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.

🇪🇪 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 🇵🇸 Palestine and 1 morePalestine Festival of Literatureاحتفالية فلسطين للأدب An annual touring literary gathering staging free bilingual readings across PalestinePerformance

🇬🇧 London, United KingdomQueen Charlotte's Ball A historic coming-of-age gala where young women curtsey to an ornate birthday cakeRite of passage

🇪🇪 Tartu, EstoniaTartuff An open-air romance film festival held in the town hall square of Tartu, EstoniaPerformance

🇺🇿 Bukhara, UzbekistanAsrlar Sadosi An annual outdoor festival celebrating Uzbek folk arts, sports, crafts, and heritageFestival

🇩🇪 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 🇫🇷 France and 2 moreReynard the FoxRoman de Renart A medieval European beast fable cycle starring a cunning trickster foxFolklore

🇫🇷 Paris, FranceParis CarnivalCarnaval de Paris An annual street celebration and costume procession across ParisFestival

🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreNude wedding A marriage ceremony where the couple and guests gather without clothingRite of passage

🇬🇧 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

🇮🇸 Reykjavík, IcelandIceland Noir An annual November literature and storytelling festival held in central ReykjavíkPerformance 🇨🇦 Edmonton, CanadaGrand North American Old Time Fiddle Championship An annual summer fiddle tournament and community gathering in Alberta, CanadaPerformance

🇷🇺 RussiaOctobering A short-lived Soviet naming rite that put the Red Star in place of the baptismal crossRite of passage

🇨🇳 Xi'an, ChinaXi'an guyue西安鼓乐 Ritual wind and percussion music from Xi'an, played sitting or walkingPerformance 🇦🇴 Luanda, AngolaLuanda International Jazz Festival An annual jazz gathering staged in the capital of AngolaPerformance 🇯🇴 Amman, JordanAl-Balad Music Festival A multi-day summer music festival held in the historic open-air theatres of AmmanPerformance 🇩🇰 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 🇯🇵 JapanMoai模合 (Mo-ai) A Japanese social support group that provides mutual aid and companionship to its members.Etiquette

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreDahu褡护 (Dāhù) A cross-collar jacket worn in the Ming dynasty, blending Chinese and Mongol styles.Dress

🇯🇵 JapanKamifūsen紙風船 Japanese paper balloons enjoyed as self-inflating toys, gifts and festival lanternsGame

🇮🇩 Bali, IndonesiaNational costume of IndonesiaPakaian Nasional Indonesia The formal attire worn by Indonesians to represent the nation's diverse cultural heritage.Dress 🇺🇸 New York, United StatesBark Mitzvah A lighthearted coming of age celebration held by dog owners for their petsFestival · Feasts and festival meals 🇨🇦 Canada and 1 moreStag and doe A Canadian fundraising party for an engaged couple, featuring games, food, and raffles to help pay for the wedding.Festival · Dinner 🇯🇲 Kingston, JamaicaJamaica Independence Festival An August festival of music, pageantry and parades marking Jamaican freedomCeremony

🇬🇧 United KingdomGarland dance A nineteenth-century English dance tradition performed with flower-covered garlandsPerformance 🇮🇱 Tel Aviv, IsraelLethal Lesbianלסבית קטלנית An annual film festival in Tel Aviv dedicated to cinema by and about lesbian women.Festival

🇭🇺 Miskolc, HungaryKocsonya FestivalKocsonyafesztivál An annual winter food and culture festival held in Miskolc, HungaryFestival · Feasts and festival meals 🇬🇧 East Kilbride, United KingdomKate Dalrymple A traditional Scottish reel and comic Scots song about a muirland spinsterPerformance

🇮🇷 Iran and 1 moreEidiyahعيدية The holiday custom of presenting cash and gifts to children and relativesFestival 🇦🇪 Sharjah, United Arab EmiratesSir Bu Nair Festival An annual maritime gathering celebrating seafaring and island conservation in SharjahFestival

🇱🇹 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 🇱🇰 Colombo, Sri LankaColombo Pride An annual LGBTQ+ pride parade and festival held in Colombo, Sri Lanka.Festival

🇱🇻 Riga, Latvia and 2 moreBaltic Pride An annual Baltic festival and human rights march rotating between Riga, Tallinn, and VilniusFestival

🇨🇾 Limassol, CyprusWine Festival of CyprusΓιορτή του Κρασιού An annual autumn celebration of winemaking, folklore and food in Limassol, CyprusFestival · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies

🇽🇰 Pristina, KosovoDAM Festival Pristina An annual gathering in Pristina showcasing emerging classical and contemporary musiciansPerformance

🇽🇰 Vushtrri, Kosovo and 1 moreGatherings of Poetesses in VushtrriTakimet e Poeteshave në Vushtrri An annual literary festival celebrating female poets in Vushtrri, KosovoPerformance 🇿🇼 Harare, ZimbabweHarare International Festival of the Arts An annual week-long celebration of music, dance, theatre and art in Harare, ZimbabwePerformance

🇷🇺 Moscow, RussiaSpartakiad of the Peoples of the USSRСпартакиада народов СССР A massive multi-sport festival that brought together Soviet republics every four yearsGame

🇲🇬 Antananarivo, MadagascarRencontres du Film Court MadagasikaraRencontres du Film Court Madagascar Madagascar's annual short film festival, held in Antananarivo with free screeningsFestival 🇶🇦 Doha, QatarDoha Cultural Festival An annual sixteen-day arts and heritage festival held in Qatar's capitalFestival 🇻🇪 Caracas, VenezuelaCaracas Pride An annual pride march in Venezuela calling for equal rights for LGBTQ communitiesCeremony

Photo credits on this page

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

Kamifūsen: アルトクール, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Kocsonya Festival: Szalax, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Garland dance: Tim Green, CC BY 2.0, source
National costume of Indonesia: President of Indonesia, Public domain, source
Dahu: Gary Todd, CC0, source
Xi'an guyue: Liuxingy, CC BY-SA 4.0, 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
Asrlar Sadosi: Patisserie, CC BY-SA 3.0, 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
Nude wedding: Peter Paul Rubens, 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
Baltic Pride: IDAHOT, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Wine Festival of Cyprus: George M. Groutas, CC BY 2.0, source
DAM Festival Pristina: Lyra Cela, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Gatherings of Poetesses in Vushtrri: Drenisa, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Rencontres du Film Court Madagasikara: Natsuyasumi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR: Scanning Dmitry Makeev , scan date - 2020 year., Public domain, source
Eidiyah: Rahbar Emamdadi, CC BY 4.0, source