Winter celebrations from around the world to inspire your events calendar
Get inspired with this quick round-up of cultural winter celebrations from around the globe.
As the winter months roll around, you might be looking for inspiration for your next culturally-inspired event. In this article, we take a look at some amazing winter celebrations and traditions from around the world, which should give you plenty of food for thought.
Whether you’re part of PTA, put on events for your local community, or love to host themed parties – read on for all the inspiration you need.
To keep things simple, we’ve picked celebrations and traditions that fall within the Northern Hemisphere’s winter months.
Diwali
Between October and November annually – 31st October 2024 to 1st November 2024
Diwali is one of the biggest cultural events of the year in India, particularly for Hindus. However, it’s also celebrated across faiths – with over a billion people taking part in festivities each year.
Diwali is all about celebrating the triumph of light over darkness, and knowledge over ignorance. Participants adorn their streets with beautiful lanterns, exchange special gifts, and enjoy feasts of traditional food. There are many rituals and traditions associated with the festival, too – from buying gold to bring good luck, to taking warm oil baths to symbolise physical and spiritual purification.
Saint Lucy’s Day
13th December
Saint Lucy’s Day is a Scandinavian holiday that focuses on celebrating the light during the long and dark winter months. It’s celebrated around the winter solstice – a time where some Scandinavian regions only get a few hours of daylight a day.
As a Christian holiday, the observance commemorates Lucia of Syracuse, a virgin martyr of the early-fourth-century, known as the Queen of Light. Today, local festivals are held all around Scandinavia, which usually involve a procession of women being led by one girl, with each participant holding candles and singing songs. The joyful holiday is also celebrated in countries such as Italy, Estonia, Croatia and the United States.
Dongzhi Festival
Around 21st-23rd December
This Chinese winter festival dates back over 2000 years to the period of the Han Dynasty. It began with the discovery of the winter solstice – when, using sundials, the Chinese realised that the days after a certain point in winter started to become longer and lighter.
Today, the Dongzhi Festival is still very much about marking the winter solstice. Celebrations usually involve families coming together to enjoy indulgent, hearty food – eating whatever the traditional fare is in their particular region of China.
Christmas
25th December
Christmas marks the birth of Jesus Christ, and is one of the biggest annual observances for Christian communities around the globe. However, secular communities also enjoy Christmas festivities, traditions, and often time off work (hence why Christmas is often referred to as ‘The Holidays’).
Traditions observed at this time of year include everything from decorating Christmas trees, opening advent calendars, attending religious services, visiting Santa’s Grottos, gift giving, and snuggling up to watch Christmas movies. Not forgetting feasting on delicious foods – in some cultures, it's traditional to enjoy the ‘main feast’ and gift giving on the 24th December, while in others this takes place on the 25th.
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Hanukkah
25th December – 2nd January
The Jewish festival of Hanukkah, or ‘Chanukah’ in Hebrew, is an eight-day festival of light. It celebrates one of the most miraculous events in Jewish history – when Jews won in a battle against Greece, and were therefore able to practise their religion freely.
Fast-forwarding around 2000 years to today, Hanukkah is celebrated each year with nightly menorah lighting (the lighting of a candle to symbolise each day of the holiday) and feasts of traditional food.
Kwanzaa
26th December – 1st January
Kwanzaa is a beautiful, secular celebration of African and African-American culture that takes place across a week each December. It was created in 1966 by Maulana Karenga, an activist and university professor in the USA, who wanted to find a way to affirm and celebrate African family and social values.
Each of the seven days of the celebration is dedicated to one of the principles of Kwanzaa, and a community feast is usually held on the sixth day (31st December), called the karamu.
Epiphany
6th January
Epiphany falls on the twelfth day after Christmas, and honours the visit of the Three Kings to baby Jesus in the manger. This celebration is focused around the revelation of God taking human form, and is steeped in traditions that vary between Christian communities across the globe.
Celebrations may include gifting sweet-filled stockings and small presents to children, singing traditional songs, attending religious services, and eating festive feasts with the family.
Lunar New Year
Between 21st January – 20th February
Lunar New Year – also known as Chinese New Year – is one of the most exciting and popular celebrations to take place among various communities around the world, including the Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, and Malaysian.
Although China switched to the Gregorian calendar in 1912, for 3000 years before that the beginning of their new year fell in line with a lunisolar calendar. Today, celebrating this date is as important as ever, which usually involves two weeks of festivities, feasts, and rituals. In many cultures, each year is associated with an animal from the Zodiac. Celebrations normally culminate in a vibrant Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first lunar month.
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Ready to plan your next cultural event?
Hopefully you’ve found more than enough inspiration in this article to create an exciting cultural event this winter.
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