Festivals
Druid festivals correspond to the important dates of the old Celtic year. Celebration begins at sundown the previous evening, and may include feasts, bonfires, and revelry appropriate to the season. The RDNA also adopted the ancient Germanic fire days, or solstice festivals.
Season of Geimredh (Winter)
- Samhain – Oct. 31
- Winter Solstice – Dec. 21
Season of Earrach (Spring)
- Oimelc – Feb. 2
- Spring Equinox – Mar. 21
Season of Samradh (Summer)
- Beltane – May 1
- Summer Solstice – June 21
Season of Foghamhar (Fall)
- Lugnasadh – Aug. 2
- Autumn Equinox – Sept. 21
(The original group, and The Druid Chronicles, did not include the equinoxes — for which there is little evidence in ancient Northern European tradition — but they are now observed by many Reformed Druids.)
The phases of the moon are also followed closely, but in practice rarely celebrated in a liturgical manner, except by modern groves with a neopagan focus or women's mysteries. Projects are started on a waxing moon and completed on a waning moon. The night of the full moon is considered a time of rejoicing; while the night of the new moon is a solemn occasion, calling for vigils and meditation.
Read more about this topic: Reformed Druids Of North America
Famous quotes containing the word festivals:
“This is certainly not the place for a discourse about what festivals are for. Discussions on this theme were plentiful during that phase of preparation and on the whole were fruitless. My experience is that discussion is fruitless. What sets forth and demonstrates is the sight of events in action, is living through these events and understanding them.”
—Doris Lessing (b. 1919)
“Why wont they let a year die without bringing in a new one on the instant, cant they use birth control on time? I want an interregnum. The stupid years patter on with unrelenting feet, never stopping—rising to little monotonous peaks in our imaginations at festivals like New Year’s and Easter and Christmas—But, goodness, why need they do it?”
—John Dos Passos (1896–1970)