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
🇵🇱 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
🇷🇺 Russia and 4 moreHousewarming party
A gathering held soon after moving into a new home to celebrate the space and welcome guests.Home
🇪🇸 Santiago de Compostela, SpainBotafumeiro
A giant swinging censer of brass and silver that fills the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral with incense during solemn fSpiritual
🇻🇦 Vatican City and 1 moreConclave
Cardinals sealed in the Sistine Chapel, voting until two thirds agree on a new popeSpiritual
🇫🇮 Finland and 1 moreFinnish saunasauna
A weekly bathing ritual of steam and heat, central to Finnish life and wellbeing.Home
🇸🇪 Sweden and 3 moreAdventadventus
A four-week Christian season of waiting and preparation for Christmas and the Second Coming.Festival
🇬🇷 GreeceXeniaξενία (xenia)
An ancient Greek code of hospitality and guest-friendship rooted in reciprocity and divine duty.Etiquette
🇻🇦 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
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreChristmas carol
Festive songs and hymns sung during the Christmas season and door to doorPerformance
🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreName day
A calendar tradition where people celebrate the feast day of the saint after whom they are named.Festival
🇱🇹 LithuaniaVėlinės
A Lithuanian remembrance day honouring deceased souls with cemetery prayers and candlesSpiritual
🇪🇸 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
🇮🇪 Waterford, IrelandPatternpátrún
A parish feast honoring a patron saint, marked by prayers at holy wells and local gatherings in Ireland.Spiritual
🇪🇸 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
🇮🇪 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 12 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
🇮🇪 Ireland and 2 moreWake
A gathering before a funeral, where family and friends keep watch over the deadRite of passage
🇧🇪 Belgium and 5 moreSaint Nicholas Day
The feast day of Saint Nicholas, kept in Advent with gifts, shoes and church servicesSpiritual
🇮🇪 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
🇺🇦 Kyiv, Ukraine and 14 morePysankaписанка
A wax-resist egg decorating tradition kept by Slavic communities for Easter and spring renewal.Festival
🇷🇸 SerbiaSlavaСлава
An annual Serbian family feast honouring their patron saint with blessed bread and wineSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇷🇸 Serbia and 1 moreVidovdanВидовдан
A Serbian church feast on 28 June, kept in memory of those who died at KosovoSpiritual
🇮🇹 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
🇩🇪 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
🇧🇾 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
🇪🇸 Spain and 5 moreMidnight MassMissa in nocte
The first service of Christmas, kept late on Christmas Eve in many Western churchesSpiritual
🇭🇷 Dubrovnik, Croatia and 1 moreFestivity of Saint BlaiseFesta Svetog Vlaha
An annual patron saint festival in Dubrovnik with processions, relics and dovesFestival
🇩🇪 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
🇬🇷 Athens, Greece and 1 moreCelebration of the Greek RevolutionΕορτασμός της Ελληνικής Επανάστασης του 1821
An annual civic holiday of parades and church services marking Greek independenceCeremony
🇪🇸 Barcelona, SpainLa Mercè
Barcelona’s main annual city festival, honoring the Virgin of Mercy each September.Festival
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
- Slava: Petar Milošević, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Festival of San Fermín: SanchoPanzaXXI, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Advent calendar: Andrea Schaufler, CC BY 2.5, source
- Palio di Siena: Mirco, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Kraków szopka: user:cancre, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Rosenmontag: Aymx, Public domain, source
- Dziady: Stanisław Bagieński, Public domain, source
- Saint David's Day: National Assembly for Wales, CC BY 2.0, source
- Celebration of the Greek Revolution: Stefanos Kofopoulos, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Conclave: User Maus-Trauden on de.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Saint Nicholas Day: Chmee2, CC BY 3.0, 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
- Pontifical Swiss Guard: The White House, Public domain, source
- Finnish sauna: Eric Koch for Anefo, 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
- Pysanka: Lubap, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Christmas Eve: Carl Larsson, Public domain, source
- Festivity of Saint Blaise: August Dominus, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- St. Martin's Day: Pieter Brueghel the Elder, Public domain, source
- Anthesteria: Unknown artist, Public domain, source
- La Mercè: larry&flo, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Feast of Corpus Christi: Fennec ., Public domain, source
- Vidovdan: Радосав Стојановић at Serbian Wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Saint Stephen's Day: Carlo Crivelli, Public domain, source
- Clean Monday: Перов, Public domain, source
- Whit Monday: Eloquence, Public domain, source
- Candlemas: Andrea Mantegna, Public domain, source
- Valentine's Day: Upload: Chordboard, Public domain, source
- Wake: Julio Romero de Torres, Public domain, source
- Advent wreath: Burkhard Mücke, CC BY 4.0, source
- Midnight Mass: Atleett, CC0, source