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
🇧🇦 Sarajevo, Bosnia and HerzegovinaIndependence Day of Bosnia and HerzegovinaDan nezavisnosti
A public holiday on 1 March marking the 1992 vote for independenceCeremony
🇱🇻 Riga, LatviaLāčplēsis DayLāčplēša diena
Latvia's remembrance day on 11 November for the soldiers who won independence in 1919Ceremony
🇬🇷 GreeceSparagmosσπαραγμός
An ancient Greek Dionysian sacrificial rite of tearing an offering apartSpiritual
🇳🇴 NorwayEsbat
A Wiccan coven gathering held each month, most often when the moon is fullSpiritual
🇪🇸 Spain and 5 moreInternet DayDía de Internet
An annual May observance dedicated to digital access, education and online community.Ceremony
🇧🇬 Plovdiv, Bulgaria and 8 moreDay of Slavonic Alphabet, Bulgarian Enlightenment and CultureДен на българската просвета и култура и на славянската писменост
Bulgaria's public holiday for its alphabet, schools and culture, kept each 24 MayFestival
🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreNavigium Isidis
An ancient Roman ship procession honouring Isis and the opening of sea travelSpiritual
🇫🇷 France and 3 moreCashiering
A ceremonial military dismissal that publicly strips an officer of rank and insigniaCeremony
🇧🇦 Bosnia and HerzegovinaDay of Republika SrpskaДан Републике Српске
An annual civic holiday observed across Republika Srpska on 9 JanuaryCeremony
🇧🇬 BulgariaJuly Morning
A Bulgarian summer gathering where crowds watch the first sunrise of July with music and song.Festival
🇸🇪 Stockholm, Sweden and 2 moreGustavus Adolphus DayGustav Adolfsdagen
A Swedish flag day on 6 November, marked with a pastry topped with the king's likenessCeremony · Sweets given and shared
🇷🇺 Chukaly, RussiaRas'ken' OzksРаськень Озкс
A triennial gathering and ancestral prayer ritual of the Erzya people in MordoviaSpiritual
🇩🇪 Berlin, GermanyRepublic DayTag der Republik
The former national holiday marking the founding of East Germany each OctoberCeremony
🇵🇹 Portugal and 3 moreSalting the earth
An ancient ritual of scattering salt over ruined ground to curse its future useFolklore
🇬🇷 Amyclae, GreeceHyacinthiaὙακίνθια
A three-day ancient Spartan festival marking the death and rebirth of HyacinthusFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇵🇱 Kraków, Poland and 5 moreTurońTuroń (Polish), Turoň (Slovak)
A shaggy horned beast led from house to house by carol singers at carnival timeFolklore
🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreBiikebrennenBiikebrånen
Fires lit at sunset on 21 February to send winter away in North FrisiaFestival
🇷🇴 Bucharest, Romania and 5 moreRomanian Language DayZiua Limbii Române
A single day, 31 August, given to the Romanian language in three countriesCeremony
🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreDelphic Games of the modern era
Global competitions and exhibitions across the arts, modelled on ancient Greek gamesPerformance
🇮🇹 Rome, ItalyVolturnalia
An ancient Roman festival honouring the water deity Volturnus and his daughter JuturnaSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇪 Galway, IrelandSeachtain na Gaeilge
Seventeen days of Irish-language events, from 1 March to St Patrick's DayFestival
🇮🇸 IcelandFirst Day of Summersumardagurinn fyrsti
Iceland's holiday on the first Thursday after 18 April, opening the old calendar's summerSeasonal
🇮🇹 ItalyAmburbium
A Roman rite to cleanse the city walls through a sacred procession and animal offerings.Spiritual
🇲🇪 MontenegroStatehood DayДан државности
Montenegro's national holiday on 13 July, for 1878 recognition and the 1941 revoltCeremony
🇱🇻 Riga, Latvia and 4 moreMeteņi
A Latvian pre-Lenten festival marking the turn of time and welcoming spring.Festival · Feasts and festival meals
🇲🇹 Birgu, MaltaFreedom DayJum il-Helsien
Malta's national holiday on 31 March, marking the 1979 British military departureCeremony
🇮🇹 ItalyDivalia
A Roman festival held on December 21 to honor the goddess Angerona.Festival
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 4 moreHip hip hooray
A traditional celebratory cheer of call and response to honour someoneFestival
🇬🇧 United KingdomVigil of the Princes
A ceremony where British royals stand guard over a relative's coffin during state funerals.Ceremony
🇧🇪 Geraardsbergen, BelgiumKrakelingen and Tonnekensbrand
A bread throw and a hilltop bonfire that close the winter in GeraardsbergenFestival
🇬🇷 Orchomenus, GreeceAgrionia
An ancient Greek nocturnal festival dedicated to Dionysus AgrioniusSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇬🇷 Thebes, GreeceDaphnephoria
A nine-year festival in ancient Thebes featuring a laurel-bearer procession for Apollo.Festival
🇨🇭 SwitzerlandChalandamarz
A bell-ringing march on the first of March that sends winter out of the Grisons valleysSeasonal
🇧🇪 Ghent, BelgiumGentse Feesten
