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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
🇯🇵 JapanNemawashi根回し The Japanese practice of building quiet consensus before an official decisionEtiquette 🇯🇵 Kyoto, JapanKendo剣道 A Japanese martial art of swordsmanship using bamboo swords and protective armourGame 🇨🇳 China and 2 moreCuju蹴鞠 An ancient Chinese kicking game played without hands using a stuffed or air-filled ballGame 🇯🇵 Japan and 2 moreKyūdō弓道 The Japanese martial art of archery, practiced with an asymmetrical longbowGame 🇨🇳 China and 5 moreLion dance舞獅 A dynamic ritual dance featuring costumed lions, drums and martial acrobaticsPerformance 🇰🇷 South KoreaJesa제사 (Jesa) A Korean ancestral memorial ceremony held on death anniversaries and major holidays.Spiritual · Feasts and festival meals 🇰🇷 South KoreaHanji한지 The Korean craft of making durable paper from mulberry fiber and root mucilage.Craft 🇯🇵 JapanChildren's Dayこどもの日 A Japanese holiday on May fifth celebrating the happiness and growth of childrenFestival 🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanSetsubun節分 A Japanese ritual of throwing roasted soybeans to banish evil spirits and welcome spring.Festival · Feasts and festival meals 🇨🇳 Xi'an, ChinaChinese tea culture中国茶文化 (Zhōngguó chá wénhuà) A centuries-old practice of cultivating, brewing, and sharing tea as a social and spiritual ritual in China.Table custom · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies 🇰🇵 Pyongyang, North KoreaDay of the Sun태양절 North Korea's principal holiday, marking the birth anniversary of Kim Il SungCeremony 🇨🇳 China and 5 moreDouble Ninth Festival重陽節 An autumn festival of mountain walks, chrysanthemum wine and ancestor remembranceSeasonal · Tea-time and snacking customs 🇰🇵 Pyongyang, North KoreaArirang Mass Games아리랑 축제 A massive civic spectacle of gymnastics, dance, and card stunts in PyongyangCeremony 🇯🇵 JapanComing of Age Day成人の日 A Japanese public holiday welcoming new adults with municipal rites and celebrationsRite of passage 🇹🇼 Taipei, TaiwanDouble Ten Day國慶日 The national holiday of Taiwan marking the start of the 1911 revolution.Ceremony 🇨🇳 ChinaGolden Week黄金周 Seven- or eight-day national holiday periods in China for travel and family visitsSeasonal 🇰🇷 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 🇰🇷 Boryeong, South KoreaBoryeong Mud Festival보령머드축제 A summer festival of mud baths, slides and music on the coast of South KoreaFestival 🇨🇳 Hong Kong, China and 5 moreLunar New Year New year festivals dated by the moon, kept from East Asia to the Middle EastFestival 🇨🇳 ChinaChinese funeral rituals Traditional rites of mourning, vigils, offerings, and ancestor veneration across ChinaRite of passage 🇰🇷 South KoreaKorean traditional funeral A multi-day ritual blending Confucian rites and shamanic practices to guide the deceased to the afterlife.Rite of passage 🇰🇵 Pyongyang, North Korea and 4 moreMass games Disciplined, large-scale gymnastic spectacles celebrating unity and national prideCeremony 🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreKorean New Year설날 A three-day Korean festival celebrating the lunisolar new year with family and feastsSeasonal 🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreChuseok추석 A Korean harvest festival of ancestral rites, seasonal rice cakes, and folk gamesFestival · Feasts and festival meals 🇰🇷 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 🇯🇵 JapanBowing in Japanお辞儀 The Japanese bow, used to greet, thank, apologise and show respectEtiquette 🇨🇳 Yining, China and 1 moreMeshrepمەشرەپ A Uyghur gathering of music, poetry, dance and moral counsel at harvest and weddingsPerformance 🇰🇷 Seoul, South Korea and 1 moreMarriage in Korea Weddings in Korea, from Goryeo matchmaking to Confucian rites and modern chapel vowsRite of passage 🇨🇳 ChinaKowtow叩頭 A traditional Chinese prostration of deep respect by kneeling and bowing to the groundEtiquette 🇰🇷 South Korea and 4 moreParents' Day어버이날 (Eobeoinal) Days set aside in several countries to thank mothers and fathersFestival 🇯🇵 Japan and 1 moreFukubukuro福袋 Surprise discount grab bags sold by Japanese retailers for the New YearSeasonal 🇯🇵 Japan and 5 moreHouse A traditional children's make-believe game of acting out domestic family rolesGame 🇰🇵 Pyongyang, North KoreaParty Foundation Day조선로동당 창건일 A national holiday in North Korea that marks the founding of its ruling party in 1945.Ceremony 🇹🇼 TaiwanSimple Life Festival簡單生活節 A biennial cultural gathering in Taiwan featuring live music, markets and craftsFestival 🇨🇳 Xi'an, ChinaXi'an guyue西安鼓乐 Ritual wind and percussion music from Xi'an, played sitting or walkingPerformance 🇯🇵 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

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.