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
🇩🇰 Denmark and 1 moreQuinquagesima
The last Sunday before Lent in Western Christianity, marking the start of Carnival and Shrovetide.Festival · Feasts and festival meals
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreEpiclesisἐπίκλησις
The liturgical calling upon the Holy Spirit to bless the bread and wine during communionSpiritual
🇵🇱 Kraków, Poland and 5 moreDozhinkiDożynki
A Slavic harvest festival of the last sheaf, a woven wreath and a shared mealSeasonal
🇪🇪 Tartu, Estonia and 5 moreEuropeade
An annual gathering of folk dancers, musicians and singers across EuropeFestival
🇬🇧 Goodwood, United KingdomGoodwood Festival of Speed
A yearly British motorsport festival where cars and bikes race up a hill in West SussexFestival
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreAnastenariaΑναστενάρια
A barefoot firewalking and dance rite honouring Saint Constantine and Saint HelenSpiritual
🇬🇷 Greece and 2 moreAdelphopoiesisἀδελφοποίησις
A historical Christian church ceremony creating a spiritual bond of brotherhoodSpiritual
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreShoe throwing
The act of hurling footwear for sport, wedding luck, protest or overhead display.Folklore
🇮🇹 Rome, ItalyAmbarvalia
An ancient Roman agricultural rite to purify farmland and ensure fertile cropsSpiritual
🇦🇱 Vlora, AlbaniaIndependence DayDita e Pavarësisë
Albania's national day on 28 November, marking the 1912 declaration of independenceCeremony
🇷🇺 RussiaAsperges
The Christian liturgical ceremony of sprinkling the faithful with blessed waterSpiritual
🇳🇱 Wageningen, NetherlandsLiberation DayBevrijdingsdag
A Dutch national holiday on 5 May marking the end of German occupation in 1945Ceremony
🇪🇸 Spain and 5 moreCavalcade of Magi
A parade of the Three Magi through town on Epiphany Eve, with sweets thrown to the crowdFestival
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreRogation days
Springtime Christian days of prayer, fasting, and parish boundary walks.Spiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇮🇹 Italy and 5 moreTranslation of relicsTranslatio
The ceremonial transfer of holy remains or relics to a new church or shrineSpiritual
🇮🇹 Rome, ItalyVinalia
Ancient Roman festivals honoring Jupiter and Venus with wine libations to bless the harvest and ensure good weather.Festival
🇮🇹 ItalyConsualia
Ancient Roman harvest festivals honoring the god of stored grain with chariot races and decorated draft animals.Festival
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreKing's Official Birthday
A day when Commonwealth realms mark the monarch's birthday, seldom the real dateCeremony
🇦🇱 Albania and 5 moreDodolaДодoла / Dodola
A Balkan rainmaking ritual where children dressed in greenery lead processions to call for summer showers.Festival
🇪🇸 Toledo, SpainFeast of the Holy Name of Mary
A Catholic feast day honouring the name and intercession of the Virgin MarySpiritual
🇮🇹 Rome, Italy and 8 moreSaint Joseph's Day
A 19 March feast honouring Jesus' earthly father, kept with altars and processionsSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreLustratio
An ancient Greek and Roman cleansing rite using processions and animal sacrifice.Spiritual
🇧🇬 Bulgaria and 5 moreKoledariколядники
A Slavic winter caroling custom of visiting homes with songs, masks and blessingsFestival
🇫🇷 FranceMos Teutonicus
A medieval European funerary custom of boiling bones to return nobles home for burialRite of passage
🇸🇮 Idrija, SloveniaIdrija lace
A bobbin tape lace from the Slovenian mining town of Idrija, still taught there todayCraft
🇫🇷 FranceLa soule
A rough medieval ball game from Normandy and Picardy played between parishes on religious holidays.Game
🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreTauroctonyταυροκτόνος
The sacred bull-slaying imagery at the heart of the ancient Roman Mithraic mysteriesSpiritual
🇮🇹 Italy and 6 morePatronal festivalFiesta patronal
A town's yearly feast for its patron saint, with processions, a fair and shared foodFestival
🇫🇷 France and 5 moreFeast of the Sacred HeartSollemnitas Sacratissimi Cordis Iesu
A Catholic holy day honoring Christ's love and mercy, observed in early summerSpiritual
🇮🇸 IcelandIcelandic National DayÞjóðhátíðardagurinn
Iceland's national day, 17 June, marking the founding of the republic in 1944Ceremony
🇮🇹 Rome, ItalyMegalesiaMegalenses Ludi
An ancient Roman spring festival of theatrical plays, races and feasts for CybeleFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇹 Rome, ItalyFeraliaFerālia
An ancient Roman day of offerings to the dead, marking the close of ParentaliaSpiritual
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreIncubationἐγκοίμησις
