General Meaning of the Wheel of the Year

The wheel of the year represents the cycle of life. It is through this wheel that the ancient Celts understood the cycle of nature and its seasons through the representation of the Sun God and the Goddess in their cycles of life, development, death and rebirth.

Moreover its relevance is such that many egregories and strands of witchcraft are mirrored in it, such as Wicca and Natural Witchcraft. The wheel of the year is based on the movement of the Earth around the sun, a factor that is responsible for generating what you know as seasons.

Each season has a commemorative event with its own rich symbology. The ancient festivities have left a very strong heritage, influencing festivities such as Easter, St. John's Day and Christmas. Come and discover in this article the incredible wheel of the year and its festivities!

Celtic Calendar, Wheel of the Year, Gods and Festivals

The Celtic calendar is an ancient heritage of pagan peoples, which were based on the cyclical transformations of nature to explain life around them. Based on the Celtic calendar came the wheel of the year, which is formed by 8 dates extremely important to the pagans, because it tells about the path of the Sun God (God corniferous) with the triple Goddess in the cycle of life and death.

Of the 8 celebrations, 4 are solar events, representing the main seasons of the year, and 4 seasonal events representing the transition bands from one season to the next. It is based on these natural changes that the ancients left as their heritage their festivities, which praise the gods, nature and life itself as a whole.

The Celtic Calendar

The Celtic calendar originated from the ancient pagan peoples. They guided their lives according to the nature around them, so the cycle of natural life strengthened their beliefs about what the process of life is.

From time to time the Celts gave thanks for life and praised their gods through celebrations called sabbats. In addition, sabbats represented the transformations occurring in nature: the seasons.

The Wheel of the year

The wheel of the year was structured on the basis of the Celtic calendar. It is a wheel divided into 8 parts and each part has a very unique symbolism. It contains 4 parts related to the seasons: summer, autumn, winter and spring; and another 4 parts related to the apexes of each season, that is, the transition belt from one to the other.

The Goddess and the God

The cycle of life, death and rebirth is represented by the figure of the corniferous God, the lord of nature and the triple Goddess, the mistress of magic. In each part of the wheel of the year, we see the God in his journey from his birth to his death with the Goddess.

One notices the development of each season: life springing up in spring and hatching out in summer until autumn where life begins to cease until winter, a time of death and rebirth.

The festivals

The festivals are linked to each season of the year, representing the celebration of the cycle of life through the path of the Goddess and the God. The festivals are also named sabbats: Yule (winter), Ostara (spring), Litha (summer), Mabon (autumn), Samhain (autumn peak), Beltane (spring peak), Lammas (summer peak) and Imbolc (winter peak). Each sabbat has its own peculiarity and bringsunique and profound teachings about what life is all about.

Solstices and Equinoxes

The 8 sabbats can be divided into solar, associated with the solstices, and seasonal, associated with the equinoxes. The solstices and equinoxes are natural events fundamental to understanding the wheel of the year, for they differentiate the incidence of solar rays to Earth, distinguishing seasons and influencing thousands of lives.

These factors differentiate the wheel of the year into a southern wheel and a northern wheel. The tilt of the Earth on its spin axis, the Equator dividing it into a northern and southern hemisphere, and the Earth's movement around the Sun (translation) influence the solar incidence on parts of the globe.

When the incidence is the same in the hemispheres we speak of equinoxes, when they differ, the solstices occur. Come check more about their influence on the wheel of the year!

Rotate south or north

In the southern hemisphere there is a certain season that will be opposite the season in the northern hemisphere, for example: summer in the south and winter in the north, in December. As the wheel of the year is based on the seasons it is natural that it is divided into a northern wheel for the northern hemisphere and a southern wheel for the southern hemisphere, thus respecting the celebrations in relation to the seasons in each part of the globe.

Solstice

When it comes to solstices, one hemisphere receives more sunlight, while the other receives less. At the solstice we can distinguish two seasons: winter and summer. Winter has short days, long nights due to low natural brightness, while in summer the opposite occurs, long days, short nights due to high brightness.

Equinox

At the equinox occurs spring and autumn and both hemispheres receive the same solar incidence. Equinoxes are transition points between solstices, because after the winter the Earth tends to move in its elliptical route around the Sun and its inclination decreases and the luminosity becomes greater than that of winter, bringing spring. In the decrease of sunlight occurs the autumn. These seasons havedays and nights of the same duration.

