Calendar

February 2nd: Imbolc; Candlemas; Brigantia; “The holiday is a festival of the hearth and home, and a celebration of the lengthening days and the early signs of spring. Rituals often involve hearthfires, special foods, divination or simply watching for omens (whether performed in all seriousness or as children’s games), a great deal of candles, and perhaps an outdoor bonfire if the weather permits.”

March 20th: Ostara; Easter; “Celebrating the new life and fertility of the land.”

May 1st: Beltane; May Day: “A common aspect of the festival was the hanging of May Boughs on the doors and windows of houses and the erection of May Bushes in farmyards, which usually consisted of a branch of hawthorn which is in bloom at the time and is commonly called the ‘May Bush’ or just ‘May’ in Hiberno-English.” ” Many observe the traditional bonfire rites, to whatever extent this is feasible where they live, including the dousing of the household hearth flame and relighting of it from the community festival fire. Some decorate May Bushes and prepare traditional festival foods. Pilgrimages to holy wells are traditional at this time, and offerings and prayers to the spirits or deities of the wells are usually part of this practice. Crafts such as the making of equal-armed rowan crosses are common, and often part of rituals performed for the blessing and protection of the household and land.”

June 21st: Midsummer’s day; “The concentration of the observance is not on the day as we reckon it, commencing at midnight or at dawn, but the pre-Christian beginning of the day, which falls on the previous eve.” Chien: Heaven: South

August 1st: The Bread Harvest: Lammas; Lughnasadh; “Lughnasadh marked the beginning of the harvest season, the ripening of first fruits, and was traditionally a time of community gatherings, market festivals, horse races and reunions with distant family and friends. Among the Irish it was a favored time for handfastings – trial marriages that would generally last a year and a day, with the option of ending the contract before the new year, or later formalizing it as a more permanent marriage.” “the festival of the first wheat harvest of the year.”

September 22nd: The Fruit Harvest: Mabon; Michaelmas; “This holiday is a ritual of thanksgiving for the fruits of the earth.” “According to an old legend, blackberries should not be picked after this date.” “The Archangel Michael is one of the principal angelic warriors, seen as a protector against the dark of night, and the administrator of cosmic intelligence.”

Octover 31st/ November 1st: The Last Harvest: Samhain; Hallowe’en: “The Festival of Samhain is a celebration of the end of the harvest season in Gaelic culture, and is generally regarded as ‘The Celtic New Year’ ” “The festival marking the end of the summer season and the end of the harvest.” “Traditionally, the festival was a time used by the ancient pagans to take stock of supplies and slaughter livestock for winter stores.” “Literally, of course, it is the eve of All Hallows – a preparation for the observance tomorrow of the Feast of All Hallows or All Saints. That feast gives the assurance that there is a state of being that stretches beyond our life here on this earth – an affirmation of the essential spiritual nature of human life. People are made for more than can be experienced over our lifetime spent in this world.”

December 21st: The winter solstice: Yule; Christmas: “Modern Yule traditions include decorating a fir or spruce tree, burning a Yule log, hanging mistletoe and holly branches, giving gifts, and general celebration and merriment.” “Also, Yule was the name of the original Father Christmas, as stated in Popular Culture in Early Modern Europe, during the Feast of the Innocents (around Yule time) “the ‘riding’, or procession, of Yule (the original Father Christmas) and his wife was a great event in sixteenth century York…” ”