Halloween - Please think of the children!

[Mikkel]

Hmmm hadn't seen the definition of these holidays before. Would have thought that the celts would have celebrated the four special days of the years:

Mid-summer solstice (21st-22nd of June) - the longest day of the year.
Fall equinox (21st-22nd of September) - equal length night and day.
Mid-winder solstice (21st-22nd of December) - shortest day.
Spring equinox (21st-22nd of March) - again equal night and day.

Obviously these are the dates for the northern hemisphere... I always understood that these were special days celebrated by most pagan religions and used as markers to time farming, supply storage, hunting and gathering.

[Wolf]

Hmmm hadn't seen the definition of these holidays before. Would have thought that the celts would have celebrated the four special days of the years:

Mid-summer solstice (21st-22nd of June) - the longest day of the year.
Fall equinox (21st-22nd of September) - equal length night and day.
Mid-winder solstice (21st-22nd of December) - shortest day.
Spring equinox (21st-22nd of March) - again equal night and day.

Obviously these are the dates for the northern hemisphere... I always understood that these were special days celebrated by most pagan religions and used as markers to time farming, supply storage, hunting and gathering.

The celebrated the "liminal" days - beginning of Winter (Samhain - Ancestor Night, their New Year's day), Spring (Imbolc), Summer (Beltane) and Autumn (Lughnassadh). In the Northern Hemisphere: on or around Oct 31/Nov1, Feb 1/2, Apr 31/May 1, and July 30/Aug 1 respectively.

Modern Witches/Wiccans, celebrate the ones you mentioned (evidence suggests the Norse celebrated at least one of those - Yule/Midwinter) as well as the 4 Celtic festivals.

Celtic Pagans don't celebrate the Solstices and Equinoxes, and in the Southern Hemisphere we reverse the seasons - Beltane when the Northerners celebrate Samhain etc.

Edit: The Oct 31/Nov1 etc is modern designation. In Celtic reckoning (and in Jewish, I understand) the "day" begins at nightfall, not midnight, so the day of Samhain begins at nightfall of what is now 31 Oct and finishes at nightfall of what is now 1 November. The celebration of Samhain, Beltane etc was reported to have lasted around a week and it is believed that Guy Fawkes night, with its bonfires, is just a modern dressing up of the tail end of Samhain in the Northern Hemisphere - wth a convenient modern personage assigned to it. As Guy Fawkes was hanged, not burned, the bonfire aspect sounds more "Celtic Fire Festival" than "Treason Attempt".

The Jews still reckon their days by nightfall, especially with the likes of Passover and other festivals.

[Mikkel]

That's a bit funny actually. There's a celtic construction (don't know the right term for it sorry) somewhere in Ireland (surprise surprise) which has been made in such an ingenious way that at the back of a roofed corridor is a wall upon which the light only shines 1 day of the year... And I believe that day is the mid-winter solstice - and no it's not a coincidence according to all sources.

But the Vikings certainly celebrated mid-winter - or Yule as you correctly state. In Denmark christmas is still called "Jul" actually.

[lb99]

all we had was a couple of barefoot maori kids in no cosumes turn up, I offered then half a carrot each.... scared em away good that did.

it was only a couple of hours later that I thought "maybe they were dressed as the kids from brotown"

I mean, did anyone else notice that Xmas decorations are already out????

(

I work part time in the back store at the local new world at night and the xmas display went out on oct 16, last year it was oct 22 I think, and when it gets taken away in early jan the easter eggs will take its place immediatley.

"happy retail day folks!"

[Wolf]

That's a bit funny actually. There's a celtic construction (don't know the right term for it sorry) somewhere in Ireland (surprise surprise) which has been made in such an ingenious way that at the back of a roofed corridor is a wall upon which the light only shines 1 day of the year... And I believe that day is the mid-winter solstice - and no it's not a coincidence according to all sources.

Quite possible. Can you remember the name of it? The history of those tribes known as Keltoi underwent a number of changes over time - burial practices changed, as did technology. They also were quite prone to adopt things from other cultures (like their artwork shows (at various times) Etruscan, Roman and Scandinavian influences) or change things of their own.

However, based on the Coligny calendar and the writings of the Romans and Early Christians, their festivals were predominantly as I described above. That does not preclude, however, other days being revered in some locations or at some stage in the couple of thousand years of preChristian tribalism.

There were also earlier peoples in what is now the UK - like the builders of Stonehenge (currently believed to be the mysterious "Beaker Folk" of which little is known other than their burial practices). Stonehenge itself marks the Solstices and Equinoxes and pre-dates "Celtic" habitation of that area by a couple of thousand years at least.

I personally look forward to the Winter Solstice every year from Samhain (around 1 May) onwards and am quite rapt when it finally arrives - because it means the days are going to get longer again and the days of going to and from work in the dark are numbered. The Winter Solstice is the "worst" it can get, after that, things start improving.