Wiccan Holidays
Wiccan Holiday Backstories:
Based on a Celtic tradition, Imbolc was meant to mark the halfway point between winter solstice and the spring equinox in Neolithic Ireland and Scotland. The holiday is celebrated by Wiccans and other practitioners of neopagan or pagan-influenced religions.
Leemage via Getty Images Ostara celebrates the Spring Maiden and Horned God. Ostara, or Eostra, is an Anglo-Saxon goddess who represents dawn. As a spring goddess she oversees the budding plants and burgeoning fertility of the earth.
May 1 marks the Celtic festival of Beltane, also referred to as May Day, which many neopagans and Wiccans around the world observe to celebrate the onset of summer.
“Litha” is the name given to the Wiccan Sabbat celebrated at the Summer Solstice. This is the longest day and shortest night of the year, marking the pinnacle of the Sun’s power to fuel the growing season. From here on out, the Sun will set a little earlier each night until Yule, and so we recognize and give thanks for its warmth.
Lughnasadh, also called Lammas, /wildhunt.org/2015/07/a-blessed-lughnasadh-7.html”}}” data-beacon-parsed=”true”>falls on August 1, roughly halfway between the summer solstice and autumn equinox. 2. The name of the holiday derives from Old Gaelic and is a combination of Lugh, a Celtic god, and násad, or assembly.
Mabon is a harvest festival, the second of three, that encourages pagans to “reap what they sow,” both literally and figuratively. It is the time when night and day stand equal in duration; thus is it a time to express gratitude, complete projects and honor a moment of balance.
Samhain (/ˈsɑːwɪn, ˈsaʊɪn/; Irish: [ˈsˠəuɪnʲ] Scottish Gaelic: [ˈs̪ãũ.ɪɲ]) is a Gaelic festival marking the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter or the "darker half" of the year. Traditionally, it is celebrated from 31 October to 1 November, as the Celtic day began and ended at sunset.
In most forms of Wicca, Yule is celebrated at the winter solstice as the rebirth of the Great horned hunter god, who is viewed as the newborn solstice sun.
Based on a Celtic tradition, Imbolc was meant to mark the halfway point between winter solstice and the spring equinox in Neolithic Ireland and Scotland. The holiday is celebrated by Wiccans and other practitioners of neopagan or pagan-influenced religions.
Leemage via Getty Images Ostara celebrates the Spring Maiden and Horned God. Ostara, or Eostra, is an Anglo-Saxon goddess who represents dawn. As a spring goddess she oversees the budding plants and burgeoning fertility of the earth.
May 1 marks the Celtic festival of Beltane, also referred to as May Day, which many neopagans and Wiccans around the world observe to celebrate the onset of summer.
“Litha” is the name given to the Wiccan Sabbat celebrated at the Summer Solstice. This is the longest day and shortest night of the year, marking the pinnacle of the Sun’s power to fuel the growing season. From here on out, the Sun will set a little earlier each night until Yule, and so we recognize and give thanks for its warmth.
Lughnasadh, also called Lammas, /wildhunt.org/2015/07/a-blessed-lughnasadh-7.html”}}” data-beacon-parsed=”true”>falls on August 1, roughly halfway between the summer solstice and autumn equinox. 2. The name of the holiday derives from Old Gaelic and is a combination of Lugh, a Celtic god, and násad, or assembly.
Mabon is a harvest festival, the second of three, that encourages pagans to “reap what they sow,” both literally and figuratively. It is the time when night and day stand equal in duration; thus is it a time to express gratitude, complete projects and honor a moment of balance.
Samhain (/ˈsɑːwɪn, ˈsaʊɪn/; Irish: [ˈsˠəuɪnʲ] Scottish Gaelic: [ˈs̪ãũ.ɪɲ]) is a Gaelic festival marking the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter or the "darker half" of the year. Traditionally, it is celebrated from 31 October to 1 November, as the Celtic day began and ended at sunset.
In most forms of Wicca, Yule is celebrated at the winter solstice as the rebirth of the Great horned hunter god, who is viewed as the newborn solstice sun.
