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
🇪🇸 Jijona, Spain and 5 moreTurrón
A festive Mediterranean nut-and-honey confection shared at Christmas and local feastsTable custom · Sweets given and shared
🇷🇺 RussiaRussian wedding traditions
A Russian wedding runs two days to a week, with ransom games, crowns and toastsRite of passage
🇦🇹 Austria and 5 moreKrampus
Saint Nicholas's horned companion, who comes for misbehaving children on 5 DecemberFolklore
🇪🇸 SpainCorrefoc
Devil-costumed fire runs through the streets of Catalan and Valencian festival townsFestival
🇱🇹 Vilnius, LithuaniaLithuanian Song FestivalLietuvių dainų ir šokių šventė
A periodic national festival of choral singing, dance and folklore in LithuaniaFestival
🇮🇹 Foligno, ItalyGiostra della Quintana
A June and September joust in Foligno, where ten knights spear ringsFestival
🇮🇹 Naples, Italy and 5 moreNativity scene
A seasonal set of figures showing Jesus's birth, put up by Christians at ChristmasFestival
🇬🇧 London, United Kingdom and 4 moreAfternoon tea
A late-afternoon spread of tea, small sandwiches and cakes, kept across BritainTable custom · Tea-time and snacking customs
🇷🇸 Serbia and 3 moreKoloКоло
A South Slavic circle dance of linked hands, kept at weddings and gatheringsPerformance
🇬🇧 Yorkshire, United Kingdom and 3 moreMischief NightNoson Ddrygioni (Welsh); Oidhche nan Cleas (Scottish Gaelic)
An evening of pranks and tricks, kept before Halloween or Guy Fawkes NightFestival
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 6 moreAsh WednesdayDies Cinerum
A solemn Christian holy day of prayer, fasting, and the placing of ashesSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇷🇺 Palekh, RussiaPalekh miniatureПалехская миниатюра
Tiny tempera paintings on lacquered papier-mâché, made in the Russian town of PalekhCraft
🇩🇰 Denmark and 3 moreNissenisse (Danish, Norwegian); tomte (Swedish); tonttu (Finnish)
A small farm spirit of Nordic folklore, given porridge at midwinterFolklore
🇦🇹 Vienna, AustriaViennese coffee house cultureWiener Kaffeehauskultur
A Viennese social ritual where patrons linger for hours with a single coffee and newspapers.Etiquette · Tea-time and snacking customs
🇪🇸 Spain and 2 moreLas arras
Thirteen gold coins, blessed at a wedding and given by the groom to the brideRite of passage
🇨🇭 Appenzell, Switzerland and 5 moreYodeling
A singing style switching between chest voice and falsetto, kept as a folk tradition across the Alps and globally.Performance
🇩🇪 Germany and 2 moreLederhosen
Leather breeches that began as work wear and now belong to Alpine festivalsDress
🇦🇹 Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria and 2 moreSilent NightStille Nacht, heilige Nacht
A Christmas carol composed in Austria in 1818, now sung worldwide as a symbol of peace.Performance
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreKiltfèileadh
A pleated knee-length skirt in tartan wool, worn as Scottish Highland dressDress
🇷🇴 Romania and 1 moreColindă
A Romanian and Moldovan Christmas carol tradition where village groups sing Nativity songs door to door.Festival
🇩🇪 Germany and 2 moreSwabian-Alemannic FastnachtFastnacht
A late-winter carnival of masks and jesters kept before Lent in the Alemannic landsFestival
🇮🇹 Rome, Italy and 2 moreAssumption of Mary
A feast on 15 August, when Christians remember Mary taken up into heavenSpiritual
🇮🇸 Iceland and 2 moreYuleġēol (Old English); jól (Old Norse)
The Germanic midwinter festival that Christmas grew out of, kept today by HeathensSpiritual
🇮🇹 Venice, ItalyFesta del RedentoreFesta del Redentor
Venice's July festival of fireworks over the water, kept in thanks for the plague's endFestival
🇧🇪 Brussels, BelgiumMeyboomMaâbuum
An annual Brussels parade and ceremonial tree planting held every AugustFestival
🇬🇷 Greece and 4 moreVasilopitaΒασιλόπιτα
A New Year bread or cake with a coin baked inside, shared out slice by sliceTable custom · Sweets given and shared
🇬🇧 United KingdomCalennig
Welsh children carry a decorated apple door to door and sing for New Year giftsFestival
🇸🇮 Ptuj, Slovenia and 1 moreKurentovanje
A rite of spring and carnival in Ptuj with masked bell-ringers chasing winter awayFestival
🇺🇦 UkraineTraditional Ukrainian wedding
A wedding spread over many days, with matchmaking, bread, wreaths and songRite of passage
🇪🇸 Madrid, Spain and 5 moreTwelve GrapesLas doce uvas de la suerte
A grape for every chime at midnight on 31 December, welcoming the new yearFestival · Tea-time and snacking customs
🇬🇧 United KingdomLong sword dance
A Yorkshire winter sword dance kept by village teams at Christmas and Plough MondayPerformance
🇮🇸 IcelandÞorrablót
An Icelandic midwinter feast of dinner, speeches and poetryFestival · Dinner
🇬🇧 United KingdomPlough Sunday
An English church blessing of the land and farm tools at the start of the yearSpiritual
🇬🇧 Cardiff, United KingdomGorsedd CymruGorsedd Cymru (yr Orsedd)
