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
🇦🇱 Gjirokastër, Albania and 5 moreDodola and Perperuna
A rainmaking ritual kept across Southeast Europe, where children dressed in greenery lead processions to call for summerSpiritual
🇪🇸 Spain and 1 moreAberri Eguna
An annual Basque nationalist gathering held on Easter Sunday to celebrate national identity and culture.Festival
🇷🇴 RomaniaCapra
A New Year's ritual in Romania where a masked dancer visits homes to bring luck and predict the weather.Festival
🇦🇹 Austria and 2 morePerchten
Masked midwinter walks in the Alps, with carved wooden masks and sheepskinFolklore
🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreRäucherkerze
A scented incense cone burned in German and Czech homes during the Christmas season to fill rooms with fragrance.Festival
🇷🇴 Bucharest, Romania and 2 moreCaloian
A Romanian rainmaking and fertility ritual centered on the creation, funeral, and rebirth of a clay effigy.Festival
🇵🇱 Poland and 3 morePodłaźniczka
A decorated evergreen branch hung over the Christmas Eve table in Poland and SlovakiaFestival
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreMischief Night
An informal autumn evening of neighbourhood tricks, practical jokes and street pranksFestival
🇱🇺 Luxembourg City, Luxembourg and 3 moreOktavMuttergottesoktav
A two-week annual Marian pilgrimage and festival in Luxembourg CitySpiritual · Tea-time and snacking customs
🇷🇸 Belgrade, Serbia and 5 moreSerbian traditional clothingсрпска народна ношња (srpska narodna nošnja)
The regional folk attire of Serbs, featuring wool, linen, and leather, worn for celebrations and cultural identity.Dress
🇫🇷 FranceBreton costume
The traditional folk dress and lace headdresses worn for festivals across BrittanyDress
🇨🇭 Zurich, SwitzerlandSwiss traditional costumeSchweizer Trachten
Distinct regional festive dress worn across the cantons of SwitzerlandDress
🇩🇪 Überlingen, GermanyÜberlinger HänseleHänsele
A masked carnival figure kept by male citizens in Überlingen, Germany, during Fasnet and summer processions.Festival
🇬🇧 United KingdomLincolnshire Day
An annual county day on 1 October honouring the history and culture of LincolnshireCeremony
🇬🇧 Sheffield, United KingdomOld Tup
A midwinter folk drama with a ram disguise from the English East MidlandsFolklore
🇲🇰 Bitola, North MacedoniaManaki Brothers Film Festival
An annual international festival in Bitola honouring the craft of cinematographyFestival
🇩🇪 Munich, GermanyO'zapft is!
The civic barrel-tapping ceremony that officially launches Munich's OktoberfestCeremony · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇷🇸 Serbia and 5 moreĐurđevdanЂурђевдан
A spring festival and feast of Saint George kept across the Balkans and Eastern EuropeFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇫🇷 Cayenne, FranceCarnival of French Guiana
A weeks-long carnival of masked balls and parades, from Epiphany to Mardi GrasFestival
🇽🇰 Prizren, KosovoDokuFest
An annual summer gathering in Prizren dedicated to non-fiction cinema and short filmsFestival
🇲🇰 Skopje, North MacedoniaAnother Story FestivalДруга приказна
An annual literary festival in Skopje celebrating short fiction, activism, and diverse voices.Festival
🇲🇹 MaltaFestival Kanzunetta IndipendenzaKonkors Kanzunetta Indipendenza
An annual music contest in Malta celebrating native songwriting around Independence DayPerformance
🇲🇹 Valletta, MaltaMużika Mużika
A national song competition in Malta that selects artists for the Eurovision contest and celebrates Maltese music.Performance
🇷🇺 Moscow, RussiaSpartakiad of the Peoples of the USSRСпартакиада народов СССР
A massive multi-sport festival that brought together Soviet republics every four yearsGame
🇭🇺 Miskolc, HungaryKocsonya FestivalKocsonyafesztivál
An annual winter food and culture festival held in Miskolc, HungaryFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇬🇧 United KingdomHarvest Festival
An autumn thanksgiving for the crops, kept in churches and schools across the UKSeasonal · Supper
🇧🇪 BelgiumMarches of Entre-Sambre-et-MeuseMarches de l'Entre-Sambre-et-Meuse
