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
🇷🇺 Russia and 2 moreMaslenitsaМасленица
A seven-day Eastern Slavic festival of pancakes and bonfires marking the end of winter before Lent.Festival · Breakfast
🇩🇪 Nuremberg, Germany and 5 moreChristmas marketWeihnachtsmarkt
A seasonal street market held during Advent in German-speaking regions and beyond, featuring stalls, food, and crafts.Festival · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreBoxing Day
A public holiday on 26 December in Commonwealth nations, marked by charity, family time, and shopping sales.Festival
🇪🇸 Spain and 1 moreTapasTapa
Small Spanish snacks or appetizers served hot or cold, often shared among friends.Table custom · Tea-time and snacking customs
🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreAdvent calendarAdventskalender
A daily countdown to Christmas using doors, images, or small gifts.Festival
🇪🇸 Spain and 5 moreSt John's Eve
Bonfires, feasting and worship on the short night before John the Baptist's feastSpiritual
🇩🇪 Germany and 12 moreSt. Martin's DayMartinstag
A November feast of lantern walks, bonfires, roast goose and new wineSpiritual
🇮🇹 Venice, ItalyCarnival of VeniceCarnevale di Venezia
A historic festival in Italy famous for elaborate masks and anonymous social gatherings.Festival
🇪🇸 Valls, SpainCastell
A Catalan tradition of building multi-level human towers at festivals, requiring strength, balance, and community solidaPerformance
🇪🇸 Pamplona, SpainFestival of San FermínSanfermines
An annual nine-day festival in Pamplona featuring bull runs, parades, and street music.Festival
🇷🇺 Kazan, Russia and 2 moreSabantuyСабан туе
A Tatar summer festival of wrestling, horse races and village contestsFestival
🇸🇪 Stockholm, Sweden and 4 moreSaint Lucy's Day
A December festival of light and song held across Scandinavia and Italy to honour a Christian martyr.Festival · Breakfast
🇷🇺 Moscow, Russia and 5 moreDefender of the Fatherland DayДень защитника Отечества
A national holiday honouring military service and male relatives, observed across several post-Soviet states.Festival
🇳🇱 Amsterdam, NetherlandsKing's DayKoningsdag
A Dutch national holiday celebrating the monarch's birthday with street markets and orange attire.Festival
🇺🇦 Ukraine and 5 moreKupala Night
A summer solstice folk festival marked by bonfires, water rituals and herbal gatherings across Eastern Europe.Festival
🇵🇱 Poland and 5 moreFat Thursday
A Thursday before Lent when doughnuts, grilled meat and Carnival take overFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇳🇴 Oslo, Norway and 3 moreConstitution DaySyttende mai
A national public holiday in Norway marked by children's parades, flags, and traditional food.Festival · Tea-time and snacking customs
🇧🇪 Belgium and 5 moreSaint Nicholas Day
The feast day of Saint Nicholas, kept in Advent with gifts, shoes and church servicesSpiritual
🇫🇷 FranceFest nozfest noz (pl. festoù noz)
A Breton night festival of group dancing and live acoustic music, kept in Brittany and its diaspora.Festival · Tea-time and snacking customs
🇺🇦 Kyiv, Ukraine and 14 morePysankaписанка
A wax-resist egg decorating tradition kept by Slavic communities for Easter and spring renewal.Festival
🇮🇪 Ireland and 6 moreSaint Stephen's Day
A Christian feast day celebrating the first martyr with feasts, rides and folk customs.Spiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇪 Dublin, Ireland and 5 moreBloomsdayLá Bloom
A celebration of James Joyce and his novel Ulysses, observed on 16 June in Dublin and worldwide.Festival · Breakfast
🇮🇹 Siena, ItalyPalio di SienaIl Palio
A bareback horse race held twice a year in Siena's Piazza del Campo, representing the city's historic wards.Festival
🇷🇸 Serbia and 1 moreVidovdanВидовдан
A Serbian church feast on 28 June, kept in memory of those who died at KosovoSpiritual
🇷🇸 SerbiaSlavaСлава
An annual Serbian family feast honouring their patron saint with blessed bread and wineSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇹 Siena, ItalyFerragosto
A public holiday on 15 August marking the Assumption of Mary and the traditional start of the Italian summer break.Festival · Lunch
🇮🇪 Dublin, Ireland and 4 moreMay Day
A traditional European festival welcoming summer with greenery, dances and bonfiresSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇫🇮 Helsinki, FinlandIndependence Day of FinlandSuomen itsenäisyyspäivä
Finland's national day on 6 December, marked with window candles and a presidential ballCeremony
🇮🇪 Ireland and 2 moreMichaelmas
A Christian festival honouring the archangels, marked by autumn harvest foods and legal terms in the British Isles.Festival · Dinner
🇬🇧 Edinburgh, United KingdomHogmanay
The Scottish celebration of New Year's Eve and the first days of the new year.Festival · Feasts and festival meals
🇬🇧 London, United KingdomTrooping the Colour
The annual British military parade marking the official birthday of the monarch.Ceremony
🇬🇧 London, United KingdomNotting Hill Carnival
An annual London street carnival celebrating British Caribbean culture and musicFestival
🇬🇧 Dunoon, United Kingdom and 5 moreHighland gamesgeamannan Gàidhealach
A series of Scottish athletic and cultural competitions held in Scotland and across the diaspora.Festival
🇮🇹 Rome, ItalyFesta della Repubblica
Italy's national day marking the 1946 public vote to establish a democratic republicCeremony
