Common Holidays in Relation to Equinoxes, Solstices & Cross-Quarter Days
by Steven Gibson
(www.naic.edu/gibson/cal)
January 1
- New Year's Day
January 5
- Twelfth Night
January 6
- Eastern Orthodox Christmas
-
Twelfth Day, or Epiphany, or Old Christmas
January 20
- Inauguration Day
- Saint Agnes' Eve - woman dreams of future husband
2nd New Moon after
Winter Solstice - Chinese New Year (lunar calendar)
February 2-6
1st Cross-Quarter Day
February 2
- Groundhog Day
- Candlemas
feast
of the Purification of the Virgin Mary
or
the Presentation of the Child Jesus
-
Imbolg / Imbolc / Brighid / Oimelc (Celtic)
- 40th Day of Christmas
March
15
- Ides of March - 1st month middle, Roman calendar,
assassination of Julius Caesar
March 17
- St. Patrick's Day - sowing of peas in Ireland
March 20-21
1st Quarter Day - Spring
(Vernal) Equinox
March 21
- Ostara / Eostre (Saxon goddess of Spring)
Full Moon after SE - Passover
Following Sunday
- Easter
Previous Friday
- Good Friday
April 1
- All Fool's Day (old new year's day)
May 4-7
2nd Cross-Quarter Day
April 30
- May Eve or Walpurgisnacht (witches' Sabbath)
- May 1 - May Day - May Poles, May Queens, May-dew
- Beltane / Bealtaine - Celtic bonfire festival May 5
- Cinco de Mayo (Mexico)
May 2nd Sunday
- Mother's Day
June 20-21
2nd Quarter Day - Summer
Solstice
June 21
- Litha (Norse/Anglo-Saxon for "longest day")
June 23
- St. John's Eve - European Midsummer celebration
August 5-8
3rd Cross-Quarter Day
August 1
- Lugnasad - Gaelic summer "games of Lug" (sun-god)
- Lammas ("loaf mass") - harvest festival
September 22-23
3rd Quarter Day - Fall
(Autumnal) Equinox
New Moon after Autumn Equinox
- Rosh ha-Shanah (Jewish New Year)
10 days later
- Yom Kippur ("Day of Atonement")
September 21
-
Mabon (Welsh for "son")
November 5-8
4th Cross-Quarter Day
October 31
- Hallowe'en
November 1
- Dia de los Muertos, Day of the Dead (Mexico)
- All Saints' Day, or All Hallows
-
Samhain - Celtic feast of departing Sun & new year
November 2
- All Soul's Day - prayer for souls in purgatory
November 1st Tuesday after 1st Monday - U.S. Election Day
November 5
- Guy Fawkes Day
November 11
- Veterans' Day (World War I Armistice Day)
- Martinmas (death of St. Martin)
December 21-22
4th Quarter Day - Winter
Solstice
December 19
- Saturnalia - Roman midwinter festival, 7 days long
December 21
- Yule (Norse for "wheel") - Germanic 12-day feast
December 24
- Christmas Eve
December 25
- Christmas Day
1.
Exact determination of dates for Chinese New Year, Easter, and Rosh Hashanah is
a bit more complex than given here; see Explanatory Supplement reference below
for details.
2.
Pagan Quarter and Cross-Quarter Days (Wiccan Sabbats) may be in slight error;
some practitioners observe them at the astronomically correct time, while others
adhere to rigid dates (e.g., Feb 1 or Mar 21).