Folk processions with armed escorts in Belgian villages, kept from May to OctoberSpiritual · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇮🇹 Trieste, ItalyBarcolanaBarkovljanka
A one-start-line sailing race held each October in the Gulf of TriesteGame
🇮🇸 IcelandIcelandic weddings
A blend of church rites and long feasts, where guests sit by family lines and gifts are saved for the morning.Rite of passage · Dinner
🇪🇪 Tartu, EstoniaTartuff
An open-air romance film festival held in the town hall square of Tartu, EstoniaPerformance
🇩🇪 Weingarten, Germany and 1 moreBlutritt
An equestrian pilgrimage across southern Germany honoring a relic of the Holy BloodSpiritual
🇪🇸 Madrid, Spain and 4 moreFeast of Saint Isidore the LaborerFiestas de San Isidro Labrador
A May festival honoring the patron saint of farmers, marked by processions and harvest gratitude in Spain and former colFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇪🇸 SpainGragerגראַגער (grager)
A noisemaker used by Jewish communities to drown out the name of Haman during Purim readings.Festival
🇷🇸 Belgrade, Serbia and 2 moreMerlinka Festival
An annual queer film festival held across Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and MontenegroFestival
🇭🇷 Metković, CroatiaŽudije
Dalmatian guardians who watch the tomb of Christ from Holy Thursday to Easter VigilSpiritual
🇩🇰 Copenhagen, DenmarkNatFilm Festival
An annual Danish cinema gathering held around Easter from 1990 to 2008Performance
🇱🇺 LuxembourgCinEast
An October film festival in Luxembourg showing new cinema from Central and Eastern EuropeFestival
🇮🇸 IcelandChristmas in IcelandJól
A winter festival of mountain folklore, family feasts and thirteen mischievous visitorsFestival · Dinner
🇬🇧 Penzance, United KingdomGuldizeGool dheys
A Cornish harvest supper after the last sheaf is cut, with pork, pie, singing and gamesSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇳🇴 NorwayMárkomeannu
A Sámi music and cultural festival held in northern NorwayFestival
🇲🇪 Herceg Novi, MontenegroSunčane Skale
A three-day summer pop music festival and song competition in MontenegroPerformance
🇭🇷 Hvar, CroatiaZa križen
A night procession on Hvar island where six villages walk simultaneously to honor the cross.Spiritual
🇬🇷 GreeceLipothymiarikosΛιποθυμιάρικος (Χορός της νύφης)
A men-only Greek wedding dance where one dancer pretends to faint and springs upPerformance
🇮🇸 Reykjavík, IcelandReykjavík PrideHinsegin dagar í Reykjavík
An annual festival and parade celebrating LGBT+ rights and visibility in IcelandFestival
🇲🇹 Valletta, MaltaL-Għanja tal-Poplu
An annual Maltese music festival celebrating original songs in MaltesePerformance
🇳🇱 Netherlands and 6 moreManifesta
A roving European contemporary art festival held in a new host city every two yearsPerformance
🇸🇰 SlovakiaName days in SlovakiaMeniny
The Slovak tradition of celebrating personal name days alongside birthdaysSeasonal
🇸🇰 Pezinok, SlovakiaPezinok Grape Harvest FestivalPezinské vinobranie
An annual autumn harvest and wine festival filling the streets of Pezinok, SlovakiaSeasonal · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇪🇸 Spain and 1 moreAberri Eguna
An annual Basque nationalist gathering held on Easter Sunday to celebrate national identity and culture.Festival
🇷🇴 RomaniaCapra
A New Year's ritual in Romania where a masked dancer visits homes to bring luck and predict the weather.Festival
🇦🇹 Austria and 2 morePerchten
Masked midwinter walks in the Alps, with carved wooden masks and sheepskinFolklore
🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreRäucherkerze
A scented incense cone burned in German and Czech homes during the Christmas season to fill rooms with fragrance.Festival
🇷🇴 Bucharest, Romania and 2 moreCaloian
A Romanian rainmaking and fertility ritual centered on the creation, funeral, and rebirth of a clay effigy.Festival
🇵🇱 Poland and 3 morePodłaźniczka
A decorated evergreen branch hung over the Christmas Eve table in Poland and SlovakiaFestival
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreMischief Night
An informal autumn evening of neighbourhood tricks, practical jokes and street pranksFestival
🇱🇺 Luxembourg City, Luxembourg and 3 moreOktavMuttergottesoktav