Samhain, when it occurs and correspondences

The Samhain festival marks the end of the solar cycle, the transition from the last day of the pagan calendar to the beginning of the new year. Its symbolism portrays the transmutation of life into death, allowing a new cycle to be instated.

Samhain brings the energy of renewal through the alchemical death of everything that no longer has the same consonance with life. Samhain corresponds to Halloween, also known as halloween.

In addition to these commemorative dates the festivity can be associated with the Day of the Dead on the Gregorian calendar. It is on Samhain that life intertwines with the portals of death, allowing the living to get in touch with their deceased loved ones and ancestors. Check out much more below!

Samhaim

In the period of Samhain begins the Celtic autumn, according to historical-cultural sources. The rigid cold did not forgive who he touched, people, crops and livestock died of cold and hunger.

This being so, on the eve of Samhain, the ancient pagans slaughtered much of their livestock and harvested as much of their agriculture as possible to keep in stock so as not to lose them to the torrid cold.

The severe cold broke with the idea of life contained in the heat, thus it opened a passage between life and death, allowing the living to communicate with the dead. Life dies in Samhain along with the death of the sun god, but it is not the representation of the eternal end of life, but of its transformation. The god dies to return to the womb of the goddess, bringing the symbolism of renewal, the detachment frommaterial and the spiritual return.

When it occurs

Samhain occurs between October 31 and November 1 in the northern hemisphere, while in the southern hemisphere it occurs between April 30 and May 2. There is a fact between the dates of Samhain that, although occurring at different times in different places, demonstrates its symbolism: the festival always occurs in autumn.

Meaning of the word

Samhain is a word of Gaelicp-Irish origin in which Sam means "summer" and hain means "end", that is, end of summer. That is the idea that Samhain brings, the end of summer and the beginning of the period of cold and death, a moment that marks the end of the abundance of life: agriculture, animals and individuals are faced with the idea of lack.

Samhaim for the Celts

The date represents a great milestone for the Celts: the end of summer and, consequently, the end of life. Symbolically, Samhain represents the death of the god Cornifera, the end of life and the disincarnation from this plane to a new life in another. The god gives up materiality to transcend his being to a plane beyond the physical, thus returning to the womb of the goddess, renewing himself.

Correspondence

Samhain is associated with Halloween, being celebrated between October 31st and November 2nd, having on average three days of festivities. At this time the power of death as a transforming element of matter is celebrated. It is a moment that allows the world of the dead to open to the living, thus celebrating the transience of matter.

The Catholic Church has a holiday with very similar syncretism, the Day of the Dead, a moment where the loved ones are remembered.

Yule, when it occurs and correspondences

Yule represents the hope of the end of winter and the renewal of life. It is a time to sow desires and dreams internally so that the warmth of life arrives with spring and allows its strength and materialization to blossom.

Yule brings the idea of gestation and overcoming the absence of heat, so it is possible to find strength to be reborn after Samhain. In the middle of December 22 in the northern hemisphere and June 22 in the southern hemisphere, Yule is celebrated, since it is in this period that winter begins.

It is in Yule the moment that the god is reborn in the womb of the goddess, awaiting his rebirth. As the celebration speaks about birth and hope, the Christian culture has a very similar celebration: Christmas. Come check out more about it!

Yule

Yule is a celebration that succeeds Samhain. When it comes to Yule, we talk about the Winter Solstice. This is when winter begins, it is when life is dissipated, fragmented and compressed by the cold and sheltered in the womb of the goddess, symbolizing the rebirth of the Cornish god.

Yule is the rebirth and hope of new life after the end of winter, so it is the custom of the date to decorate the environment with thuyas, pine trees and similar trees. A bonfire is set up to ward off the cold and next to it there is a bountiful supper with all the food stocked to represent the birth of the son of the goddess.

When it occurs

The festival of Yule is celebrated in the middle of December 22 in the northern hemisphere and June 22 in the southern hemisphere. Yule is celebrated on the Winter Solstice, marking the peak of cold but bringing hope for the return of warmth on Earth, for in Imbolc the first hints of warmth and life will occur. It is a time for introspection and nurturing of desires, dreams and life itself.