A Welsh society of poets and writers that holds ceremonies at the National Eisteddfod to honour cultural achievements.Festival
🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreEvil eye
A belief in harm cast by envious glares, met with protective charms and spoken blessingsFolklore
🇧🇾 BelarusBatlejkaБатле́йка
A two-level puppet booth from Belarus, playing Nativity and folk scenes at ChristmasPerformance
🇵🇱 PolandWigilia
Poland's meatless Christmas Eve supper, begun when the first star appearsTable custom · Feasts and festival meals
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreLast Post
A bugle call sounded at military funerals and remembrance services across the Commonwealth to honour those who died in sPerformance
🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreLezginkaЛезгинка (Russian) · Лезги кьуьл (Lezgian)
A fast dance of the North Caucasus, solo or in pairs, named for the Lezgin peoplePerformance
🇪🇸 Buñol, SpainLa Tomatina
A one-hour tomato fight in Buñol on the last Wednesday of AugustFestival
🇷🇴 RomaniaDoina
A free-rhythm Romanian song of longing, sung alone or played to open a dancePerformance
🇩🇪 Aachen, Germany and 4 moreStraw bearStrohbär
A carnival figure wrapped in straw, paraded through German towns to mark the end of winter.Festival
🇧🇬 Bulgaria and 4 moreKukeriкукери (kukeri)
Masked and belled figures who tour Bulgarian villages at New Year to drive off harmSpiritual
🇫🇷 Bayonne, FranceFêtes de BayonneBaionako Jaiak
A five-day summer feria in Bayonne featuring parades, dances and white-and-red dressFestival
🇮🇹 Siena, ItalyPalio
Traditional Italian competitions where local districts race horses, donkeys, or boats to win prizes and pride.Festival
🇮🇪 Ireland and 5 moreSaint Patrick's DayLá Fhéile Pádraig
An annual Irish holiday of parades, church services, green dress and shamrocksFestival
🇪🇸 Spain and 5 moreMoors and ChristiansMoros y Cristianos
Theatrical parades and mock battles staging historic clashes across Spain and beyondFestival
🇳🇴 NorwayJul
An eight-week Norwegian midwinter season of feasts, family gatherings, and gift-givingSeasonal · Lunch
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Plough Sunday: John Cowie, CC BY 3.0, source
- Fêtes de Bayonne: Belarra64, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Lezginka: Vasily Vereshchagin, Public domain, source
- Kurentovanje: Aleš Kravos, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Meyboom: Henxter, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ash Wednesday: Oxh973, Public domain, source
- Colindă: Post of Moldova, Public domain, source
- Lithuanian Song Festival: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Turrón: Tamorlan, CC BY 3.0, source
- Kukeri: Nenko Lazarov, CC BY 2.5, source
- Straw bear: Photo: Andreas Praefcke, CC BY 3.0, source
- La Tomatina: Graham McLellan, CC BY 2.0, source
- Wigilia: Przykuta, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Long sword dance: donald judge, CC BY 2.0, source
- Twelve Grapes: Ralf Roletschek, GFDL 1.2, source
- Festa del Redentore: Photographer: Riccardo Speziari, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Yule: Robert Chambers, Public domain, source
- Kilt: Georg Cöler, Public domain, source
- Lederhosen: Original photographer and uploader was Florian Schott at bar.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 2.0 de, source
- Yodeling: Paebi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Las arras: penny, CC BY 2.0, source
- Kolo: Sasa.mazinjanin, Public domain, source
- Afternoon tea: joyosity, CC BY 2.0, source
- Nativity scene: Yvonne Bentele, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Giostra della Quintana: Alb.Maur, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Krampus: Naturpuur, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Correfoc: Calvesklein, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Russian wedding traditions: GeorgeLouis, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mischief Night: Roseohioresident, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Palekh miniature: Ivan Ivanovich Golikov, Public domain, source
- Nisse: AlphaZeta, CC0, source
- Viennese coffee house culture: Photo: Andreas Praefcke, CC BY 3.0, source
- Silent Night: Franz Xaver Gruber (1787–1863), Public domain, source
- Swabian-Alemannic Fastnacht: Photo: Andreas Praefcke, CC BY 3.0, source
- Assumption of Mary: Jebulon, CC0, source
- Vasilopita: Μυρμηγκάκι, Public domain, source
- Traditional Ukrainian wedding: Пимоненко, Николай Корнильевич, Public domain, source
- Gorsedd Cymru: Els Pam Pels, CC0, source
- Batlejka: user:Хомелка, CC BY 3.0, source
- Last Post: User:EnEdC, Public domain, source
- Evil eye: FocalPoint, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Palio: faberh, Public domain, source
- Saint Patrick's Day: rannṗáirtí anaiṫnid ( coṁrá ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Moors and Christians: No machine-readable author provided. Jarke assumed (based on copyright, CC BY-SA 3.0, source