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.

🇺🇸 Washington, United StatesNational Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation An annual White House ceremony in which the American president spares a holiday turkey.Ceremony

🇵🇭 Baguio, PhilippinesPanagbenga Festival A month-long flower festival and parade in the mountain city of BaguioFestival

🇬🇧 United KingdomSwan Upping An annual five-day royal census and health check of swans along the River ThamesCeremony 🇫🇷 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

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

🇨🇴 Medellín, ColombiaFestival of the FlowersFeria de las Flores An annual week-long celebration of floral craft and regional culture in MedellínFestival 🇫🇯 Suva, FijiRatu Sir Lala Sukuna Day An annual Fijian civic observance commemorating statesman Ratu Sir Lala SukunaCeremony

🇷🇺 Moscow, Russia and 5 moreNovy GodНовый Год A secular winter celebration of decorated trees, family feasts and midnight giftsFestival · Feasts and festival meals 🇰🇷 South KoreaKorean traditional funeral A multi-day ritual blending Confucian rites and shamanic practices to guide the deceased to the afterlife.Rite of passage

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

🇨🇳 ChinaChinese funeral rituals Traditional rites of mourning, vigils, offerings, and ancestor veneration across ChinaRite of passage

🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago and 3 moreHosay An Indo-Caribbean Muharram commemoration with ornate floats, drumming and processionsSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast

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

🇯🇲 Montego Bay, JamaicaReggae Sumfest An annual week-long reggae and dancehall music festival in Montego Bay, JamaicaFestival

🇷🇼 Kigali, RwandaUmuganda A monthly morning of mandatory communal work and civic gathering across RwandaCeremony 🇱🇻 Riga, LatviaZiemassvētki Latvia's midwinter festival of solstice customs, mumming and tree decorationSeasonal

🇱🇮 Vaduz, LiechtensteinLiechtenstein National DayStaatsfeiertag Liechtenstein Liechtenstein's national holiday celebrated with castle speeches, bonfires and fireworksCeremony

🇧🇬 Kazanlak, BulgariaRose FestivalФестивал на розата An annual harvest celebration of damask roses across the Rose Valley of BulgariaFestival 🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreBank holiday Official days of rest and financial closure across the British IslesCeremony

🇨🇴 Cali, ColombiaCali FairLa Feria de Cali A six-day Colombian celebration of salsa music, street parades, and regional cultureFestival

🇬🇧 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

🇧🇩 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

🇮🇹 Florence, ItalyCalcio storico fiorentino A fierce Renaissance ball game played on sand between four Florentine districtsGame

🇸🇬 Singapore and 2 moreChingay Parade妝藝 A lively street procession of floats, giant flags, and performing arts in Southeast AsiaFestival

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

🇺🇸 Philadelphia, United StatesMummers Parade An annual New Year's Day street parade in Philadelphia featuring music and costumed clubsFestival

🇮🇳 India and 1 moreChapchar KutChapchâr Kût A spring festival of dance and food kept by the Mizo people in Mizoram, India.Festival

🇲🇽 Acolman, Mexico and 1 morePiñata A festive decorated container broken open with a stick to scatter treats and fruitFestival

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

🇺🇸 Washington, United StatesUnited States presidential inauguration The formal swearing-in ceremony and celebrations for a new United States presidentCeremony

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

🇧🇪 Mons, BelgiumDucasse de Mons An eight-day festival in Mons featuring a golden carriage and a dragon combatFestival

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

🇮🇪 Ireland and 2 moreWren DayLá an Dreoilín A Saint Stephen's Day custom where groups parade a stuffed wren on a decorated pole through their community.Festival

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

🇵🇭 Bacolod, PhilippinesMassKara FestivalPista sang MassKara A street festival of smiling masks, parades and music in Bacolod, PhilippinesFestival

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

🇷🇺 Moscow, Russia and 5 moreImmortal RegimentБессмертный полк (Bessmertnyy polk) A civic procession where people carry portraits of relatives who served in the Second World War.Festival

🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreJumping the broom A wedding ritual where newlyweds leap over a broom to mark their unionRite of passage

🇪🇸 Spain and 1 moreTió de Nadal A Catalan Christmas tradition where a decorated log is fed and beaten to produce small gifts for children.Festival 🇲🇦 MoroccoThrone Dayعيد العرش Morocco's annual national holiday marking the enthronement of the reigning kingCeremony

🇱🇺 Luxembourg City, LuxembourgSchueberfouer An annual late-summer funfair and historic fair held in Luxembourg CityFestival 🇺🇸 Tahlequah, United StatesCherokee National Holiday An annual gathering in Oklahoma marking the signing of the Cherokee ConstitutionFestival 🇧🇿 Dangriga, BelizeGarifuna Settlement Day An annual Belizean holiday marking the arrival and heritage of the Garifuna peopleFestival

🇳🇱 Noordwijk, Netherlands and 1 moreBloemencorso Annual parades of flower-covered floats and boats in the Netherlands and BelgiumFestival

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

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
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
Swan Upping: Philip Allfrey, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Chingay Parade: HundenvonPenang, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Calcio storico fiorentino: Stradanus / After Giorgio Vasari, Public domain, 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
Liechtenstein National Day: Förkle, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Umuganda: Masako Kato, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Reggae Sumfest: Psycler who is also known as AlfredMoya.com for Jamaica MAX, CC BY 3.0, source
Carnival in Uruguay: Graham Stanley, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Hosay: Julius Eduard Muller, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Chinese funeral rituals: Salzmann, E.v., CC BY-SA 3.0 de, source
Kalevala Day: Vladimir Menkov, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Novy God: Евгений Самарин, CC BY 4.0, source
Festival of the Flowers: SajoR, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
Carnival of Santiago de Cuba: Christian Pirkl, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Columbus Day: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Bloemencorso: Dekraaie, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Schueberfouer: Denise Hastert, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Tió de Nadal: Slastic, Public domain, source
Jumping the broom: credited only as "Hipstamatic shots, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Immortal Regiment: Presidential Press and Information Office, CC BY 4.0, source
Night of the Radishes: AlejandroLinaresGarcia, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
MassKara Festival: Ceslou, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Rose Parade: Prayitno / Thank you for (12 millions +) view, CC BY 2.0, source
Wren Day: Manx James, CC0, source
Mexican Revolution Day: Ute Hagen, CC BY 2.0, source
Ducasse de Mons: Jean-Pol GRANDMONT, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Bonfires of Saint John in Alicante: Fernando Pastor, CC BY 2.0, source
Piñata: No machine-readable author provided. JEDIKNIGHT1970 assumed (based on, Public domain, source
United States presidential inauguration: The White House, Public domain, source
Mothering Sunday: Jonathunder, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Mummers Parade: Tyler McHenry at English Wikipedia ( Original text: Tyler McHenry (Thi, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Chapchar Kut: Ramesh Lalwani, CC BY 2.0, source
Abbots Bromley Horn Dance: Caeciliusinhorto, CC BY-SA 4.0, source