Celtic legends and myths

There are ancient pagan tales that tell that in Yule there are some beings that manifest themselves in the middle of the festival. One of these beings is the troll Grýla, a deformed being that cooks disobedient children that her husband Leppalúoi captured by pretending to be a sweet old man. Moreover, the troll couple has 13 children, the children of Yule, who have mischief 13 days before the festival.

Correspondence

The symbolism of Yule is highly associated with Christmas. In both dates one finds pine cones, tulias, a bountiful table of food, all to celebrate the birth of a being who will save them.

In Yule we find the (re)birth of the god Cornifer, who will bring light and warmth, thus freeing everyone from the shadows. The same occurs in Christian Christmas, the birth of baby Jesus brings the idea of salvation.

Imbolc, when it occurs and correspondences

Imbolc represents the transition belt from winter to spring, it is the time of hope, soon the light will balance with the shadows. In this phase, the Triple goddess is breastfeeding the god Cornifer, denoting the major symbolism of Imbolc: birth, breastfeeding and growth.

The festival depicts the warmth of life approaching through various bonfires to warm the new phase. In the northern hemisphere, Imbolc is celebrated in the middle of February 2nd and in the southern hemisphere around July 31st.

The festival brings a unique symbolism, the candles as a symbol of illumination, the light that approaches to say that winter is coming to an end. Such a moment is associated with the Christian celebration of Our Lady of Lights. Below you will learn more about Imbolc!

Imbolc

Imbolc brings the energy of nurture and growth. In the previous celebration the Triple Goddess was pregnant and gave birth to the Cornish God. In Imbolc the Goddess nurtures her child so that she will grow strong and bring the flame of life to those around her.

The greatest mark of Imbolc are the bonfires that represent the heat of life that warms the hope for brighter times that allow the projection and realization of new projects.

When it occurs

The Imbolc festivities are celebrated between July 31 in the Southern Hemisphere, while the Northern Hemisphere celebrates the moment in the middle of February 2. It is important to remember that at times, the dates of the Wheel of the Year change on days before or after those mentioned, as it follows the changing times of the seasons.

What Imbolc stands for

When it comes to Imbolc one must associate the celebration with nourishment, growth and empowerment. It is a time for renewal of hope and nourishment of the same, for winter is coming to an end and soon life will return with spring. The essence of Imbolc rekindles the flame of faith in better and more prosperous days through the nourishment of dreams.

The Goddess Brigid or Brigit

The Goddess Bridget is a pagan goddess with similar traits to what is recognized as Mary in the Catholic Church. Bridget was the Mary of the Gaels, for she transcends and walks among men multiplying food to feed those less fortunate, thus she was highly associated with fertility. Her day of commemoration is the first of February, the day before Imbolc.

Correspondence

Imbolc has as main symbol the fire, the flames, the candles, everything that brings the idea of illumination and heat. Thus, the main celebration that can be associated to Imbolc is the festival of Our Lady of Lights, besides the figure of the Goddess Bridget is associated to Our Lady of Lamps, because both bring light to men in this period since antiquity.

Ostara, when it occurs and correspondences

After Imbolc comes the arrival of spring, when day and night have the same length. This represents an important factor for the ancient peoples: the end of winter. It is at this time that Ostara was celebrated: the rebirth of life after winter.

The celebration of Ostara represents the blossoming of hope and new possibilities. Ostara is a very prosperous celebration filled with light. It is important to remember that it is the beginning of a prosperous period, the flowers are blooming, but the fruits are yet to come in Beltane.

One of the most important correspondences with Ostara is Easter, as both represent rebirth. Come and learn more facets and curiosities of this unique celebration!

Ostara

Ostara is the blossoming of life after the long winter. The energy of spring balances light and shadow, respectively day and night. The Triple Goddess presents herself as a young Maiden while at this stage the little God already takes the form of a young hunter.

This is the time when they court each other, representing the blossoming of love, dreams and goals. Ostara represents the fertility of feeling. It is precisely by the figure of rabbits and eggs in Ostara that one understands their energy work: the renewal of life.

Through this renewal one understands the meaning of procreation and fertilization, whether on the maternal plane or on the plane of ideas. Without a doubt, Ostara is one of the most important festivities of the Wheel of the Year.

When it occurs

The symbolism and energy of the Ostara celebration occurs at the Spring Equinox, the point of balance between light and shadows (day and night). In the northern hemisphere Ostara is celebrated around the 21st of March for followers of the Northern Year Wheel, while in the southern hemisphere the festival is celebrated around the 21st of September (Southern Year Wheel).

