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EveryParampara

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
KindSpiritualFestivalRite of passageTable customSeasonalDressPerformanceEtiquetteCraftGameFolkloreHomeCeremony
MealBreakfastLunchDinnerSupperTea-time and snacking customsTea, coffee and drinking ceremoniesSweets given and sharedFeasts and festival mealsFasting and breaking the fast
🇨🇭 Basel, Switzerland and 4 moreSwiss National DaySchweizer Bundesfeiertag Switzerland's annual national holiday, celebrated with bonfires, fireworks, and lanternsCeremony 🇺🇸 New York, United States and 1 moreEaster parade A festive Easter Sunday stroll featuring stylish clothes and elaborate bonnetsFestival 🇺🇾 Montevideo, Uruguay and 3 moreMurga A lively Carnival musical theatre of chorus, percussion and social satirePerformance 🇨🇦 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 🇦🇷 ArgentinaDía de la Tradición An annual Argentine day celebrating gaucho customs on poet José Hernández's birthdayCeremony 🇲🇽 Mazatlán, MexicoCarnival of MazatlánCarnaval de Mazatlán An annual five-day festival of parades, fireworks, poetry and dance in coastal MexicoFestival 🇷🇸 Guča, SerbiaGuča Trumpet FestivalФестивал трубача у Гучи A weekend brass band competition and folk festival in western SerbiaFestival 🇰🇵 Pyongyang, North Korea and 4 moreMass games Disciplined, large-scale gymnastic spectacles celebrating unity and national prideCeremony 🇬🇧 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 🇫🇷 Bayonne, FranceFêtes de BayonneBaionako Jaiak A five-day summer feria in Bayonne featuring parades, dances and white-and-red dressFestival 🇹🇹 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 🇬🇾 Georgetown, GuyanaMashramani Guyana's national republic celebration filled with street pageantry, music and dance.Festival 🇬🇷 Patras, GreecePatras CarnivalPatrino karnavali A winter carnival of parades, street games and satirical floats in western GreeceFestival 🇨🇺 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 🇧🇩 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 🇬🇧 London, United Kingdom and 6 moreBoishakhi Melaবৈশাখী মেলা A Bengali New Year fair in London each May, with a parade, music and food stallsFestival 🇮🇸 Vestmannaeyjar, IcelandÞjóðhátíð An annual outdoor island festival of concerts, bonfires and hillside singing in IcelandFestival 🇬🇷 Olympia, Greece and 5 moreOlympic flame A flame kindled in Greece, carried by torch to light the cauldron of each GamesCeremony 🇺🇿 Uzbekistan and 5 moreKurashкөрәш Central Asian traditional upright folk wrestling using cloth belts or towelsGame 🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreJumping the broom A wedding ritual where newlyweds leap over a broom to mark their unionRite of passage 🇦🇹 Vienna, AustriaVienna New Year's ConcertNeujahrskonzert der Wiener Philharmoniker A morning of waltzes and polkas on 1 January, played by the Vienna PhilharmonicPerformance 🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreBachelor party A send-off for a groom-to-be, kept in the days and weeks before a weddingRite of passage 🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 4 moreBonfire Night Yearly nights of bonfires and fireworks, kept in Britain, Ireland and beyondFestival 🇨🇳 Yining, China and 1 moreMeshrepمەشرەپ A Uyghur gathering of music, poetry, dance and moral counsel at harvest and weddingsPerformance 🇨🇷 San Antonio de Escazú, Costa RicaCosta Rican oxcartscarretas Oxen-drawn carts, hand-painted in bright patterns, kept as a national symbol of Costa RicaCraft 🇪🇸 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 🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreDoljanchi돌 (dol); 돌잔치 (doljanchi) A Korean first-birthday rite where a baby picks an object that hints at the years aheadRite of passage 🇷🇺 RussiaRussian wedding traditions A Russian wedding runs two days to a week, with ransom games, crowns and toastsRite of passage 🇨🇳 Hong Kong, China and 5 moreLunar New Year New year festivals dated by the moon, kept from East Asia to the Middle EastFestival
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Photo credits on this page

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

The weekly EveryParampara

Every week: one tradition from somewhere new, what is being celebrated around the world this week, and one idea explained.