The Celtic Priestess

Celtic Festivals

To the Celts, time was circular rather than linear. This is reflected in their commencing each day, and each festival, at dusk rather than dawn, a custom comparable with that of the Jewish Sabbath. It is also reflected in their year beginning with the festival of Samhain on 31 October, when nature appears to be dying down. Tellingly, the first month of the Celtic year is Samonios, ‘Seed Fall’: in other words, from death and darkness springs life and light. 

The earliest-known Celtic calendar is the Coligny calendar. Each year is divided into thirteen months.

The lunar months given on the Coligny calendar are as follows:

Samonios - October/November - Seed-fall 
Dumannios - November/December - Darkest depths 
Riuros - December/January - Cold-time 
Anagantios - January/February - Stay-home time 
Ogronios - February/March - Ice time 
Cutios - March/April - Windy time 
Giamonios - April/May - Shoots-show 
Simivisonios - May/June - Bright time 
Equos - June/July - Horse-time 
Elembiuos - July/August - Claim-time 
Edrinios - August/September - Arbitration-time 
Cantlos - September/October - Song-time 

Samhuinn (or Samhain) 1 November

Samhain, meaning "Summer’s End," is celebrated on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1. A solemn occasion. As darkness overwhelmed the world, the days grew short, and the earth became barren and cold and the veil between the mortal and the supernatural was temporarily drawn aside. Samhain is the beginning of the Celtic new year. This is the time when the rising of Pleiades, heralds the triumph of night over day. Now it is the “time of the little sun” and the portion of the year which is ruled by the realms of the moon. 
Samhain was a time of fairs and festivities. As with all the fire festivals, fires were lit on the hilltops at Samhain. This festival was one of the two when all hearth fires were extinguished and re-lit from the communal bonfires. The cattle were driven back from the mountains where they had been sent for the summer. At this time of their return they were driven between two bonfires to purify and protect them. People and cattle both had now returned from the hills and glens to their winter quarters and were engaged in actively re-tying the social bonds. Just prior to this, the stores that had been put up had been assessed. Part of this assessment was how many could be fed during the cold months ahead. Rather than have whole herds starve to death in the winter, the herds were culled and the weakest harvested and the meat was preserved. 
The taking of life was done in a sacred way, and the utilitarian killing of the excess livestock had a sacrificial nature. Another area were the religious philosophy is addressed was in the bonds of kinship which were renewed in the clan spirit that was invoked at this time of year. Traditionally Samhain begins the time of storytelling by the fires of the hearth, as there isn’t much to do outside during this “time of the little sun.” 
It was also a time when the veil between this world and the Otherworld was thought to be so thin that the dead could return to warm themselves at the hearths of the living, and some of the living were able to enter the Otherworld through the doorways of the sidhe, such as that at the Hill of Tara in Ireland.
Our modern Hallowe’en stems from Samhain, and one explanation of the traditional pumpkin lanterns is that the Celts once placed the skulls of ancestors outside their doors at this time. The Christians took over the Celtic festival and turned it into All Saints Day. 

Imbolc (or Oimelc) 1 February

Imbolc centered around the fertility goddess Brigid and was concerned with the fertility of livestock and other pastoral matters. Brigid is invited into the house on the eve of this holiday. Candles were blessed. Auguries were often taken at this time. From Samhain to Imbolc was considered the winter. As there were few daylight hours during the season of cold work outdoors, the family spent their time round the fire which was the source of their light, heat and warming food. It was also the gathering point for the seannachaidh (story teller) who, with the fire of inspiration, would tell the stories of the people. 
Imbolc was a fire festival only for the household. Women met to celebrate the return of the maiden aspect of the Goddess. This survived into Christian times as the Feast of Brigid: the saint was a Christianized version of the pagan goddess who was the daughter of the Dagda.

Alban Eiler or Vernal Equinox 21 March 

Beltane or May Day 1 May

Beltain, celebrated around 1 May, was another fire festival; but whereas Samhain was associated with going to ground, and withdrawing, Beltain burst forth with an abundant fertility. During Beltane, all household fires were extinguished and great bonfires were kindled on hilltops. Cattle were let out of winter quarters and driven between two fires in a ritual cleansing ceremony that may have had practical purposes too. It was a time for feasts and fairs, for the mating of animals, and for divorces - possible arising from trial marriages entered into at Lughnasadh. 
Young women will wash their face in the dew of Beltaine morning to preserve their youth. May dew was indeed considered to be holy water. This day was one which saw visits to the holy well. A visitor would walk three times around the well, then they would throw in a silver coin, after which while thinking of their wish they would drink from the well using their hands. When those things were done, they would then tie a bit of colored cloth or a piece of clothing to a branch of a nearby tree. The above had to be done in complete silence as well as when the sun wasn’t in sight. The final part of the procedure had the visiting person well out of sight of the well before sunrise. 

Alban Heruin or Summer Solstice 21 June

Lughnasadh or Festival of Light 1 August

Lughnasadh was a summer festival lasting for as long as two weeks either side of the day itself, which fell around 31 July. August 1 brought the feast of Lugh, the sun god; the feast was called Lughnasadh. The Celtic religion, like that of ancient Egypt, was basically solar-oriented; hence, this festival was an important one. It was primarily an agrarian occasion, mainly concerned with harvest time; it was a relatively happy period in the lives of the Celts, when the most benevolent aspects of the gods were in evidence. This is the time when the warriors returned from the fields of battle to begin harvesting the crops. At this time fairs were held. Traditionally, this was also the time when marriages were contracted. There were many games and races. 
Lughnasadh was the season of handfastings, or trial marriages that lasted a year and a day. After that time the couple had to return to the same place at the fair the following year to make their contract a permanent one. They also had the right to declare themselves divorced by walking in opposite directions away from each other. Trial marriages of a year and a day lasted up until recent centuries in many Gaelic areas. During this time young people would often simply "pair up" with a 'brother' or 'sister' for the duration of the fair, after which they went their separate ways. 

Alban Elued or Autumnal Equinox 23 September 

Alban Arthuan or Winter Solstice 21 December