The First Day of Spring

When Ostara arrives, you have the first day of spring. This is the mark of prosperity, fertility and abundance as everything begins to grow again at this time. Along with this and the blossoming of nature in the process of rebirth, the little God is more mature and begins the hunt for love, seeking to conquer the Goddess so that they can unite and bear fruit later on.

Homage to the Oster Goddess

The Triple Goddess has her facet attached to that of a young maiden at this time. Here she is represented, in many cases, as the pagan goddess Oster, who is associated with rebirth, fertility, prosperity and abundance. For this reason, Oster is associated with the figure of rabbits and eggs, representing fertility and the multiplicity of prosperity through love.

Correspondence

Ostara has a very famous correspondence: Easter. Easter brings the idea of the resurrected Christ after his death on the cross, which transcends death and brought a new perspective of life and love to humanity. Christ was reborn even stronger in the hearts of the faithful, just as the energy of Ostara is reborn with hope and love after a hard winter.

Beltane, when it occurs and matches

All the joy and festivity contained in Ostara culminates in Beltane, the culmination of Spring. This is the most fertile, auspicious and captivating time of the festivities, for Beltane enchants anyone who allows its energy of love and unity to entwine those who surrender to it.

Here the union of beings occurs, and the fruit of love and constructions grow insatiably. Ancient peoples celebrated Beltane in April in the northern hemisphere and in October in the southern hemisphere.

All the magic of Beltane represents the desire, the pleasure of existing and being who you are, to the point of generating fruit through this. One of the festivities that is corresponded to Beltane is the feast of St. John, where people dance with your partner, there are weddings and much love. Come learn more about Beltane!

Beltane

As spring progresses, the heat will intensify and allow life to be stimulated to become so fertile as to generate new life. In Beltane, the Triple Goddess and the God unite in their young forms, fertilizing the world around them with love, power, and fulfillment.

In this moment it is possible to gestate life and new beginnings from unions with oneself or with the other. While in Ostara young people seek their dreams through rites such as the "egg hunt", in Beltane one finds enjoyment and satiation in finding one's desires.

Beltane and Samhain express the complementary idea between life and death, respectively, showing the need to let go and accept finitude in order to start a new cycle of new dreams, desires and achievements.

When it occurs

Beltane, the largest of the Wheel of the Year festivals, occurs in mid-April 30 in the northern hemisphere, while in the southern hemisphere the date is celebrated in mid-October 31. This is when people celebrated the sacred fire of Bel, the pagan god associated with fire and fertility, who brought life to all pagans.

Fertility

The key point of Beltane is fertility. It is at this moment that the God and the Goddess unite to copulate life, it is at this moment that the sacred fire of Bel (hence the term Beltane) is accessed to bring the flame of intensification of life, besides being the moment of fertility in agricultural productions. This is the energy of Beltane: to fertilize and provide auspicious and pleasurable fruits to humanity.

Beltane for the Celts

For the Celts, Beltane was the most propitious time for the fertilization and copulation of life. At this time the fires of the God Bel were lit on hilltops and masts were raised with colored ribbons, which were braided in a magnetic dance to connect the pairs. After much dancing and bountiful food, the pairs would come together to drink of love and feel each other, celebrating life, union and love.

Correspondence

The joy of Beltane is strongly associated with one of the festivities that most captivate individuals: the Julian festivals, especially the feast of St. John. It is no wonder that there are so many dances, abundant and delicious food and the typical "wedding" in them. Both Beltane and St. John celebrate the joy of life after a prosperous harvest, as well as valuing the union between those who love each other.

Litha, when it occurs and correspondences

Beltane marks the culmination point of Spring, while Litha represents the entrance of the Summer Solstice. At this time, the days are longer than the nights, symbolizing the dominance of light, the sun in life on Earth.

When Litha arrives life pulsates in an intense way, accelerating the processes begun in Beltane, here the energy is at its peak. In the northern and southern hemispheres the celebration of Litha occurs in mid-June and December respectively.

The representation of Litha's splendor, brightness and happiness brings the figure of the strong and older God, together with the image of the Triple Goddess, pregnant and exuding fertility. The high levels of happiness make Litha very close to the June festivities. Come and know more about Litha!

Litha

Litha is the mark of the celebration of splendor, brightness and fertility. On Litha the days are longer than the nights, representing solar energy, happiness and the overflow of love.

