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
🇮🇹 Venice, Italy and 5 moreCarnival
A season of parades, masks and feasting in the days before LentFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇬🇧 United KingdomTwmpath
The Welsh word for a village dancing green, now used for a social dance eveningPerformance
🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreRussian tea culture
The everyday cup of Russia, brewed strong and diluted to taste, with jam and sweetsTable custom · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇭🇷 Omiš, CroatiaKlapa
Unaccompanied harmony singing from Dalmatia, built by groups of friendsPerformance
🇸🇰 SlovakiaFujara
A tall Slovak flute played by shepherds, with a deep voice built from overtonesPerformance
🇱🇹 Lithuania and 1 moreLithuanian folk songsliaudies dainos
Songs of love, weddings, work and war, sung in unison or in harmony across LithuaniaPerformance
🇷🇴 Romania and 2 morePlăcintă
A traditional thin, filled pastry baked across Romania, Moldova, and parts of Ukraine.Table custom · Sweets given and shared
🇮🇪 Dublin, IrelandBarmbrackbairín breac
A sweet Irish fruit loaf with charms baked in, eaten at Halloween and on New Year's EveTable custom · Tea-time and snacking customs
🇳🇱 Landgraaf, NetherlandsPinkpop
A three-day pop and rock festival in the Netherlands, held on the Pentecost weekendFestival
🇩🇰 Roskilde, DenmarkRoskilde Festival
A week-long Danish music festival south of Roskilde, run by volunteers since 1971Festival
🇬🇷 Olympia, GreeceAncient Olympic Gamesτὰ Ὀλύμπια
A quadrennial athletic festival held in ancient Greece to honor the god ZeusGame
🇮🇹 Rome, ItalySaturnalia
A December festival of ancient Rome, with feasting, gifts, gambling and role reversalSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇬🇷 Eleusis, Greece and 1 moreEleusinian MysteriesἘλευσίνια Μυστήρια
Secret annual initiations in ancient Greece dedicated to Demeter and Persephone, promising a blessed afterlife.Spiritual
🇮🇹 Rome, ItalyBacchanalia
An ancient Roman mystery festival dedicated to the god of wine and ecstasyFestival · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇬🇷 GreeceSymposiumσυμπόσιον
An ancient Greek post-meal gathering for diluted wine, debate, music and lively gamesTable custom · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇷🇺 Moscow, Russia and 5 moreDormition of the Mother of God
A major feast in Eastern Christianity marking the death and heavenly ascent of Mary.Spiritual
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 4 moreTowel Day
An annual worldwide celebration on 25 May honouring the author Douglas Adams.Festival
🇩🇪 Berlin, GermanyGerman Unity DayTag der Deutschen Einheit
Germany's national day, marking reunification on 3 October 1990Ceremony
🇫🇷 France and 5 moreVictory in Europe Day8 mai 1945
The day Nazi Germany's surrender was accepted, marking the end of the war in EuropeCeremony
🇷🇺 Moscow, RussiaCosmonautics DayДень космонавтики
Russia's yearly day for Yuri Gagarin's 1961 flight, kept on 12 April with memorial walksCeremony
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 6 moreSaint George's Day
A saint's feast on 23 April, kept by churches and patron nations from England to GeorgiaSpiritual
🇩🇪 Germany and 3 moreVisitation
A Christian feast commemorating Mary's journey to visit her cousin ElizabethSpiritual
🇩🇪 Wittenberg, Germany and 5 moreReformation Day
An annual Christian observance marking the start of the Protestant ReformationSpiritual
🇺🇦 Kyiv, UkraineIndependence Day of UkraineДень Незалежності України
Ukraine's national day, kept every 24 August with parades and flagsCeremony
🇺🇦 Ukraine and 2 moreProgrammer's Day
A professional day for programmers, fixed to the 256th day of the yearCeremony
🇮🇹 Italy and 2 morePresentation of Mary
A Christian feast on November 21 marking a child's dedication to God in Jerusalem.Spiritual
🇦🇱 Albania and 5 moreSworn virginburrnesha
A vow of chastity that lets a woman of the northern Balkans live as a manRite of passage
🇬🇧 St Andrews, United Kingdom and 10 moreSaint Andrew's DayLà Naomh Anndrais
The feast of Andrew the Apostle, kept on 30 November and Scotland's national daySpiritual
🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreKnucklebones
An ancient hand game of tossing, catching, and scooping small bones or stonesGame
🇺🇦 Ukraine and 2 moreIntercession of the TheotokosПокровъ
An Eastern Christian autumn feast honoring the protective veil of the Virgin MarySpiritual
🇷🇺 Russia and 3 moreOld New YearСтарый Новый год (Russian), Стара Нова година (Macedonian), Српска Нова година (Serbian), Hen Galan (Welsh)
An informal holiday marking the start of the Julian calendar year, celebrated on 14 January in the Gregorian calendar.Festival · Dinner
🇵🇱 Warsaw, PolandNational Independence DayNarodowe Święto Niepodległości
Poland's national day on 11 November, marking the 1918 return of a sovereign Polish stateCeremony
🇬🇷 Olympia, GreeceHeraean Games
An ancient Greek festival of running races for unmarried young women at OlympiaGame
🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreYuri's Night
An annual global celebration on April 12 marking milestones in space explorationFestival
🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreBeheading of John the Baptist
A Christian holy day of strict fasting that marks the death of John the BaptistSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇮🇪 IrelandSolemnitySolemnitas