A two-week annual Marian pilgrimage and festival in Luxembourg CitySpiritual · Tea-time and snacking customs
🇷🇸 Belgrade, Serbia and 5 moreSerbian traditional clothingсрпска народна ношња (srpska narodna nošnja)
The regional folk attire of Serbs, featuring wool, linen, and leather, worn for celebrations and cultural identity.Dress
🇫🇷 FranceBreton costume
The traditional folk dress and lace headdresses worn for festivals across BrittanyDress
🇨🇭 Zurich, SwitzerlandSwiss traditional costumeSchweizer Trachten
Distinct regional festive dress worn across the cantons of SwitzerlandDress
🇩🇪 Überlingen, GermanyÜberlinger HänseleHänsele
A masked carnival figure kept by male citizens in Überlingen, Germany, during Fasnet and summer processions.Festival
🇬🇧 United KingdomLincolnshire Day
An annual county day on 1 October honouring the history and culture of LincolnshireCeremony
🇬🇧 Sheffield, United KingdomOld Tup
A midwinter folk drama with a ram disguise from the English East MidlandsFolklore
🇲🇰 Bitola, North MacedoniaManaki Brothers Film Festival
An annual international festival in Bitola honouring the craft of cinematographyFestival
🇩🇪 Munich, GermanyO'zapft is!
The civic barrel-tapping ceremony that officially launches Munich's OktoberfestCeremony · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇷🇸 Serbia and 5 moreĐurđevdanЂурђевдан
A spring festival and feast of Saint George kept across the Balkans and Eastern EuropeFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇫🇷 Cayenne, FranceCarnival of French Guiana
A weeks-long carnival of masked balls and parades, from Epiphany to Mardi GrasFestival
🇽🇰 Prizren, KosovoDokuFest
An annual summer gathering in Prizren dedicated to non-fiction cinema and short filmsFestival
🇲🇰 Skopje, North MacedoniaAnother Story FestivalДруга приказна
An annual literary festival in Skopje celebrating short fiction, activism, and diverse voices.Festival
🇲🇹 MaltaFestival Kanzunetta IndipendenzaKonkors Kanzunetta Indipendenza
An annual music contest in Malta celebrating native songwriting around Independence DayPerformance
🇲🇹 Valletta, MaltaMużika Mużika
A national song competition in Malta that selects artists for the Eurovision contest and celebrates Maltese music.Performance
🇷🇺 Moscow, RussiaSpartakiad of the Peoples of the USSRСпартакиада народов СССР
A massive multi-sport festival that brought together Soviet republics every four yearsGame
🇭🇺 Miskolc, HungaryKocsonya FestivalKocsonyafesztivál
An annual winter food and culture festival held in Miskolc, HungaryFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇬🇧 United KingdomHarvest Festival
An autumn thanksgiving for the crops, kept in churches and schools across the UKSeasonal · Supper
🇧🇪 BelgiumMarches of Entre-Sambre-et-MeuseMarches de l'Entre-Sambre-et-Meuse
Folk processions with armed escorts in Belgian villages, kept from May to OctoberSpiritual · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇮🇹 Trieste, ItalyBarcolanaBarkovljanka
A one-start-line sailing race held each October in the Gulf of TriesteGame
🇮🇸 IcelandIcelandic weddings
A blend of church rites and long feasts, where guests sit by family lines and gifts are saved for the morning.Rite of passage · Dinner
🇪🇪 Tartu, EstoniaTartuff
An open-air romance film festival held in the town hall square of Tartu, EstoniaPerformance
🇩🇪 Weingarten, Germany and 1 moreBlutritt
An equestrian pilgrimage across southern Germany honoring a relic of the Holy BloodSpiritual
🇪🇸 Madrid, Spain and 4 moreFeast of Saint Isidore the LaborerFiestas de San Isidro Labrador
A May festival honoring the patron saint of farmers, marked by processions and harvest gratitude in Spain and former colFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇪🇸 SpainGragerגראַגער (grager)
A noisemaker used by Jewish communities to drown out the name of Haman during Purim readings.Festival
🇷🇸 Belgrade, Serbia and 2 moreMerlinka Festival
An annual queer film festival held across Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and MontenegroFestival
🇭🇷 Metković, CroatiaŽudije
Dalmatian guardians who watch the tomb of Christ from Holy Thursday to Easter VigilSpiritual
🇩🇰 Copenhagen, DenmarkNatFilm Festival