As in Beltane, Litha also includes bonfires and the "pula chamas", in which the individuals share in this action the energy of the fire, recharging them with vitality and joy to move forward.

When it occurs

The warm and lively festival of Litha is celebrated in the middle of June 22 for the followers of the Northern Year Wheel, i.e. those living in the Northern Hemisphere, while individuals living in countries allocated in the Southern Hemisphere and following the Southern Year Wheel, celebrate the festival of Litha in the middle of December 22.

The First Day of Summer

The First day of Summer marks a great energetic vortex: the transcendence of heat. At this moment the Sun is at its maximum point of irradiation of luminous rays on Earth. Consequently day overcomes night, life gains vitality to spread throughout the regions blessed by Summer.

Union of the Goddess and the God in Beltane

The God and the Goddess united in Beltane to celebrate fertility and love. From this moment of union, love and happiness a great gift was generated: a new life. The Goddess is pregnant in Litha and the God celebrates the joy of this moment by sharing the warmth of life through the intense solar presence on Earth. In Litha the process of union of the Gods continues: the gestation of dreams.

Litha customs

In Litha it is very customary to light bonfires and jump over them, representing the contact with the sacred fire, receiving part of its energetic power. Another custom present in Litha is the act of harvesting herbs on the first day of summer, because the energy of the God exudes vitality in the plants grown, enhancing the healing power for medicinal and ritualistic use.

Correspondence

All the vitality and joy contained in Litha is associated with the June festivities. Both in Litha and in the June festivities, there is the union of people to celebrate prosperity, joy and love, there is the use of bonfires, dancing around the flames and a lot of fun. It is important to remember that this is only an association, it does not mean that the Litha festivity gave origin to the June festivities.

Lammas, when it occurs and correspondences

After the vitality existing in Litha and the application of solar energy in the processes initiated in Beltane, Lammas represents the moment of harvest. In Lammas the Sun begins to diminish little by little its incidence of solar rays, representing the beginning of the exhaustion of the Sun God's vitality.

He is older and shares his last strength by blessing the harvest. Lammas occurs around two months after the Litha festival. In this festival one understands the real meaning of reaping what one has planted in the past dates, after all it will be a harvest period.

One of the most famous correspondences with the Lammas festival is the legend of the Indian Goddess Mani, a symbol of prosperity, abundance and harvest for native Brazilians. Find out more about Lammas below!

Lammas

Lammas is one of the decisive moments of the Wheel of the Year, for it will symbolize the harvest of all that has been invested, sown and battled from Ostara until this moment. The God is older, his energy is ending and what little he has left is shared with all life around him, to be nurtured and grow to its fullest to be harvested before winter arrives.

When it occurs

Lammas begins when the sun's rays begin to diminish little by little until the days are the same length as night. In the Northern Year Round, north of the equator, Lammas is celebrated in the middle of July 31. Meanwhile, the festival is celebrated in the middle of February 2 in the Southern Year Round, in the southern hemisphere.

Lughnasadh

In Gaelic-Irish the word "Lughnasadh" means the celebration of Lugh. Lughnasadh represents the Festival of the First Harvest, where the pagan God Lugh was the keeper of the sacred fire (as well as the God Bel), which symbolizes the prosperity of the harvest coming from the hard work performed through the fire of Beltane and Litha. Whoever works constantly, has a bountiful harvest.

Customs and traditions

It is a custom in Lammas to create corn straw dolls to symbolize protection for the harvest and the coming plantings. These corn dolls were offered to the God Lugh and were kept until the next Lammas.

Last year's puppets were burned in a cauldron, along with thanks for the year's harvest. This is an ancient way of letting go of the past and accepting the new.

Correspondence

One of the main correspondences with Lammas is the legend of the Goddess Mani from Brazilian folklore. The daughter of a tribal chief appeared pregnant with a divine child named Mani. Mani grew up and precociously developed unique abilities.

After a year of life she died and was buried in a hollow in which her mother watered daily. From Mani's body came the manioc, a root that represented prosperity for feeding the whole tribe, just as the God did by donating his energy.

Mabon, when it occurs and correspondences

Mabon marks the Autumn Equinox, the days and nights have the same length, representing the balance of light and shadows. Its symbolism represents the gratitude of the final harvest.

