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
🇮🇪 Kinsale, IrelandKinsale cloakfallaing Chionn tSáile
The last Irish cloak, a hooded wool wrap of West Cork, worn into the 1900sDress
🇬🇧 Chipping Campden, United KingdomCotswold Olimpick Games
Races, wrestling and shin-kicking on a Cotswold hillside, held since about 1612Game
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreQuaker wedding
A silent marriage ceremony in a Quaker meeting, with no priest and no set orderRite of passage
🇬🇷 Sparta, GreeceChitonχιτών
A draped tunic of wool or linen worn across ancient Greece and RomeDress
🇷🇺 RussiaOctobering
A short-lived Soviet naming rite that put the Red Star in place of the baptismal crossRite of passage
🇬🇧 Linton, United KingdomLinton Worm
A Borders dragon killed with a burning spear, told in Roxburghshire since the 12th centuryFolklore
🇬🇧 Palace of Westminster, United KingdomParliamentary snuff box
A wooden box of free snuff kept at the door of the House of CommonsCeremony
🇭🇷 CroatiaBadnjakBadnji dan
A Christmas Eve oak log burned in the hearth across Croatia to welcome the holiday.Festival · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇳🇴 Norway and 1 moreSølje
A silver brooch from Norway, worn with the bunad or on its ownDress
🇬🇧 Torry, United KingdomUnspoken Water
A Scottish healing custom in which water was fetched in silence and given to the sickFolklore
🇮🇪 Ireland and 5 moreFairy ring
A natural ring of mushrooms formed by fungal growth, surrounded by folklore across Europe and beyond.Folklore
🇳🇱 Amsterdam, NetherlandsTangomagia
An annual Amsterdam tango festival held in the last days of DecemberPerformance
🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreBride-showсмотр невест
A court custom in which emperors and tsars chose a wife from young women brought before themCeremony
🇮🇪 Ireland and 1 moreFilifilí (Irish)
Ireland's and Scotland's trained poets, storytellers and seersPerformance
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreWater bulltarbh-uisge
A bull of the Scottish lochs that can change shape and breed with cattleFolklore
🇩🇪 GermanySeven Sleepers' DaySiebenschläfertag
A German feast day on June 27 where the weather predicts the next seven weeks of summer.Seasonal
🇬🇧 Ashbourne, United Kingdom and 1 moreRoyal Shrovetide Football
A medieval mob football game played in Ashbourne on Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday.Game
🇩🇰 Copenhagen, DenmarkCopenhagen Distortion
A week of street parties, club nights and a rave in Copenhagen celebrating new dance music.Festival
🇫🇷 Paris, FranceNyansapo Festival
A French festival celebrating Black feminism and empowering diasporic women.Festival
🇬🇧 United KingdomJack o' Lent
An English Lenten custom of abusing and burning a straw figureSeasonal
🇬🇧 United KingdomWelsh danceDawns Gymreig
Traditional dances of Wales, known for their athletic steps and revival after a period of decline.Performance
🇮🇹 Pantelleria, ItalyVite ad alberello of Pantelleria
A traditional low-bush vine training system kept on the Italian island of Pantelleria for thousands of years.Craft
🇮🇹 Gubbio, Italy and 1 moreSaint Ubaldo DayFesta dei Ceri
A May procession in Gubbio where three teams carry tall wooden ceri to a hilltop basilicaSpiritual
🇪🇸 Córdoba, Spain and 5 moreFiesta de las Cruces
A May festival where communities decorate crosses with flowers and crafts to celebrate faith and local heritage.Festival
🇮🇹 Turin, Italy and 5 moreMary Help of ChristiansSancta Maria Auxilium Christianorum
A Christian feast and devotion honouring Mary as a protector, observed on 24 MaySpiritual
🇬🇧 York, United KingdomYorkshire Day
A yearly civic observance on 1 August to honour the historic county of Yorkshire and its people.Festival
🇬🇧 Porthmadog, United KingdomWelsh clog dancingClocsio
A Welsh dance in wooden-soled clogs, full of rhythm, leaps and tricksPerformance
🇸🇰 SlovakiaJasličkári
A Slovak Christmas custom of young men acting out the Nativity from house to houseFestival
🇷🇺 RussiaBlack wedding
A traditional Jewish crisis wedding held in a cemetery to ward off diseaseSpiritual
