Traditions of Europe
Carnival, Midsummer, Christmas markets, Easter, the village fête and the long Sunday lunch. 714 traditions on EveryParampara so far.
Countries
🇦🇱 Albania 27🇦🇩 Andorra 4🇦🇹 Austria 50🇧🇾 Belarus 30🇧🇪 Belgium 40🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina 16🇧🇬 Bulgaria 49🇭🇷 Croatia 33🇨🇿 Czechia 20🇩🇰 Denmark 26🇪🇪 Estonia 18🇫🇮 Finland 34🇫🇷 France 91🇩🇪 Germany 115🇬🇷 Greece 69🇭🇺 Hungary 22🇮🇸 Iceland 20🇮🇪 Ireland 77🇮🇹 Italy 114🇽🇰 Kosovo 20🇱🇻 Latvia 18🇱🇮 Liechtenstein 2🇱🇹 Lithuania 22🇱🇺 Luxembourg 14🇲🇹 Malta 15🇲🇩 Moldova 11🇲🇨 Monaco 1🇲🇪 Montenegro 13🇳🇱 Netherlands 29🇲🇰 North Macedonia 26🇳🇴 Norway 38🇵🇱 Poland 70🇵🇹 Portugal 27🇷🇴 Romania 39🇷🇺 Russia 102🇸🇲 San Marino 1🇷🇸 Serbia 44🇸🇰 Slovakia 19🇸🇮 Slovenia 25🇪🇸 Spain 96🇸🇪 Sweden 45🇨🇭 Switzerland 34🇺🇦 Ukraine 47🇬🇧 United Kingdom 201🇻🇦 Vatican City 3
Cities and towns
Rome 30London 26Moscow 18Dublin 17Vienna 16Athens 14Venice 14Paris 13Seville 12Kraków 11Riga 11Valencia 11
On the calendar
🇮🇹 Rome, Italy and 4 moreChristmas
A festival of Jesus's birth, kept on 25 December with gifts, lights and shared mealsFestival
🇮🇪 Ireland and 5 moreHalloween
An annual observance on 31 October marking the eve of All Saints' Day, rooted in Christian tradition and Celtic heritageFestival · Sweets given and shared
🇮🇹 Rome, Italy and 4 moreValentine's Day
A Christian feast day and cultural celebration of love kept on February 14 in many countries.Festival
🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreChristmas tree
A decorated evergreen or artificial tree placed indoors to mark the Christmas season.Festival
🇵🇱 Poland and 5 moreChristmas Eve
The evening before Christmas, marked by church services, family meals, and gift preparations across Christian cultures.Festival · Dinner
🇪🇸 Valencia, Spain and 5 moreFeast of Corpus ChristiCorpus Domini
A Christian feast celebrating the presence of Christ in the bread and wine of the EucharistSpiritual
🇫🇷 France and 5 moreCandlemas
A Christian feast of candle blessings marking the end of the Christmas seasonSpiritual
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreApple bobbing
A Halloween game where players try to catch floating apples with their teeth.Game
🇵🇹 Lisbon, PortugalMarchas Populares
Neighbourhood teams march, dance and sing through Lisbon's June nights for St AnthonyFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇪🇪 EstoniaJaanipäev
An Estonian midsummer festival marking the shortest night with bonfires, songs and independence memories.Festival
🇮🇪 Dublin, Ireland and 2 moreIrish traditional music
A living folk practice of dance tunes, airs, songs and communal pub sessionsPerformance
🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreName day
A calendar tradition where people celebrate the feast day of the saint after whom they are named.Festival
🇮🇪 Ireland and 5 moreFleadh CheoilFleadh Cheoil na hÉireann
An annual gathering of Irish traditional music and dance, featuring competitions, public sessions, and concerts across IPerformance
🇬🇷 Athens, Greece and 1 moreSirtakiσυρτάκι
A Greek folk dance created for a 1964 film that blends slow and fast rhythms into a single performance.Performance
🇵🇱 Poland and 2 morePolonaisePolonez
A traditional Polish partner dance in triple metre, kept as a national custom and UNESCO heritage.Performance
🇬🇧 Hinton St George, United KingdomPunkie Night
A Somerset Halloween custom where children carry mangelwurzel lanterns and sing for candles.Festival
🇸🇪 Sweden and 3 moreAdventadventus
A four-week Christian season of waiting and preparation for Christmas and the Second Coming.Festival
🇷🇺 Russia and 4 moreHousewarming party
A gathering held soon after moving into a new home to celebrate the space and welcome guests.Home
🇳🇴 Norway and 3 moreJulebukkingGå julebukk
A Scandinavian Christmas custom where masked visitors go door to door for songs and treats.Festival
🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreMaifest
A traditional German celebration marking the arrival of spring with decorated maypolesFestival
🇩🇪 Germany and 2 moreStammtisch
A weekly gathering of regulars at a reserved table in a pub or restaurant for conversation and community.Etiquette
🇬🇧 London, United KingdomChelsea Flower Show
A five-day May horticultural festival held in London by the Royal Horticultural SocietyFestival
🇳🇴 Bergen, NorwayBuekorps
Youth marching groups of Bergen's neighbourhoods, with drums, banners and a May paradeCeremony
🇪🇸 Seville, SpainHoly Week in SevilleSemana Santa de Sevilla
A week of solemn processions and floats through the streets of Seville to mark the Passion of Christ.Spiritual
🇬🇧 Lerwick, United KingdomUp Helly Aa
A Shetland fire festival with torch processions and a burning Viking ship to close the winter season.Festival
🇺🇦 Chernivtsi, Ukraine and 5 moreVyshyvanka DayДень вишиванки
An annual day for wearing traditional Ukrainian embroidered shirts across the worldDress
🇫🇷 Paris, France and 3 moreFête de la Musique
An annual celebration where people play music in public spaces on the summer solstice.Festival
🇮🇪 Ireland and 4 moreTrick-or-treating
A custom where children visit homes in costume to ask for treats or face a playful prank.Festival · Sweets given and shared
🇫🇷 France and 4 morePicnic
A meal taken outdoors in a park or scenic spot, often shared with friends and family.Festival · Lunch
🇪🇸 Seville, SpainSevillanas
A folk dance and song from Seville, kept at fairs and festivals across Andalusia.Performance
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreChristmas carol
Festive songs and hymns sung during the Christmas season and door to doorPerformance
🇪🇸 Spain and 5 moreArbor Day
