede de Calgary
A ten-day July festival of rodeo, racing, and community breakfasts in Alberta.Festival · Breakfast
🇺🇸 Washington, United StatesThanksgiving
An annual American holiday of gratitude, family gatherings and an autumn harvest feastFestival · Dinner
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreBurns supperBurns Nicht
A Scottish celebratory meal of haggis, poetry and toasts in honour of Robert BurnsFestival · Dinner
🇯🇵 JapanComing of Age Day成人の日
A Japanese public holiday welcoming new adults with municipal rites and celebrationsRite of passage
🇬🇪 GeorgiaRtveliრთველი
A Georgian harvest festival marking the grape picking season with feasts and folk songs.Festival · Feasts and festival meals
🇨🇴 Barranquilla, ColombiaBarranquilla CarnivalCarnaval de Barranquilla
A four-day street festival of music, masquerade and dance in coastal ColombiaFestival
🇬🇧 London, United Kingdom and 5 moreChristmas cracker
A decorative paper tube pulled apart with a bang during Christmas dinnerFestival · Dinner
🇩🇰 Copenhagen, Denmark and 5 moreFastelavn
A pre-Lenten carnival in Northern Europe where children dress up, sing for treats, and break candy-filled barrels.Festival · Sweets given and shared
🇩🇰 Copenhagen, Denmark and 4 moreRisalamande
A chilled Danish Christmas rice dessert with cream, chopped almonds and cherry sauceTable custom · Sweets given and shared
🇨🇦 CanadaSaint-Jean-Baptiste DayFête nationale du Québec
An annual civic and cultural celebration observed across Quebec every June 24Ceremony
🇮🇷 Iran and 4 moreSizdah Bedarسیزدهبدر
An open-air picnic holiday concluding the Iranian New Year celebrationsFestival
🇸🇷 Paramaribo, Suriname and 1 moreKetikotiKeti Koti
An annual Emancipation Day marking the end of slavery in Suriname and the NetherlandsFestival
🇸🇦 Jeddah, Saudi ArabiaSaudi National Dayاليوم الوطني السعودي
An annual public holiday in Saudi Arabia marking the 1932 unification of the kingdom.Ceremony
🇹🇼 Taipei, TaiwanDouble Ten Day國慶日
The national holiday of Taiwan marking the start of the 1911 revolution.Ceremony
🇪🇸 Valencia, SpainWater Tribunal of the plain of ValenciaTribunal de les Aigües de la Vega de València
A weekly outdoor gathering of Valencian farmers settling irrigation disputes by word of mouthCeremony
🇨🇴 Pasto, ColombiaBlacks and Whites' CarnivalCarnaval de Negros y Blancos
A week of street games, parades and music held every January in Pasto, ColombiaFestival
🇨🇦 Toronto, CanadaVictoria DayFête de la Reine
A Canadian public holiday celebrating the monarch and welcoming the return of summerCeremony
🇨🇳 ChinaGolden Week黄金周
Seven- or eight-day national holiday periods in China for travel and family visitsSeasonal
🇷🇺 RussiaScarlet SailsАлые паруса
A summer graduation celebration on the Neva River in Saint PetersburgFestival
🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreDaeboreum대보름
A Korean festival of the first lunar full moon, marked by fires, wishes and feastsSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇰🇵 Pyongyang, North KoreaDay of the Shining Star광명성절
A two-day national holiday in North Korea honouring the birth of Kim Jong Il.Ceremony
🇮🇷 Yazd, Iran and 1 moreSadehسده
An ancient midwinter festival of fire, light, and the approach of springFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇳🇴 Oslo, NorwayRussefeiring
A spring graduation rite of passage for Norwegian secondary school studentsRite of passage
🇹🇿 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
🇦🇿 AzerbaijanNovruzNovruz Bayramı
The Azerbaijani spring equinox festival of bonfires, sweets and sprouted wheatSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇳🇷 NauruAngam Day
A national holiday in Nauru celebrating the survival and recovery of its peopleCeremony
🇸🇬 Singapore, SingaporeNational DayHari Kebangsaan Singapura
Singapore's annual civic holiday celebrating its national sovereignty on 9 AugustCeremony
🇱🇻 Riga, Latvia and 4 moreJāņi
An annual Latvian summer solstice celebration of bonfires, singing and woven wreathsFestival
🇲🇽 Mexico City, MexicoMexican Independence DayDía de la Independencia de México
An annual Mexican national holiday marking the 1810 uprising against Spanish ruleCeremony
🇸🇮 Slovenia and 1 morePrešeren DayPrešernov dan
A national celebration of arts and literature observed across Slovenia on 8 FebruaryCeremony
🇨🇭 Zurich, SwitzerlandSechseläutenSächsilüüte
Zurich's spring festival marked by guild parades and the burning of a snowman effigySeasonal
🇩🇪 Cologne, GermanyCologne CarnivalKölner Karneval
A street festival in Cologne with parades, masquerades and a ruling trioFestival
🇪🇸 Barcelona, SpainLa Mercè
Barcelona’s main annual city festival, honoring the Virgin of Mercy each September.Festival
🇪🇸 Pamplona, Spain and 5 moreProcessional giants
