| Wheel of the Year: Pagan Holidays
Yule, or Winter Solstice when the sun is reborn as a radiant god on the longest night of the year. We confront our darkest fears and sorrows and celebrate the returning light, knowing the days grow shorter from this time on. December 21 Imbolc, Oemelc, or St. Brigid’s Day We keep lit candles in our windows all night long to welcome the first milk of the lambing ewes, and to remind us that soon the nights will not be so long. The mother goddess cares for her new son. February 2 Oestara, Spring Equinox, or Easter The first day of spring, and the young god is growing into manhood. Days and nights are of equal length as the earth prepares to burst into bloom. March 21 Beltane, or May Day The goddess is manifest in her maiden aspect, joyously fertile and full of potential. The young god shows his love for the maiden goddess, and mortals leap the fires and revel with abandon. May 1 Litha Midsummer, or Summer Solstice The longest day of the year and shortest night. A fire festival between planting and harvest, Litha is the traditional season for handfastings and weddings. June 21 Lammas, or Lughnasadh The early harvest is in sight as plants set their seed, young livestock born in the spring mature, and gardens are bursting with the summer’s fruit. August 1 Mabon, or Autumn Equinox The harvest festival, and all prepare for the long nights of winter cold ahead. Days and nights are of equal length again. September 21 Samhain, or All Saints’ Eve The ending of one year and beginning of another. Samhain is the one time of the year that the veil between this world and that of the dead is thinnest, and so we honor our ancestors, celebrate their memory, and feast once more before the cold of winter. At Samhain all the earth (in the Northern Hemisphere) seems to be dying, including the god, by now old. But those wise in earth’s ways know that it is merely the rest before rebirth in the spring. October 31/November 1 |
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