Ten days of free music, theatre and street performance across central Ghent every JulyFestival
🇧🇦 Medjugorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina and 1 moreMedjugorje International Youth Festival
A six-day August gathering of Catholic youth in Medjugorje, Bosnia and HerzegovinaFestival
🇧🇦 Kupres, Bosnia and HerzegovinaMowing on KupresStrljanica
A July scythe-mowing contest on the Strljanica meadow at Kupres, kept since 1687Game
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreSkyclad ritual
A practice of performing Wiccan and Pagan rites without clothing to express truth and spiritual freedom.Spiritual
🇬🇷 Athens, GreeceDionysiaΔιονύσια
Ancient Athenian festivals of theatre, processions and sacrifices in honour of the god Dionysus.Festival · Feasts and festival meals
🇦🇱 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
🇬🇷 Nicopolis, Greece and 1 moreActiaἌκτια
A festival of music, sport, and naval displays kept in ancient times to honor a Roman emperor's victory.Festival
🇷🇴 RomaniaCapra
A New Year's ritual in Romania where a masked dancer visits homes to bring luck and predict the weather.Festival
🇩🇪 Wittenberg, Germany and 1 moreVersus populum
A liturgical stance where the priest celebrates Mass facing the congregation from the opposite side of the altar.Spiritual
🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreSecular coming-of-age ceremony
A non-religious rite of passage for adolescents in Europe and North America, marking the transition to adulthood throughRite of passage
🇦🇹 Austria and 2 morePerchten
Masked midwinter walks in the Alps, with carved wooden masks and sheepskinFolklore
🇵🇱 Poland and 6 morePolaznik
The first visitor to cross the threshold at Christmas, read as a sign of the year to comeFolklore
🇷🇴 Bucharest, Romania and 2 moreCaloian
A Romanian rainmaking and fertility ritual centered on the creation, funeral, and rebirth of a clay effigy.Festival
🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreRäucherkerze
A scented incense cone burned in German and Czech homes during the Christmas season to fill rooms with fragrance.Festival
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Delphic Games of the modern era: Achilles Painter, Public domain, source
- Aberri Eguna: Fondo Marín. Pascual Marín, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ras'ken' Ozks: Erzianj jurnalist, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Day of Slavonic Alphabet, Bulgarian Enlightenment and Culture: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Medjugorje International Youth Festival: Piotr Frydecki, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Independence Day of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Smooth O, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Romanian Language Day: Razvan Socol, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- First Day of Summer: ArniGael, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Turoń: Museum: The Seweryn Udziela Ethnographic Museum in Kraków, CC0, source
- Lāčplēsis Day: Saeima, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Gentse Feesten: Gordito1869, CC BY 3.0, source
- Polaznik: Carlton Alfred Smith, Public domain, source
- Dionysia: Unknown artist, Public domain, source
- Mowing on Kupres: PLATFORMA SARAJEVO, CC BY 3.0, source
- Daphnephoria: Frederic Leighton, Public domain, source
- Cashiering: Henri Meyer, Public domain, source
- Sparagmos: WolfgangRieger, Public domain, source
- Day of Republika Srpska: Ministry of Defence of Republic of Serbia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Republic Day: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Amburbium: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Skyclad ritual: Luis Ricardo Falero, Public domain, source
- Actia: Flavius Hermogenes at English Wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Secular coming-of-age ceremony: Karsten Davideit, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, source
- Versus populum: Stebunik, CC BY 4.0, source
- Capra: Michał Elwiro Andriolli, Public domain, source
- Caloian: Costică Acsinte Archive, No restrictions, source
- Perchten: Anita Martinz, CC BY 2.0, source
- Chalandamarz: Claudio Schneider, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Räucherkerze: Richard Huber, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Biikebrennen: Borstenpinsel, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Krakelingen and Tonnekensbrand: Jan Coppens at nl.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 1.0, source
- July Morning: Sumto, Public domain, source
- Meteņi: Spekozols, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Navigium Isidis: ArchaiOptix, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Gustavus Adolphus Day: Jacob Truedson Demitz for Ristesson, Public domain, source
- Salting the earth: C.W.M., Public domain, source