An annual secular observance dedicated to planting and caring for trees around the worldCeremony
🇪🇸 Santiago de Compostela, SpainBotafumeiro
A giant swinging censer of brass and silver that fills the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral with incense during solemn fSpiritual
🇬🇧 Pilton, United KingdomGlastonbury Festival
A five-day summer performing arts festival held on Somerset farmlandFestival
🇬🇧 Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom and 5 moreRapper sword
A fast-paced five-person sword dance from the coalfields of North East England, kept alive by teams worldwide.Performance
🇬🇷 Athens, Greece and 1 moreTsamikoΤσάμικος
A slow Greek folk dance performed in a line or circle to 3/4 time music.Performance
🇨🇭 SwitzerlandSchwingen
A traditional Swiss folk wrestling style fought in sawdust ringsGame
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreApril Fools' Day
An annual day of lighthearted pranks, hoaxes and teasing kept on the first of AprilFestival
🇮🇪 Ireland and 2 moreJack-o'-lantern
A carved pumpkin lantern lit with a candle to brighten and protect Halloween nightsFolklore
🇪🇸 Ronda, Spain and 5 moreBullfightingCorrida de toros
A ritual contest between a bullfighter and a bull, kept in Spain and Latin AmericaGame
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreMumming
A medieval European custom of masked house-to-house visits, performances and seasonal revelry.Festival
🇪🇸 Pamplona, Spain and 3 moreRunning of the bullsencierro
Runners sprint ahead of loose bulls through barricaded town streets in summerFestival
🇬🇧 Cardiff, United KingdomNational Eisteddfod of WalesEisteddfod Genedlaethol Cymru
An annual week-long festival of Welsh music, poetry and culture held across different locations in Wales.Festival
🇮🇪 Dublin, Ireland and 2 moreIrish stepdance
A percussive dance form with swift, intricate footwork and an upright torsoPerformance
🇩🇰 Copenhagen, DenmarkFaroese chain danceFøroyskur dansur
A living medieval chain dance guided by sung ballads in the Faroe IslandsPerformance
🇪🇪 EstoniaJaanipäev
Estonia's midsummer night of bonfires, song and fortune-telling, on 23 and 24 JuneFestival
🇮🇪 Waterford, IrelandPatternpátrún
A parish feast honoring a patron saint, marked by prayers at holy wells and local gatherings in Ireland.Spiritual
🇬🇧 South Queensferry, United KingdomThe Burryman
A man clad in burdock burrs walks a Scottish town for a day, bringing luck as he goesFolklore
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Jack-o'-lantern: Toby Ord, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Trick-or-treating: Toyah Anette B, Public domain, source
- Christmas tree: Lechhansl, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Christmas: Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, Public domain, source
- Picnic: Thomas Cole, Public domain, source
- Running of the bulls: The original uploader was Bernard bill5 at Dutch Wikipedia . Later ver, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- The Burryman: Oliver Benton, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Buekorps: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Jaanipäev: Jaan Künnap, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Glastonbury Festival: Czampal, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Christmas carol: Prathyush Thomas, GFDL 1.2, source
- Vyshyvanka Day: Vladimir Yaitskiy, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- April Fools' Day: Lars Andersen, Public domain, source
- Irish traditional music: Gtapp, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Faroese chain dance: Eileen Sandá, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Irish stepdance: John Benson, CC BY 2.0, source
- Schwingen: Quejaytee, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- National Eisteddfod of Wales: Llywelyn2000, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Chelsea Flower Show: Nzfauna, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Bullfighting: No machine-readable author provided. Manuel González Olaechea assumed, CC BY 3.0, source
- Holy Week in Seville: Sevilla Congress & Convention Bureau, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Sevillanas: Anual, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Arbor Day: Jonathunder, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Advent: Jonathunder, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Julebukking: Wolfgang Sauber, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Botafumeiro: Luis Miguel Bugallo Sánchez ( Lmbuga Commons )( Lmbuga Galipedia ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Housewarming party: State Library of Queensland, Australia, No restrictions, source
- Mumming: Flemish illuminator Jehan de Grise and his workshop, 1338-1344, Public domain, source
- Sirtaki: Simon Bonaventure, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Up Helly Aa: Mike Pennington, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Fleadh Cheoil: Gfitz122, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Marchas Populares: Taisir85, CC BY 4.0, source
- Fête de la Musique: dalbera, CC BY 2.0, source
- Stammtisch: Nixalsverdruss, Public domain, source
- Name day: Sendker, Public domain, source
- Apple bobbing: Caleb Zahnd, CC BY 2.0, source
- Polonaise: Korneli Szlegel, Public domain, source
- Pattern: code poet, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Christmas Eve: Carl Larsson, Public domain, source
- Feast of Corpus Christi: Fennec ., Public domain, source
- Candlemas: Andrea Mantegna, Public domain, source
- Valentine's Day: Upload: Chordboard, Public domain, source