The sacred practice of sleeping in holy shrines to seek divine healing and dreamsSpiritual
🇲🇨 MonacoInternational Circus Festival of Monte-CarloFestival International du Cirque de Monte-Carlo
A January circus competition in Monaco, with Clown statuettes for the finest actsFestival
🇮🇹 Italy and 4 moreRosalia
An ancient Roman festival of decorating graves, statues, and standards with fresh flowersSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇸🇪 Stockholm, SwedenSweden Finns' Dayruotsinsuomalaisten päivä (Finnish); sverigefinnarnas dag (Swedish)
An annual day in Sweden for the Sweden Finns, their language and their historyFestival
🇮🇹 Rome, ItalyEquirria
Two ancient Roman festivals of horse and chariot racing held in honor of Mars.Festival
🇸🇪 SwedenElevationēlevātiō
The ritual lifting of the bread and chalice during the Christian EucharistSpiritual
🇩🇪 GermanyHat tip
A gesture of lifting or touching one's hat to show respect, greeting, or thanksEtiquette
🇱🇻 Riga, LatviaRemembrance Day of the Latvian LegionnairesLeģionāru piemiņas diena
An annual observance in Latvia honoring soldiers from the Latvian Legion who fought during World War II.Festival
🇵🇱 Zakopane, PolandKulig
A traditional Polish winter sleigh ride party celebrated during the Carnival seasonFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇺🇦 Ukraine and 8 moreVechornytsiвечорниці
Evening gatherings of Ukrainian youth, with songs, jokes, games and winter divinationSeasonal
🇬🇷 Athens, GreeceAmphidromiaτὰ Ἀμφιδρόμια
An ancient Athenian family ritual welcoming a newborn around the household hearthRite of passage · Feasts and festival meals
🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreNeed-fire
A ritual fire kindled by friction to ward off cattle plague, disease and harmFolklore
🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreSaint Sylvester's Day
A Christian feast day and year-end celebration marked across Europe and beyondSeasonal · Dinner
🇺🇦 Ukraine and 10 moreEgg decorating
Decorating eggs with dye, wax and carving, kept at Easter, Nowruz and springCraft
🇬🇧 United KingdomWorld Osteoporosis Day
A global observance on 20 October promoting bone health and fracture preventionCeremony
🇪🇸 Spain and 5 moreInternet DayDía de Internet
An annual May observance dedicated to digital access, education and online community.Ceremony
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Vinalia: JPS68 via photoshop, Public domain, source
- Dozhinki: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Liberation Day: Wouter Hagens, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Cavalcade of Magi: Diario de Madrid, CC BY 4.0, source
- Saint Joseph's Day: Guido Reni, Public domain, source
- Egg decorating: L.Kenzel, CC BY 3.0, source
- Remembrance Day of the Latvian Legionnaires: Dezidor, CC BY 3.0, source
- King's Official Birthday: City of Toronto, Public domain, source
- Quinquagesima: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Anastenaria: Artkostov, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Asperges: Ian42, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Rogation days: Ray Trevena, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Translation of relics: User:Vmenkov, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Feast of the Holy Name of Mary: Jean-Pol GRANDMONT, CC BY 3.0, source
- Dodola: Andrey Shishkin, CC BY 3.0, source
- Koledari: Mikhail Germashev, Public domain, source
- La soule: Unknown author Unknown author illustrator (based on a sketch by M.J.L., Public domain, source
- Tauroctony: Jastrow, Public domain, source
- Elevation: Vojtěch Slovák, CC BY 3.0, source
- Hat tip: Futrzak13, CC0, source
- Kulig: various, Public domain, source
- Need-fire: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Amburbium: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Idrija lace: Lace: Pavla Podobnik Photograph: Ines Zgonc, Public domain, source
- Shoe throwing: Zarateman, CC0, source
- Mos Teutonicus: Cryx thypex, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- International Circus Festival of Monte-Carlo: GeorgePrikkel, Public domain, source
- Goodwood Festival of Speed: Bruno Postle, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Europeade: Niklas Lydeen, CC BY 3.0, source
- Ambarvalia: Alberto Pisa, Public domain, source
- Rosalia: Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Public domain, source
- Patronal festival: Ranieljosecastaneda, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Feast of the Sacred Heart: José de Páez, Public domain, source
- Saint Sylvester's Day: Unknown medieval artist in Rome, Public domain, source
- Vechornytsi: Гейслер, Кристиан Готфрид Генрих, Public domain, source
- Epiclesis: Nheyob , cropped by Tahc, CC BY-SA 4.0, source