Traditions of Europe
Carnival, Midsummer, Christmas markets, Easter, the village fête and the long Sunday lunch. 705 traditions on EveryParampara so far.
Countries
🇦🇱 Albania 26🇦🇩 Andorra 4🇦🇹 Austria 49🇧🇾 Belarus 30🇧🇪 Belgium 40🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina 13🇧🇬 Bulgaria 47🇭🇷 Croatia 31🇨🇿 Czechia 18🇩🇰 Denmark 25🇪🇪 Estonia 17🇫🇮 Finland 34🇫🇷 France 91🇩🇪 Germany 113🇬🇷 Greece 67🇭🇺 Hungary 21🇮🇸 Iceland 19🇮🇪 Ireland 74🇮🇹 Italy 111🇽🇰 Kosovo 17🇱🇻 Latvia 17🇱🇮 Liechtenstein 2🇱🇹 Lithuania 22🇱🇺 Luxembourg 14🇲🇹 Malta 15🇲🇩 Moldova 11🇲🇨 Monaco 1🇲🇪 Montenegro 11🇳🇱 Netherlands 28🇲🇰 North Macedonia 23🇳🇴 Norway 37🇵🇱 Poland 70🇵🇹 Portugal 25🇷🇴 Romania 38🇷🇺 Russia 98🇸🇲 San Marino 1🇷🇸 Serbia 42🇸🇰 Slovakia 16🇸🇮 Slovenia 24🇪🇸 Spain 96🇸🇪 Sweden 45🇨🇭 Switzerland 33🇺🇦 Ukraine 44🇬🇧 United Kingdom 199🇻🇦 Vatican City 3
Cities and towns
Rome 29London 26Moscow 17Dublin 16Vienna 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
🇵🇱 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
🇱🇹 LithuaniaVėlinės
A Lithuanian remembrance day honouring deceased souls with cemetery prayers and candlesSpiritual
🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreName day
A calendar tradition where people celebrate the feast day of the saint after whom they are named.Festival
🇸🇪 Sweden and 3 moreAdventadventus
A four-week Christian season of waiting and preparation for Christmas and the Second Coming.Festival
🇪🇸 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
🇮🇪 Galway, Ireland and 1 moreBrigid's crossCros Bhríde
A cross of woven rushes or straw, made for Saint Brigid's Day on the first of FebruaryCraft
🇮🇪 Waterford, IrelandPatternpátrún
A parish feast honoring a patron saint, marked by prayers at holy wells and local gatherings in Ireland.Spiritual
🇪🇸 Santiago de Compostela, Spain and 7 moreCamino de SantiagoEl Camino de Santiago
A Christian walking pilgrimage across Europe to the shrine of Saint James in SpainSpiritual
🇻🇦 Vatican City and 1 moreConclave
Cardinals sealed in the Sistine Chapel, voting until two thirds agree on a new popeSpiritual
🇬🇷 GreeceXeniaξενία (xenia)
An ancient Greek code of hospitality and guest-friendship rooted in reciprocity and divine duty.Etiquette
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreChristmas carol
Festive songs and hymns sung during the Christmas season and door to doorPerformance
🇫🇮 Finland and 1 moreFinnish saunasauna
A weekly bathing ritual of steam and heat, central to Finnish life and wellbeing.Home
🇻🇦 Vatican City and 1 morePontifical Swiss GuardPontificia Cohors Helvetica
The Swiss military corps charged with guarding the Pope and the Apostolic PalaceCeremony
🇺🇦 Ukraine and 2 moreRushnykрушник
A sacred embroidered cloth used in East Slavic rituals, weddings and daily life.Dress
🇪🇸 Santiago de Compostela, SpainBotafumeiro
A giant swinging censer of brass and silver that fills the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral with incense during solemn fSpiritual
🇷🇺 Russia and 4 moreHousewarming party
A gathering held soon after moving into a new home to celebrate the space and welcome guests.Home
🇮🇪 Ireland and 1 moreImbolcLá Fhéile Bríde
A Gaelic festival heralding spring and honoring Saint Brigid with woven rush crossesSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇩🇪 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 7 moreSt. Martin's DayMartinstag
A November feast of lantern walks, bonfires, roast goose and new wineSpiritual
🇪🇸 Pamplona, SpainFestival of San FermínSanfermines
An annual nine-day festival in Pamplona featuring bull runs, parades, and street music.Festival
🇩🇪 Hamburg, Germany and 2 moreAdvent wreathAdventskranz
An evergreen ring of candles lit week by week in the lead-up to ChristmasSeasonal
🇸🇪 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
🇧🇪 Belgium and 5 moreSaint Nicholas Day
The feast day of Saint Nicholas, kept in Advent with gifts, shoes and church servicesSpiritual
🇮🇪 Ireland and 2 moreWake
A gathering before a funeral, where family and friends keep watch over the deadRite of passage
🇮🇪 Ireland and 5 moreSaint Stephen's Day
A Christian feast day celebrating the first martyr with feasts, rides and folk customs.Spiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇺🇦 Kyiv, Ukraine and 7 morePysankaписанка
A wax-resist egg decorating tradition kept by Slavic communities for Easter and spring renewal.Festival
🇮🇹 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