The highest rank of celebration in the Roman Catholic liturgical calendarSpiritual
🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreRadonitsaРа́доница (Russian), Ра́даўніца (Belarusian)
A spring day when Orthodox families visit graves, share Easter food and greet the deadSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇹 Rome, Italy and 4 moreMarian feast days
Holy days across the liturgical year celebrating the life and veneration of Mary.Spiritual
🇱🇹 Lithuania and 5 moreNativity of John the Baptist
A Christian feast day on June 24 that marks the birth of John the Baptist and anticipates Christmas.Festival
🇷🇺 Mordovia, Russia and 2 moreErzya Language DayЭрзянь келень чи
A yearly day for the Erzya language, held on 16 April, the birthday of Anatoli RyabovFestival
🇵🇱 Poland and 5 moreGrandparents' Day
A single-day holiday kept on different dates in many countries to honour grandparentsFestival
🇩🇪 Kiel, GermanyKiel WeekKieler Woche
A week of yacht racing, tall ships and waterfront music on the Kiel FjordGame
🇸🇮 SloveniaStatehood DayDan državnosti
Slovenia's one-day public holiday on 25 June, marking the 1991 move to independenceCeremony
🇦🇱 Albania and 3 moreXhubleta
A rippling bell-shaped skirt made by Albanian women of the northern highlandsDress
🇬🇷 Athens, Greece and 2 moreDionysian Mysteries
Ancient Greek and Roman initiation rites of wine, ecstatic dance and spiritual rebirthSpiritual · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇸🇪 Sweden and 5 moreMushroom hunting
Gathering wild fungi for food and other uses, relying on careful identification to ensure safety.Table custom
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 4 moreTwelve Days of Christmas
A festive Christian liturgical season linking Christmas Day to the eve of EpiphanySeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇪🇸 Spain and 4 moreDay of the Holy InnocentsDía de los Santos Inocentes
A 28 December day of pranks and fake news, kept in the Spanish-speaking worldFestival
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Victory in Europe Day: Fotograaf Onbekend / Anefo, CC0, source
- Reformation Day: 95Thesen.jpg : User:Shizhao derivative work: 6birc ( talk ), Public domain, source
- Barmbrack: Solo Beckett, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Roskilde Festival: Bill Ebbesen, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Pinkpop: Gianni Taranto, CC BY 3.0, source
- Eleusinian Mysteries: No machine-readable author provided. Marsyas assumed (based on copyrig, Public domain, source
- Saint George's Day: Raphael, Public domain, source
- Sworn virgin: Edith Durham, Public domain, source
- Dormition of the Mother of God: El Greco, Public domain, source
- Independence Day of Ukraine: Official website of the President of Ukraine, CC BY 4.0, source
- Beheading of John the Baptist: Caravaggio, Public domain, source
- Radonitsa: Perohanych, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Erzya Language Day: Erzianj jurnalist, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Cosmonautics Day: The original uploader was Errabee at English Wikipedia ., CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Grandparents' Day: Wendy Berry, CC BY 2.0, source
- Kiel Week: Arne List, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Day of the Holy Innocents: Attributed to Pieter Brueghel the Younger, Public domain, source
- Ancient Olympic Games: Bgabel, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Xhubleta: Albinfo, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Bacchanalia: Nicolas Poussin, Public domain, source
- Symposium: Nikias Painter, CC BY 2.5, source
- Towel Day: Bischy174, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Knucklebones: Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, Public domain, source
- Yuri's Night: Ryan Somma, CC BY 2.0, source
- Heraean Games: Ingo Mehling, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Old New Year: ceridwen, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Marian feast days: © Ralph Hammann - Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Nativity of John the Baptist: Brakeet, CC0, source
- Twelve Days of Christmas: Giotto, Public domain, source
- Dionysian Mysteries: Tilemahos Efthimiadis, CC BY 2.0, source
- Mushroom hunting: Игорь Лебединский, CC BY 3.0, source
- Saint Andrew's Day: Henryk Siemiradzki, Public domain, source
- German Unity Day: Philipp Hertzog Bearbeitet von Dr. Meierhofer (beschnitten, aufgehellt, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Saturnalia: Themadchopper, Antoine-François Callet, CC0, source
- National Independence Day: Patryk Matyjaszczyk, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Visitation: Giotto, Public domain, source
- Presentation of Mary: Zograf Gregorij, Public domain, source
- Intercession of the Theotokos: SNCH, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Carnival: Etienne Le Cocq, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Twmpath: Geoff Charles, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Russian tea culture: Boris Kustodiev, Public domain, source
- Klapa: Albin Olsson, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Fujara: -jkb-, CC BY 3.0, source
- Lithuanian folk songs: Gailė Paštukaitė, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Plăcintă: Unknown author, Public domain, source