Traditional sabbats
The eight high holidays
Instead of celebrating holidays based on historical events, Pagans have traditionally celebrated holidays tied to the earth and the turning or middle of each season. In ancient times, pagans held rituals on each of these eight days throughout the year. Holidays are important because they help anchor us throughout the year and provide consistency and continuity.
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The megalithic sites of Newgrange and Stonehenge align with the solstice sunrise and sunset, indicating that Midwinter has been significant since the late Stone Age. Ancient cultures celebrated by feasting, gift-giving, bringing wreaths of evergreens into the home, and tree-decorating.
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Imbolc traditions revolve around purification and spring cleaning in anticipation of the year's new life. For modern pagans, this is the time for initiation, pledges and rededications for the coming year. |
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Ostara, the vernal equinox, marks the time when the day and night are equal and light and darkness are in balance, with light on the rise. It is a time of new beginnings and of life emerging after winter.
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This is a holiday celebrating fertility. Early pagans may have celebrated by dancing around a maypole, symbolizing the earth being penetrated. Legends describe these dances continuing around bonfires late into the night before coupling to bless the land and ensure fertile crops.
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This is the celebration of the longest day of the year, the apex of the sun’s journey across the sky. In ancient times, it was sometimes celebrated by dancing around the fire all night and waiting for the sunrise. To this day, pagans descend on Stonehenge in great numbers to dance all night and await the sunrise as it aligns with the Heel Stone in the north-east part of the horizon and its first rays shine into the heart of the ancient monolith. |
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The first of the harvest festivals, Lammas was celebrated as a festival and feast of thanksgiving for the harvest of grain and the resulting bread.
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The autumnal equinox marks the time when the night and day are equal lengths. It may have been celebrated as a harvest festival, and a time to look for balance and integration.
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On Samhain, pagans believed spirits might slip through and knock on their door, and they had to give the spirit something so it wouldn’t curse them. They gave a treat to everyone because they never knew if it was really a goblin, or just a kid in a costume! Scary jack-o-lanterns were meant to frighten the spirits away.
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