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.
🇪🇪 Kuremaa, EstoniaJõgevatreff
An annual international motorcycle festival held in Kuremaa, EstoniaFestival
🇨🇿 Prague, CzechiaPrague SoundsStruny podzimu
An annual music festival in Prague presenting jazz, classical and electronic artistsFestival
🇬🇧 London, United Kingdom and 1 moreMarriage vows
The promises a couple speak to each other as they marryRite of passage
🇩🇰 Copenhagen, DenmarkNatFilm Festival
An annual Danish cinema gathering held around Easter from 1990 to 2008Performance
🇬🇧 London, United KingdomQueen Charlotte's Ball
A historic coming-of-age gala where young women curtsey to an ornate birthday cakeRite of passage
🇷🇸 Belgrade, Serbia and 2 moreMerlinka Festival
An annual queer film festival held across Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and MontenegroFestival
🇪🇪 Tartu, EstoniaTartuff
An open-air romance film festival held in the town hall square of Tartu, EstoniaPerformance
🇩🇪 Munich, GermanyO'zapft is!
The civic barrel-tapping ceremony that officially launches Munich's OktoberfestCeremony · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇲🇰 Bitola, North MacedoniaManaki Brothers Film Festival
An annual international festival in Bitola honouring the craft of cinematographyFestival
🇫🇷 Paris, FranceParis CarnivalCarnaval de Paris
An annual street celebration and costume procession across ParisFestival
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreScottish folk music
Traditional ballads, fiddle tunes and bagpipe melodies from Scotland and its diasporaPerformance
🇨🇿 CzechiaName days in the Czech RepublicSvátek
A daily custom where people celebrate on the calendar date assigned to their given name.Seasonal
🇫🇷 France and 2 moreReynard the FoxRoman de Renart
A medieval European beast fable cycle starring a cunning trickster foxFolklore
🇮🇸 Reykjavík, IcelandIceland Noir
An annual November literature and storytelling festival held in central ReykjavíkPerformance
🇷🇺 RussiaOctobering
A short-lived Soviet naming rite that put the Red Star in place of the baptismal crossRite of passage
🇩🇰 Copenhagen, DenmarkCopenhagen Distortion
A week of street parties, club nights and a rave in Copenhagen celebrating new dance music.Festival
🇫🇷 Paris, FranceNyansapo Festival
A French festival celebrating Black feminism and empowering diasporic women.Festival
🇬🇧 United KingdomGarland dance
A nineteenth-century English dance tradition performed with flower-covered garlandsPerformance
🇬🇧 London, United Kingdom and 2 moreOyez
A traditional ceremonial call chanted to open court sessions and civic assembliesCeremony
🇱🇹 Vilnius, LithuaniaLithuania Independence Restoration Day
A Lithuanian national holiday on 11 March celebrating the 1990 return of sovereign ruleCeremony
🇲🇹 MaltaFestival Kanzunetta IndipendenzaKonkors Kanzunetta Indipendenza
An annual music contest in Malta celebrating native songwriting around Independence DayPerformance
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Garland dance: Tim Green, CC BY 2.0, source
- Octobering: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Iceland Noir: TommyBee, CC0, source
- Jõgevatreff: Aleksei Malogin, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Marriage vows: Tumi-1983, Public domain, source
- Queen Charlotte's Ball: The Illustrated London News, Public domain, source
- Tartuff: Tusklikupreili, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- O'zapft is!: Michael Lucan, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, source
- Manaki Brothers Film Festival: US Embassy, Macedonia, Public domain, source
- Paris Carnival: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Scottish folk music: Kim Traynor, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Lithuania Independence Restoration Day: Lithuania Post Office / Scanned and processed by Vizu, Public domain, source
- Oyez: Bryan Ledgard, CC BY 2.0, source