🇮🇹 Rome, ItalyVenus Verticordia
A Roman cult of Venus as the turner of hearts, kept by married womenSpiritual
🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreRussian superstitions
Everyday omens, etiquette rules, and household rituals observed across RussiaFolklore
🇦🇹 Bludenz, AustriaBludenzer Tage zeitgemäßer Musik
An international festival of contemporary classical music held annually in BludenzPerformance
🇬🇧 United KingdomWooing Play
A folk performance of farm labourers in the East Midlands, featuring a sieve horse.Performance
🇬🇧 Worldham, United Kingdom and 5 moreJalsa Salanaجلسہ سالانہ
A three-day annual assembly for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, featuring lectures, prayers and communal meals.Festival · Feasts and festival meals
🇲🇹 MaltaFestival Kanzunetta IndipendenzaKonkors Kanzunetta Indipendenza
An annual music contest in Malta celebrating native songwriting around Independence DayPerformance
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreKynodesmeκυνοδέσμη
A cord ancient Greek athletes tied around the foreskin to stay modest in public.Dress
🇬🇧 United KingdomGarland dance
A nineteenth-century English dance tradition performed with flower-covered garlandsPerformance
🇪🇸 SpainThe Water of LifeL'aigua de vida
A Catalan folk tale of a quest for magic water, a fragrant branch and a talking birdPerformance
🇬🇧 United KingdomAssipattle and the Stoor Worm
An Orcadian dragon-slayer tale of a fireside daydreamer who defeats a giant sea monsterFolklore
🇮🇹 Montepulciano, ItalyBravio delle botti
An annual uphill wine barrel race between the eight historic districts of MontepulcianoGame
🇭🇺 Miskolc, HungaryKocsonya FestivalKocsonyafesztivál
An annual winter food and culture festival held in Miskolc, HungaryFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇬🇧 United KingdomRacial Justice Sunday
A day of prayer and action for racial justice observed by British Christian churches in February.Spiritual
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Kocsonya Festival: Szalax, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- The Water of Life: Internet Archive Book Images, CC0, source
- Garland dance: Tim Green, CC BY 2.0, source
- Kynodesme: Popinozzi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Russian superstitions: Сергей Чеботарёв, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Venus Verticordia: kladcat, CC BY 2.0, source
- Welsh clog dancing: TG11TG15, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Yorkshire Day: Buttons0603, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Mary Help of Christians: Didier Descouens, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Fiesta de las Cruces: Michelangelo-36, Public domain, source
- Saint Ubaldo Day: Marco Riccardini, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Vite ad alberello of Pantelleria: Luca Volpi, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Welsh dance: Geoff Charles, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Seven Sleepers' Day: either an unknown master or „Frater Rufillus“, Public domain, source
- Fili: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Bride-show: Publisher: Χρωμολιθογραφείον Ε. Λοβέρδου & Γ. Γρύσπου (1893-ca. 1914), Public domain, source
- Fairy ring: User:Mrs skippy, Public domain, source
- Sølje: Foto Anne-Lise Reinsfelt / Norsk Folkemuseum., CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Linton Worm: Pasicles, CC0, source
- Octobering: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Cotswold Olimpick Games: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Kinsale cloak: LynnMGallagher, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Chiton: Berlin Painter, CC BY 2.5, source
- Badnjak: Vidonjac, CC BY 2.0, source
- Royal Shrovetide Football: Adrian Roebuck, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Black wedding: American Colony Photo Department, Public domain, source
- Jalsa Salana: Ceddyfresse, Public domain, source
- Racial Justice Sunday: Unknown author, Public domain, source