Towering costumed figures carried through town streets during communal festivalsFestival
🇬🇷 Athens, Greece and 1 moreCelebration of the Greek RevolutionΕορτασμός της Ελληνικής Επανάστασης του 1821
An annual civic holiday of parades and church services marking Greek independenceCeremony
🇪🇸 Barcelona, Spain and 2 moreDiada de Sant Jordi
A Catalan feast day of literature and love, marked by giving books and red rosesFestival
🇹🇲 Ashgabat, TurkmenistanMelon Day
A nationwide summer holiday in Turkmenistan honoring the country's prized melonsTable custom
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 4 moreMummers' play
A comic folk drama of staged combat, death, and revival by an eccentric doctorPerformance
🇰🇷 Boryeong, South KoreaBoryeong Mud Festival보령머드축제
A summer festival of mud baths, slides and music on the coast of South KoreaFestival
🇸🇪 SwedenJul
A midwinter holiday of feast tables, doorstep gift givers, and candlelit morningsSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇨🇦 Canada and 5 moreTartan DayLà an Tartain
An annual celebration of Scottish culture, clan tartans, and diaspora heritageFestival
🇬🇪 Tbilisi, GeorgiaTbilisobaთბილისობა
An annual October festival celebrating the culture, harvest, and history of TbilisiFestival
🇨🇭 Vevey, SwitzerlandFête des Vignerons
A once-in-a-generation wine festival and arena spectacle in Vevey, SwitzerlandFestival · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇨🇦 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
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Processional giants: Jesús Serna, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Waitangi Day: Ryan762 ( talk ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Calgary Stampede: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Barranquilla Carnival: el heraldo, Public domain, source
- Rtveli: Grigory Gagarin, Public domain, source
- Congolese rumba: Jeanne Vu Van, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Fastelavn: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Saudi National Day: Faisal Arif, CC BY 4.0, source
- Ketikoti: StarNieuws, CC BY 3.0, source
- Sizdah Bedar: PersianDutchNetwork, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Jul: Holger.Ellgaard, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day: Montrealais, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Blacks and Whites' Carnival: camiloAndres, CC BY 2.0, source
- Water Tribunal of the plain of Valencia: José Jordan, CC BY-SA 3.0 igo, source
- Presidents' Day: Alexander Gardner, Public domain, source
- Risalamande: Lorie Shaull, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Day of the Shining Star: Nicor, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Scarlet Sails: Kora27, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Daeboreum: hojusaram, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Golden Week: User:czhongwu, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Zanzibar International Film Festival: Peter Bennett / ZIFF, CC BY 2.0, source
- Victoria Day: abdallahh, CC BY 2.0, source
- Russefeiring: Unknown author, CC BY 2.0, source
- Sadeh: Farzad j, Public domain, source
- Jāņi: Heinrihsons, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Burns supper: Kim Traynor, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Thanksgiving: Jennie Augusta Brownscombe, Public domain, source
- National Day: Brian Jeffery Beggerly, CC BY 2.0, source
- Angam Day: Taken in 1896 by Augustin Krämer and uploaded by Rémih, Public domain, source
- Prešeren Day: Franz von Kurz zum Thurn und Goldenstein, Public domain, source
- Mexican Independence Day: PetrohsW, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Celebration of the Greek Revolution: Stefanos Kofopoulos, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Novruz: Abutalub, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Christmas cracker: en:User:Cgros841, Public domain, source
- La Mercè: larry&flo, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Cologne Carnival: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Sechseläuten: anonymous, Public domain, source
- Boryeong Mud Festival: Stinkie Pinkie, CC BY 2.0, source
- Mummers' play: Aladjov, CC BY 3.0, source
- Melon Day: AltynAsyr, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Diada de Sant Jordi: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 4.0, 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
- Fête des Vignerons: "Groupement des photographes officiels" / Fête des vignerons Vevey / S, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tartan Day: daniel2177, CC BY 2.0, source
- Coming of Age Day: moguphotos, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Double Ten Day: 總統府, CC BY 2.0, source