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
🇮🇪 Ireland and 1 moreFilifilí (Irish)
Ireland's and Scotland's trained poets, storytellers and seersPerformance
🇮🇪 Ireland and 5 moreFairy ring
A natural ring of mushrooms formed by fungal growth, surrounded by folklore across Europe and beyond.Folklore
🇬🇧 Torry, United KingdomUnspoken Water
A Scottish healing custom in which water was fetched in silence and given to the sickFolklore
🇬🇧 United KingdomBaobhan sithBaobh-shìth
A beautiful fairy of Highland tales who dances with hunters and kills themFolklore
🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreSaint Nicholas
Boots out on 6 December: sweets for good children, a switch for the restFestival · Sweets given and shared
🇬🇧 Linton, United KingdomLinton Worm
A Borders dragon killed with a burning spear, told in Roxburghshire since the 12th centuryFolklore
🇫🇷 France and 5 moreRespite SanctuarySanctuaire à répit
A historical Catholic custom of seeking brief revival to baptise stillborn infantsSpiritual
🇪🇸 Spain and 5 moreCabañuelasLas cabañuelas
A traditional weather forecasting method using the first thirty-one days of January to predict the rest of the year.Folklore
🇪🇸 Spain and 5 moreSack Man
A widespread folklore figure who carries a sack to take away disobedient childrenFolklore
🇨🇭 Basel, Switzerland and 4 moreScheibenschlagen
A Central European custom where glowing wooden disks are flung from hillsides into valleys at dusk.Festival
🇷🇸 Serbia and 2 moreZapisзапис
A consecrated village tree marked with a cross, venerated in Serbian folk traditionSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇬🇧 United KingdomBoobrie
A shapeshifting beast of Scotland's western sea lochs, said to take livestockFolklore
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreCorpse road
Historical paths used to carry the dead to parish burial grounds across Britain and Ireland.Rite of passage
🇬🇧 Skye, United KingdomFairy FlagA' Bhratach Shìth
A tattered silk square kept by Clan MacLeod on Skye, said to hold magical powers for the clan.Folklore
🇸🇪 Sweden and 2 moreSaint Knut's DayTjugondag Knut
A Nordic holiday marking the twentieth and final day of Christmas each JanuarySeasonal · Sweets given and shared
🇨🇭 Bern, Switzerland and 4 moreTatzelwurm
A cat-faced dragon of Alpine lore, said to hiss, poison the air and guard old tunnelsFolklore
🇷🇸 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
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreWater bulltarbh-uisge
A bull of the Scottish lochs that can change shape and breed with cattleFolklore
🇬🇧 Orkney, United KingdomNuckelaveeknoggelvi
A horse-like sea demon of Orkney folklore, blamed for drought, plague and sick livestock.Folklore
🇬🇧 United KingdomStirrup cup
A farewell drink served to guests as they depart, often while mounting a horse.Etiquette
🇩🇪 Überlingen, GermanyÜberlinger HänseleHänsele
A masked carnival figure kept by male citizens in Überlingen, Germany, during Fasnet and summer processions.Festival
🇫🇷 France and 2 moreReynard the FoxRoman de Renart
A medieval European beast fable cycle starring a cunning trickster foxFolklore
🇮🇸 IcelandChristmas in IcelandJól
A winter festival of mountain folklore, family feasts and thirteen mischievous visitorsFestival · Dinner
🇩🇪 GermanySeven Sleepers' DaySiebenschläfertag
A German feast day on June 27 where the weather predicts the next seven weeks of summer.Seasonal
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreScottish folk music
Traditional ballads, fiddle tunes and bagpipe melodies from Scotland and its diasporaPerformance
🇮🇹 Benevento, ItalyWitches of Benevento
A southern Italian tradition of walnut-tree gatherings and protective folk charmsFolklore
🇬🇧 United KingdomThe Broad
A Cotswold Christmas figure: a bull's head on a pole, carried by a hidden performerFolklore
🇷🇺 RussiaBlack wedding
A traditional Jewish crisis wedding held in a cemetery to ward off diseaseSpiritual
🇬🇧 United KingdomMoragMòrag
A loch monster said to live in Loch Morar, Scotland, reported since 1887Folklore
🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreRussian superstitions
Everyday omens, etiquette rules, and household rituals observed across RussiaFolklore
🇬🇧 Ashbourne, United Kingdom and 1 moreRoyal Shrovetide Football
A medieval mob football game played in Ashbourne on Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday.Game
🇩🇪 Weingarten, Germany and 1 moreBlutritt
An equestrian pilgrimage across southern Germany honoring a relic of the Holy BloodSpiritual
🇬🇧 United KingdomWooing Play
A folk performance of farm labourers in the East Midlands, featuring a sieve horse.Performance
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Russian superstitions: Сергей Чеботарёв, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Royal Shrovetide Football: Adrian Roebuck, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Seven Sleepers' Day: either an unknown master or „Frater Rufillus“, Public domain, source
- Fili: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Fairy ring: User:Mrs skippy, Public domain, source
- Linton Worm: Pasicles, CC0, source
- Boobrie: Ole Worm - Olaus Wormius, Public domain, source
- Fairy Flag: Otter, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Nuckelavee: Colin Park, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Christmas in Iceland: Bryan Ledgard, CC BY 2.0, source
- Blutritt: Joseph Bayer, Public domain, source
- Witches of Benevento: Guglielmo della Porta, CC0, source
- Scottish folk music: Kim Traynor, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Black wedding: American Colony Photo Department, Public domain, source
- Scheibenschlagen: Josef Saurwein, Zams, Public domain, source
- Zapis: Zblagojevic, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tatzelwurm: Abrasax, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, source
- Serbian traditional clothing: Kolega2357, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Überlinger Hänsele: Photo: Andreas Praefcke, CC BY 4.0, source
- Sack Man: Ponscor, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Respite Sanctuary: Atelier Roussel à Beauvais 1878, Public domain, source
- Corpse road: Mick Garratt, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Saint Nicholas: Chmee2, CC BY 3.0, source