Festivals in Ghana are celebrated for many reasons pertaining to a particular tribe or culture, usually having backgrounds relating to an occurrence in the history of that culture. Examples of such occurrences have been hunger, migration, purification of either gods or stools, etc.

Reasons for celebrating festivals

The importance of each festival's celebration includes: * Planning developmental project. The festival is used as an occasions to meet and plan developmental projects in the area since most citizens are likely to attend. * Purification of gods. The period is used to clean ancestral stools and perform important rites. * Thanksgiving. The festival is used to thank the supreme God and the lesser gods for the guidance and protection * National and political significance. Prominent people in the government are invited to explain government policies and programmes. * Dispute resolution. The occasion is used to settle family and individual disputes for peaceful co-existence. * To promote tourism. Some festivals celebrated in Ghana attract many foreign tourists to the country. An example is the Aboakyir festival. Tourism is the third foreign-exchange earner for Ghana.

List of traditional festivals and their month of celebration

Below is a list of all traditional, religious commemorative festivals celebrated throughout the year in

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

. These may not entirely consist of festivals of Ghanaian descent.

Commemorating farming season

* Kakube festival * Kobine Festival

Commemorating migration

* Akwantukese Festival *

Hogbetsotso festival The Hogbetsotso festival ''(pronounced Hogbechocho)'' is celebrated by the chiefs and people of Anlo in the Volta Region of Ghana. Some major Anlo towns include Anloga (capital), Keta, Kedzi, Vodza, Whuti, Srogboe, Tegbi, Dzita, Abor, Anlo A ...

* Keta-Some Tutuza *Suma Akwantukese

Religious

* Akwasidae Festival *

Aboakyer festival The Aboakyer festival is a deer hunting festival celebrated by the people of Winneba in the Central Region, Ghana, Central Region of Ghana. Overview The name ''Aboakyer'' translates as "hunting for game or animal" in the Fante language as spoken ...

Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

Eid al-Fitr Eid al-Fitr () is the first of the two main Islamic holidays, festivals in Islam, the other being Eid al-Adha. It falls on the first day of Shawwal, the tenth month of the Islamic calendar. Eid al-Fitr is celebrated by Muslims worldwide becaus ...

Eid al-Adha Eid al-Adha () is the second of the two main festivals in Islam alongside Eid al-Fitr. It falls on the 10th of Dhu al-Hijja, the twelfth and final month of the Islamic calendar. Celebrations and observances are generally carried forward to the ...

Others

* Agadevi ( Have, Afadzato South District, Volta Region) * Agbamevo Festival * Ahobaa * Akwambo festival * Akwantutenten (Worawora, Volta Region) * Amu Festival * Apoor * Asafotu-fiam (Ada in the Eastern region) * Asafotufiam Festival * Asafua Festival * Asogli Yam Festival * Atu-Ho-Akye (Ejisu, Ashanti Region) * Ayimagonu Festival * Ayimagonu Festival * Bakatue festival *Beng Festival * Chale Wote Street Art Festival * Damba festival * Danso Abaim & Ntoa Fukokuese Festivals (Techimentia & Nkoranza, in the Brong Ahafo Region) * Dipo Festival (Manya Krobo, Yilo Krobo, Eastern Region) * Dzawuwu Festival * Dzohayem (Osudoku, Greater Accra) * Edina Buronya Festival * Eiok (War Festival) * Alluolue festival * Fetu Afahye * Fiok ( Sandema by the Builsas) * Gbidukor Festival * Gbidukor Festival * Glimetoto Festival * Golob (Tengzung, Upper East Region) *

Gologo festival The Gologo festival, also known as the Golib festival, is celebrated in the month of March at the end of the dry season before the sewing of the early millet (Ansah, 1997; Allman & Parker, 2005). The Gologo Festival is among the major festiva ...

*Gwolgu * Munufie festival * Jintigi (All Gonja Towns, Northern Region) * Kente Festival (Bonwire, Ashanti Region) * Kloyosikplem festival (Ghana

Eastern region Eastern Region or East Region may refer to: * Eastern Region (Abu Dhabi): Al Ain *Eastern Region, Ghana *Eastern Region (Iceland) *Eastern Region, Malta *Eastern Region, Nepal *Eastern Region, Nigeria * Eastern Region, Serbia *Eastern Region, Ugand ...

) * Kobine * Kpalikpakpa zã ( Kpalime Traditional Area in the Volta Region) * Kpini-Kyiu Festival (Wa & Tongu, in the Upper East Region) * Kpledjoo *

Kundum Festival The Kundum festival is celebrated by the Ahanta and Nzema people, Nzema people of the Western Region (Ghana), Western region of Ghana. It is celebrated to thank God for the abundance of food at the time of the harvest period of the area. History ...

* Kwafie * Meet Me There Weekender * Mmoanniko Festival * Nkyidwo (Essumeja) * Ntoa Fokuose * Nyidwoo * Odambea Festival *

Odwira festival The Odwira festival is celebrated by the chiefs and peoples of Fanteakwa District and Akuapem in the Eastern Region (Ghana), Eastern Region of Ghana. The Odwira Festival is celebrated by the people of Akropong-Akuapim, Aburi, Larteh, and Mamfe Akua ...

* Paragbeile Festival * Rice festival (Akpafu, in the Volta Region) * Sasadu Festival * Sometutuza (Keta) * Tenghana Festival (Wa & Tongu, in the Upper East Region) * Tongu Upper East Region * Wilaa Festival (Takpo, Upper West Region) *

Yaa Asantewaa Festival The Yaa Asantewaa Festival is an annual festival celebrated by the chiefs and people of the Ejisu, Ejisu Traditional Area in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. It is usually celebrated in the month of August. The Yaa Asantewaa festival was founded by t ...

Oti Region) * Ɔvazu Festival (Akposokubi) Oti Region, formally Volta/Trans-Volta Togoland

References

{{Africa topic, Festivals in L Festivals