🇸🇪 Gävle, SwedenGävle goatGävlebocken
A towering straw Yule goat built each Advent in the central square of GävleFestival
🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreWhit Monday
The Christian feast and public holiday held on the day after PentecostSpiritual
🇺🇦 Kyiv, UkraineChristmas in UkraineРіздво (Rizdvo)
A Ukrainian Christmas celebration with a twelve-dish vegan supper on Christmas Eve and observance on January 6 or DecembFestival · Supper
🇭🇺 Mohács, HungaryBusójárás
A six-day winter carnival of carved wooden masks, folk music, and parades in MohácsFestival
🇸🇪 Gävle, Sweden and 1 moreYule goatJulbocken
A straw goat of northern Christmas, once a harvest spirit, now a tree ornamentFestival
🇩🇪 Nuremberg, Germany and 5 moreChristkind
The traditional Christmas Eve gift-bringer across Central Europe and Latin AmericaFestival
🇬🇧 Cardiff, United Kingdom and 1 moreSaint David's DayDydd Gŵyl Dewi Sant
The national feast day of Wales, marked with parades, poetry contests and daffodilsFestival
🇷🇴 Romania and 3 moreMărțișor
A spring custom of wearing intertwined red and white strings to welcome the new season.Festival
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreBurns supperBurns Nicht
A Scottish celebratory meal of haggis, poetry and toasts in honour of Robert BurnsFestival · Dinner
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreTwelfth Night
The closing evening of the Christmas season, kept with cake, carols and wassailSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇭🇷 Sinj, CroatiaSinjska Alka
An annual jousting tournament in Sinj where galloping riders strike a hanging ringGame
🇧🇾 Belarus and 4 moreDziadyДзяды (Belarusian); Діди (Ukrainian); Dziady (Polish)
A Slavic tradition of feeding and welcoming the spirits of ancestors to ensure family fertility and peace.Spiritual
🇵🇱 Kraków, PolandKraków szopkaszopka krakowska
Elaborate Christmas cribs modelled on historic Polish architecture in KrakówCraft
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreEgg rolling
A spring game of rolling decorated hard-boiled eggs down hills or along lawnsGame
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Christmas in Ukraine: Halyna Kuchmanych, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Boxing Day: Sigismund von Dobschütz, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Castell: Pcm, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Saint Lucy's Day: Fredrik Magnusson, CC BY 2.0, source
- St John's Eve: Jules Breton, Public domain, source
- Slava: Petar Milošević, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Festival of San Fermín: SanchoPanzaXXI, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- King's Day: Carmelrmd, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Defender of the Fatherland Day: И. Мартынов, Public domain, source
- Kupala Night: Ivan Sokolov, Public domain, source
- Advent calendar: Andrea Schaufler, CC BY 2.5, source
- Palio di Siena: Mirco, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Michaelmas: Julian P Guffogg, CC BY 2.0, source
- May Day: Bryan Ledgard, CC BY 2.0, source
- Gävle goat: Sinikka Halme, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Busójárás: User:Themightyquill, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Notting Hill Carnival: Diliff, CC BY 2.5, source
- Festa della Repubblica: Anthony Majanlahti, CC BY 2.0, source
- Egg rolling: White House/Lawrence Jackson, Public domain, source
- Maslenitsa: Лобачев Владимир, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Trooping the Colour: Carfax2, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kraków szopka: user:cancre, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Dziady: Stanisław Bagieński, Public domain, source
- Saint David's Day: National Assembly for Wales, CC BY 2.0, source
- Burns supper: Kim Traynor, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Fat Thursday: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Saint Nicholas Day: Chmee2, CC BY 3.0, source
- Yule goat: John Bauer, Public domain, source
- Twelfth Night: Hablot Knight Browne: scanned by Steven J Plunkett, Public domain, source
- Highland games: marsupium photography, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Fest noz: Man vyi, Public domain, source
- Sinjska Alka: L. Carević, CC0, source
- Pysanka: Lubap, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- St. Martin's Day: Pieter Brueghel the Elder, Public domain, source
- Independence Day of Finland: Wikimedia Commons: LPfi, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Bloomsday: No machine-readable author provided. Flapdragon assumed (based on copy, Public domain, source
- Constitution Day: evelinagustafsson@live.se, Public domain, source
- Hogmanay: Robbie Shade, CC BY 2.0, source
- Vidovdan: Радосав Стојановић at Serbian Wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Saint Stephen's Day: Carlo Crivelli, Public domain, source
- Whit Monday: Eloquence, Public domain, source
- Carnival of Venice: Roberto Vicario, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ferragosto: Ra Boe, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Christmas market: Dietmar Rabich, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Christkind: Roland Berger, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tapas: Elemaki, CC BY 3.0, source
- Sabantuy: Якупов Рамиль, CC BY 3.0, source