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EveryParampara

Traditions of North America

Thanksgiving, powwow, Dia de Muertos, the Fourth of July and the Canadian maple season. 169 traditions on EveryParampara so far.

Countries

🇧🇲 Bermuda 6🇨🇦 Canada 133🇬🇱 Greenland 3🇲🇽 Mexico 49🇺🇸 United States 291

Cities and towns

New York 38Toronto 19New York City 17Mexico City 16Los Angeles 15Chicago 13Philadelphia 13New Orleans 12Washington 12

On the calendar

BaisakhiGuru Nanak GurpurabRath Yatra of PuriTihar and Bandi Chhor DivasParsi New YearRosh HashanahYom KippurSukkotSimchat TorahHanukkahTu BiShvatPurim
KindSpiritualFestivalRite of passageTable customSeasonalDressPerformanceEtiquetteCraftGameFolkloreHomeCeremony
MealBreakfastLunchDinnerSupperTea-time and snacking customsTea, coffee and drinking ceremoniesSweets given and sharedFeasts and festival mealsFasting and breaking the fast
🇺🇸 Fairbanks, United States and 2 moreWorld Eskimo-Indian Olympics An annual Arctic gathering of traditional survival games, athletics, and cultural artsGame 🇺🇸 New Orleans, United StatesSecond line A New Orleans parade where clubs march and a crowd dances along behind the bandFestival 🇺🇸 Boise, United States and 3 moreBasque festivalEuskal jaiak Gatherings of dance, sport and food that keep Basque culture alive far from homeFestival 🇺🇸 New Orleans, United StatesKrewe Carnival clubs that stage parades, balls, and pageantry along the Gulf CoastFestival 🇺🇸 New York, United States and 2 moreSalsa A lively Latin partner dance rooted in Afro-Caribbean rhythms and social dance traditionsPerformance 🇺🇸 New York, United StatesVillage Halloween Parade An annual costumed puppetry march through Greenwich Village on Halloween nightFestival 🇲🇽 MexicoDanza de los ViejitosT'arche Uarakua A Purépecha masked dance honouring the sun and the four elements in MichoacánPerformance 🇺🇸 Raven's Roost, United StatesStomp dance A ceremonial night dance kept by Eastern Woodland tribes in the United States and Oklahoma.Performance · Dinner 🇺🇸 United StatesGrass dance A fast-paced men's pow wow dance from the Northern Great Plains featuring sweeping movements and bright fringe regalia.Performance 🇺🇸 United StatesFancy dance A fast-paced, athletic Indigenous dance kept at powwows across North America and beyond.Performance 🇺🇸 Honolulu, United StatesLei Day A statewide celebration in Hawaii honoring the art of lei making and the aloha spirit.Festival 🇺🇸 United StatesJingle dress A healing dance and regalia worn by First Nations women at pow wows across North America.Performance 🇧🇲 Hamilton, BermudaGombey A Bermudian masquerade of dance and drumming with African and British rootsPerformance 🇲🇽 Guadalajara, Mexico and 1 moreMariachi A Mexican string and trumpet music tradition featuring charro attire and communal singing.Performance 🇲🇽 Mazatlán, MexicoCarnival of MazatlánCarnaval de Mazatlán An annual five-day festival of parades, fireworks, poetry and dance in coastal MexicoFestival 🇲🇽 Mexico City, MexicoPassion Play of Iztapalapa A community passion play staged across Iztapalapa during Holy WeekSpiritual 🇺🇸 New Orleans, United StatesJazz funeral A New Orleans funeral march led by brass music, moving from mourning to joyful danceRite of passage 🇺🇸 New York, United States and 5 moreKlezmerקלעזמער An Ashkenazi Jewish instrumental tradition of lively dance tunes and ritual melodiesPerformance 🇺🇸 Hilo, United StatesMerrie Monarch Festival A spring week of hula in Hilo, closing with three nights of competitionFestival 🇺🇸 New Orleans, United StatesMardi Gras Indians A New Orleans carnival tradition where Black revelers wear elaborate Native American-inspired suits to honor historical Festival 🇲🇽 Papantla, Mexico and 1 moreDanza de los Voladores A Mesoamerican rite of dance and rope, flown from a tall pole to ask for rainSpiritual 🇲🇽 Guadalajara, MexicoMexican hat danceJarabe tapatío Mexico's national courtship dance, in which a dancer's steps circle the brim of a hatPerformance 🇲🇽 Veracruz, Mexico and 3 moreBaile folklórico Staged folk dances of Mexico and Central America, with regional dress and mariachi musicPerformance 🇺🇸 New York City, United StatesWest Indian Day Parade A lively Caribbean street procession held every September in Brooklyn, New YorkFestival 🇺🇸 United States and 2 morePowwow A communal gathering of dancing, singing and fellowship across Native North AmericaFestival 🇨🇦 Montreal, CanadaMontreal International Jazz FestivalFestival international de Jazz de Montréal A ten-day summer jazz festival filling downtown Montreal with free and ticketed concertsPerformance 🇨🇦 Canada and 2 moreMummering A festive midwinter custom of disguised visits, music and playful guessing gamesFestival · Tea-time and snacking customs 🇺🇸 Philadelphia, United StatesMummers Parade An annual New Year's Day street parade in Philadelphia featuring music and costumed clubsFestival 🇲🇽 Oaxaca, Mexico and 1 moreGuelaguetza An annual Oaxacan festival of indigenous dance, music, costumes and communal sharingFestival 🇲🇽 Tlayacapan, MexicoChinelos Masked dancers from Morelos who spoof colonial manners at CarnivalPerformance 🇺🇸 United StatesOld time fiddle An American string band style played for dancing, kept alive through local contests and family teaching.Performance 🇲🇽 MexicoPirekua A gentle Purépecha song form from Michoacán, sung solo or in duetsPerformance 🇨🇦 Edmonton, CanadaGrand North American Old Time Fiddle Championship An annual summer fiddle tournament and community gathering in Alberta, CanadaPerformance 🇨🇦 CanadaDalbec A boastful Quebec hunter hero whose tall tales were written down in the 1890sFolklore

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

The weekly EveryParampara

Every week: one tradition from somewhere new, what is being celebrated around the world this week, and one idea explained.