🇩🇪 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
🇬🇧 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
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreTwelfth Night
The closing evening of the Christmas season, kept with cake, carols and wassailSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇵🇱 Kraków, PolandKraków szopkaszopka krakowska
Elaborate Christmas cribs modelled on historic Polish architecture in KrakówCraft
🇧🇾 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
🇭🇷 Dubrovnik, Croatia and 1 moreFestivity of Saint BlaiseFesta Svetog Vlaha
An annual patron saint festival in Dubrovnik with processions, relics and dovesFestival
🇪🇸 Spain and 5 moreMidnight MassMissa in nocte
The first service of Christmas, kept late on Christmas Eve in many Western churchesSpiritual
🇩🇪 Cologne, Germany and 3 moreRosenmontag
The peak of German carnival, celebrated with satirical street parades and sweetsFestival
🇬🇷 GreeceAnthesteriaἈνθεστήρια
An ancient Greek three-day spring festival of Dionysus, new wine, and the deadFestival
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreClean MondayΚαθαρά Δευτέρα
The Monday that opens Great Lent, kept with fasting, forgiveness and kite-flyingSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇪🇸 Barcelona, SpainLa Mercè
Barcelona’s main annual city festival, honoring the Virgin of Mercy each September.Festival
🇪🇸 Seville, SpainHoly Week in SpainSemana Santa
Annual Catholic penitential processions across Spain featuring floats, robes and music to mark the Passion of Christ.Spiritual
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
- Christmas in Ukraine: Halyna Kuchmanych, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Christmas: Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, Public domain, source
- Imbolc: Culnacreann, CC BY 3.0, source
- Saint Lucy's Day: Fredrik Magnusson, CC BY 2.0, source
- St John's Eve: Jules Breton, Public domain, source
- Festival of San Fermín: SanchoPanzaXXI, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Slava: Petar Milošević, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Advent calendar: Andrea Schaufler, CC BY 2.5, source
- Pysanka: Lubap, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Palio di Siena: Mirco, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Advent wreath: Burkhard Mücke, CC BY 4.0, source
- Saint Stephen's Day: Carlo Crivelli, Public domain, source
- Whit Monday: Eloquence, Public domain, source
- Festivity of Saint Blaise: August Dominus, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kraków szopka: user:cancre, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Rosenmontag: Aymx, Public domain, source
- Anthesteria: Unknown artist, Public domain, source
- Dziady: Stanisław Bagieński, Public domain, source
- Saint David's Day: National Assembly for Wales, CC BY 2.0, source
- Holy Week in Spain: Rodelar, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- La Mercè: larry&flo, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Feast of Corpus Christi: Fennec ., Public domain, source
- Candlemas: Andrea Mantegna, Public domain, source
- Conclave: User Maus-Trauden on de.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Wake: Julio Romero de Torres, Public domain, source
- Saint Nicholas Day: Chmee2, CC BY 3.0, source
- Vidovdan: Радосав Стојановић at Serbian Wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Christmas carol: Prathyush Thomas, GFDL 1.2, source
- Twelfth Night: Hablot Knight Browne: scanned by Steven J Plunkett, Public domain, source
- Camino de Santiago: stephenD, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Clean Monday: Перов, Public domain, source
- Pontifical Swiss Guard: The White House, Public domain, source
- Finnish sauna: Eric Koch for Anefo, CC0, source
- Midnight Mass: Atleett, CC0, source
- Holy Week in Seville: Sevilla Congress & Convention Bureau, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Advent: Jonathunder, 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
- Name day: Sendker, Public domain, source
- Xenia: Workshop of Peter Paul Rubens, Public domain, source
- Pattern: code poet, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Rushnyk: Pavlo Boyko, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- St. Martin's Day: Pieter Brueghel the Elder, Public domain, source
- Christmas Eve: Carl Larsson, Public domain, source
- Valentine's Day: Upload: Chordboard, Public domain, source