There are eight great festivals through the year, marking the equinoxes, midwinter, midsummer, and the beginnings and ends of summer and winter.
The festivals are generally celebrated for a night and a day, beginning on a Moonday evening and ending on a Godsday evening.
The exception is Yule, which is a long festival lasting from Fireday evening after the full moon, until Midwinter, ten days later, and some even count Fools' Day and New Year's Day part of Yule.
01.01: New Year's Day. The twelfth and final day of Yuletide.
01.03: Candlemas - Imbolc. First day
of spring. The Crone becomes the Maiden. A time of housecleaning. Lights lit
in every room and window at night. The Lord of Misrule is dethroned.
07.04: Spring
Equinox - Ostara: A time of fertility and conception, sowing begins.
Eggs are hidden, to be found by searching children.
15.05: First Day of Summer
- Beltane: Tenancies and contracts are renewed for the summer. Marriages
are commonly made on this dag. Offerings are made for good fortune in war
and travel during the summer. The people dance around ribboned
poles and make love outdoors. Fires are lit and leaped through, singing and
dancing (Walpurgisnacht) (Witch Sabbath).
14.07: Midsummer - Litha:
The brightest day. Great fires are lit to strengthen the sun and ward off
evil. People dance, sing and jump over the fires (Witch Sabbath)
14.09: Lammas: Bread made from the first corn of the year is eaten. Magna Mater's pregnancy begins. Autumn begins.
21.09: End of the main harvest
21.10: Autumn Equinox -
Mabon: A time of thankfulness and self-reflection.
28.11 End of slaughtertime, all animals must be brought in for the
winter All Hallows' Eve.
01.12: Samhain
- First day of Winter: Also known as the day of the Dead, or as
All Hallows' Mass. Tenancies and contracts are renewed for
the winter.
14.13: "Oskorei", The Nerganalia. More evil spirits are out on this day than any other day of the year. People stay indoors 'til dawn the 15th. From this night 'til Midwinter the Wild Hunt is on, and evil and chaos arise to break the world apart. Temperatures fluctuate, thunder, hail and lightning interchange with snow.
18.13: Yule's Eve. Touching the Yule-Boar and vowing.
19.13 - 28.13: Ten Days of Yuletide. Feasting, homes decorated with holly and other evergreens. 21th is the birth of the god, and on the 28th he begins his fight through the underworld.
28.13: Midwinter. Tenth day of of Yule. The darkest night. The Lemuria, the last day of the year, when even the year dies. Great bonfires are lit in the halls, to bolster the dying sun, and kindle the new one. (Witch Sabbath)
01.00: Fool's Day - Twelfth Night: The Day between years. Chance is loose and Chaos is king. A time of many omens and much confusion. The moon is never visible on Foolsday night. The Feast of Fools is held, where all rules and conventions are disregarded.