The God is already old and preparing for his death and leaves the Goddess pregnant, but with the fruits of the harvest the Goddess will nurture herself and her child, along with the rest of their followers.

Mabon occurs in mid-September and March in the northern and southern hemispheres, respectively. A commemorative date that corresponds to the symbolism of thanksgiving for the harvest is the Thanksgiving celebrated by the early English settlers. Below are more curious facts about the Mabon festival, don't miss out!

Mabon

The energy of Mabon represents the Second Great Harvest, the conclusion of a cycle of harvests and thanks for all agricultural prosperity achieved. In Mabon the Sun God walks towards his death, to be reborn when the Triple Goddess gives birth to her son. The main ideal is the gratitude for everything achieved and the preparation for the arrival of winter and the process of death and rebirth that will beexperienced at Samhain.

When it occurs

The Autumn Equinox begins in the middle of September 21 for those who follow the Northern Year Wheel (Northern Hemisphere) and to the followers of the Southern Year Wheel, located in the Southern Hemisphere, Autumn begins in the middle of March 21. It is on these dates that the pagan peoples, wiccans, witches commemorate the celebration/sabbat of Mabon.

Customs and traditions

One of the main customs of Mabon is to use part of the harvest to prepare a banquet in order to thank the Gods for all the blessings and protection that the population and the harvest itself received. It is an ancient tradition to build cornucopias (baskets) filled with fruits of the harvest, decorated with flowers and typical cereals to add to the banquet celebrated by all.

Correspondence

The gratitude around Mabon is vivid, as is the festivity of Thanksgiving. When the first settlers arrived in North America, they faced bitter cold and in the face of inclement weather learned to grow food, and the first harvest they had, they offered a feast provided by the harvest itself to the Christian God, giving thanks for the blessings of the planting.

Sabbat, what they represent and relationship to witchcraft

The Sabbat is a denomination for exclusive meetings for witches, a moment dedicated to their rites and celebrations. Each witches' Sabbat represents a particularity of the egregore and aims to commemorate, give thanks and move energies of each of the eight main commemorations related to the energies present in the wheel of the Celtic year.

The relationship of the Sabbat with witchcraft is in the energetic manipulation performed with each of the elements associated with each of the rituals. Food, candles, chants and special materials are used in each ritual, representing: life, death, rebirth, harvest, gratitude in the rites. Come and learn much more about the Sabbats and their relationship with witchcraft!

What is the Sabbat

The Sabbat functions as a gathering with some members of an esoteric coven, aiming to perform rituals, celebrations and commemorations in relation to the base points of the Celtic Year Wheel.

It is on the Sabbath that the energetic manipulation of certain elements occurs in order to fulfill a proper objective. There are Sabbats that last more than a day, depending on their ritualistics.

What the Sabbats represent

The Sabbats represent moments of union among the members of a coven to perform rituals and celebrations associated with the symbologies and energies of the Wheel of the Year. The members unite to manipulate energies, and each one has a specific function in the rites, denominating the importance of the union of the individuals of the coven (groups of witches).

Witchcraft Rituals on the Sabbaths

There are many witchcraft rituals that are performed on Sabbaths. This is because each ritual has its function and purpose to be fulfilled, so they are associated with the energies of each celebration of the Celtic Year Wheel.

It is in this union that witches align themselves with the energies of nature and universe to potentiate their rituals according to the cyclicality of life. It is important to pay attention to each symbology of each sabbat, because these archetypes will be worked through the association to common elements of each date.

For example, in Beltane there is the use of fire in the rituals, while in Mabon grain and cereals are used in the rites. The key point is to understand that each ritual will have its own elements to potentiate the energy evoked.

Are other cultures or beliefs also based on the Celtic wheel of the year?

It is important to remember that the pagan culture of worship of the gods and nature derives from pre-literate history to the fall of the Roman Empire and the rise of Christianity. The Catholic church gains strength and begins with persecutions of the pagans.

However, much of the knowledge of the world was tied to the idea of polytheism and nature, so the Catholic church needed to adapt. Adaptation was a way to deconstruct one idea and incorporate another as a form of control.

Thus, Celtic year-round festivities such as Ostara were associated with Easter, Beltane with St. John's Day, Yule with Christmas, Lammas with Candlemas, and Samhain with All Saints' Day. Other peoples such as Mexicans and Japanese have similar year-round celebrations, always extolling nature and the sun.