An annual Danish cinema gathering held around Easter from 1990 to 2008Performance
🇱🇺 LuxembourgCinEast
An October film festival in Luxembourg showing new cinema from Central and Eastern EuropeFestival
🇮🇸 IcelandChristmas in IcelandJól
A winter festival of mountain folklore, family feasts and thirteen mischievous visitorsFestival · Dinner
🇬🇧 Penzance, United KingdomGuldizeGool dheys
A Cornish harvest supper after the last sheaf is cut, with pork, pie, singing and gamesSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇳🇴 NorwayMárkomeannu
A Sámi music and cultural festival held in northern NorwayFestival
🇲🇪 Herceg Novi, MontenegroSunčane Skale
A three-day summer pop music festival and song competition in MontenegroPerformance
🇭🇷 Hvar, CroatiaZa križen
A night procession on Hvar island where six villages walk simultaneously to honor the cross.Spiritual
🇬🇷 GreeceLipothymiarikosΛιποθυμιάρικος (Χορός της νύφης)
A men-only Greek wedding dance where one dancer pretends to faint and springs upPerformance
🇮🇸 Reykjavík, IcelandReykjavík PrideHinsegin dagar í Reykjavík
An annual festival and parade celebrating LGBT+ rights and visibility in IcelandFestival
🇲🇹 Valletta, MaltaL-Għanja tal-Poplu
An annual Maltese music festival celebrating original songs in MaltesePerformance
🇳🇱 Netherlands and 6 moreManifesta
A roving European contemporary art festival held in a new host city every two yearsPerformance
🇸🇰 SlovakiaName days in SlovakiaMeniny
The Slovak tradition of celebrating personal name days alongside birthdaysSeasonal
🇸🇰 Pezinok, SlovakiaPezinok Grape Harvest FestivalPezinské vinobranie
An annual autumn harvest and wine festival filling the streets of Pezinok, SlovakiaSeasonal · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Kocsonya Festival: Szalax, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Aberri Eguna: Fondo Marín. Pascual Marín, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mischief Night: Roseohioresident, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Barcolana: Roberto Baroni, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Christmas in Iceland: Bryan Ledgard, CC BY 2.0, source
- Márkomeannu: Chmee2, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Reykjavík Pride: Helgi Halldórsson, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Manifesta: Manifesta8 manifesta 8, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Pezinok Grape Harvest Festival: Bratislavská župa, CC BY 2.0, source
- Capra: Michał Elwiro Andriolli, Public domain, source
- Caloian: Costică Acsinte Archive, No restrictions, source
- Za križen: E.mil.mil, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Perchten: Anita Martinz, CC BY 2.0, source
- Feast of Saint Isidore the Laborer: Ángel Lizcano Monedero, Public domain, source
- Blutritt: Joseph Bayer, Public domain, source
- Tartuff: Tusklikupreili, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Räucherkerze: Richard Huber, 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
- Podłaźniczka: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Carnival of French Guiana: Didwin973, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Another Story Festival: Vancho Dzambaski, CC0, source
- Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR: Scanning Dmitry Makeev , scan date - 2020 year., Public domain, source
- Serbian traditional clothing: Kolega2357, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Breton costume: XIIIfromTOKYO, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Swiss traditional costume: Robertuswiki, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Überlinger Hänsele: Photo: Andreas Praefcke, CC BY 4.0, source
- Old Tup: Doyle of London, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Đurđevdan: Anonymous Russian icon painter (before 1917) Public domain image (acco, Public domain, source
- Marches of Entre-Sambre-et-Meuse: Hoebele, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Grager: https://www.flickr.com/people/69061470@N05, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Oktav: Daderot, CC0, source
- DokuFest: Fallbackintoreality, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Harvest Festival: Derek Harper, CC BY-SA 2.0, source