The History of Holidays
(as celebrated by Satanists)

The following is a detailed history of each holiday that we as Satanists celebrate in one calendar year. Within each definition, you will not find anything about Satanism, only about the actual history of the holiday, but I am sure that you will figure out, while you read this, why these holidays were chosen.

The Spring Equinox: March 21st, Satanist new year or Crux.

As the newly reborn sun races across the sky, the days become longer, the air warmer and, once again, life begins to return to the land. Twice a year, day and night become equal in length. To the elders of the Olde Way, these times, equinoxes, were markers in which seeds would be planted and then harvested. The first of these, the Spring or Vernal Equinox occurs on or about March 21st.

The ancient goddess, Eostre, a Saxon deity who marked not only the passage of time but also symbolized new life and fertility, was the key symbol of this celebration which was also known as Ostara. Legend has it that the goddess was saved by a bird whose wings had become frozen by the cold of winter. This process turned the bird into a hare. Yet this was no ordinary cottontail; this long_eared rabbit could also lay eggs! The main symbols for Easter are the egg, for new life or beginnings, and the rabbit/hare, for fertility.

Celebrating the Vernal Equinox

While the Vernal Equinox was an important point of passage in the year, the actual method of marking the festival varied from village to village and people to people. Rituals and invocations for abundance in the new crops being planted would often be held during the new moon closest to the Equinox (traditionally a good time to plant). In some places this was also the time when promises were made between lovers for the Handfasting Ceremony that would come at Midsummer.

In a very real sense the ceremony was an expression of hope and trust in the new lives that would blossom in the warmth of summer. Even the latter day celebration (comparatively speaking) of Easter acknowledged the significance of the Vernal Equinox. The Council of Nice decreed in 325 A.D. that Easter was to fall upon the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after the Vernal Equinox. This time of equality between day and night has been, and continues to be, a timekeeper, marking our passage from darkness and cold to warmth and light.

Relationship to Easter

As Christianity spread across Europe and Britain, these older symbols became incorporated into the new faith's holiday of Easter; even the name seems to have been a variant of the Goddess whose festival was originally celebrated with the arrival of spring. The old rites honouring the planting of new seeds, the fertility of the land and its people, and the hope of the new life arising in the world were replaced by solemn displays commemorating Christ and Christian beliefs.

Spring Cleaning

The Vernal Equinox is a time of renewal, both in Nature and in the Home. More than just physical activity, "spring cleaning" removes any negative energy accumulated over the dark winter months and prepares the home for the positive growing energy of spring and summer.

Beltane or Walpurgisnacht: April 30th, Day of lust and indulgence.

Cross Quarter Day May 1 - May Day is closely connected to the evening before it - the "Walpurgisnacht" or May Eve. Its roots can be found in pre-Christian Frühjahrsfests. Walpurgisnacht is situated directly opposite Halloween and is the end marker in the seasonal cycle which begins with Candlemas/Groundhog Day. Children play pranks on unsuspecting victims around midnight on April 30, similar to Halloween, and some even dress up as witches and evil spirits. The Brocken, the highest peak in the Harz Mountains, is known as the mythical meeting place of the witches. Witches' fires may burn in some places. Since noise was deemed the most effective way to drive off evil spirits many ways of making noise are known. On May Day earth spirits like fairies and elves (the ancient dead) would come out of the hills and barrows to dance on May Eve and well into the summer.

May 1 marks the final victory of Spring over Winter, but before departing, the witches and their cohorts have one last fling. The night from April 30 to May 1 is called "Walpurgisnacht", the night of Walpurgis or Walpurga. The festival is marked by numerous rituals to ward off evil. Legend has it that on Walpurgisnacht the witches would gather on the Brocken, the highest peak in the Harz Mountains. Because of the Walpurgisnacht scene in Goethe's Faust, in which Mephistopheles takes Faust to the Brocken and has him revel with the witches, the witches gathering became widely known.

Under Christian influence Walpurgisnacht became a fest to drive out evil spirits. Walpurgis derives its name from Walpurga or Walburga. Walburga, Abbess of Heidenheim near Eichstätt, a Catholic Saint, was known as the protectoress against witchcraft and sorcery. On the Eve of May 1, bells may toll in some areas and prayers may be said; there may be blessings with holy-water and blessed sprigs can be found in homes and barns. The most widespread remedy against evil spirits during Walpurgisnacht is noise. As soon as the sun sets, boys of all ages may make noise. Their equipment ranges from boards to beat onto the ground to pistols for firing shots.

In Bavaria the night from April 30 to May 1 is called a Freinacht or Drudennacht. For youth it is an opportunity to play tricks. They may stroll in groups through the streets and wind toilet-paper around cars, smear door-handles with tooth-paste, unhinge garden doors and carry them a few meters away, and they may displace shoe scrapers. It is said that at one time boys took a sparred-frame cart to pieces and reassembled it on the roof of the house of the owner.

The festival is marked by numerous rituals to ward off evil. On the eve of May 1st the bells toll in Luxembourg and many prayers are said, there are blessings with holy-water and blessed-palms in the homes and barns. In Schmalkalden in Thueringen the little girls, dressed as Hexen themselves, chase out the Walpermännchen. They wear paper hats and sometimes carry sticks in their hands. Similarly, in the south Harz region, the young boys ride stick-horses and chase the Hexen out of the fields.

The most widespread remedy against evil spirits during Walpurgisnacht is noise. The boys begin making noise as soon as the sun sets. In Bohemia boards are beaten onto the ground in front of the houses, accompanied by this chant: "Hex geh raus, 's brennt dei Haus." Whoever hears a pistol shot on that evening is supposed to say, "Schiess mei Hex a mit!" In Lippe the noise is referred to as "Maiklappen." A lot of noise is especially made in front of the houses of married couples who are childless, because it is believed that it is necessary to "further the blessings."

In the Berner Jura the shephard boys, on the eve of May 1, stand atop the manure-piles and crack whips in order to drive away wolves. The wolf is the incarnation of evil, and symbolizes the departure of winter. The manure-pile symbolizes fertility of the fields and gardens, and therefore is often the locale where prayers are said. Farmers who don't have as many cattle help each other out in the summer.

They make a pledge-group, which takes this form in Donaueschingen: they go to a nearby chapel and pray, then they climb together onto a manure-pile, hold hands, and say "Mir (=wir) gmaren miteinand," which means "we are helping each other to bring home hay and grain with our cattle." [i.e. they are sharing each other's manure-piles, which is sprayed onto the fields as fertilizer].

The Summer Solstice: June 21st, Day of Celebrating ones sense of humor.

With the warmth of the season caressing the land, the celebration of the Summer Solstice brings forth a truly joyous recognition that we can now enjoy the fruits of our labors in the past season. It is not surprising that this same spirit of pleasure and fun had carried over into our modern-day recognition of this, the longest day of the year.

The Summer Solstice is a time of light and of fire, both in honor of the dominance of the sun.

Dreams

It is said that whatever is dreamed this night will come to pass—certainly Shakespeare acknowledged the magic of this time in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Falling on or about June 22nd, this is a time in which the Moon makes her influence felt on the planet and its inhabitants—the highest tides of the year occur on Midsummer Night’s Eve.

The First Harvest

This is the time of the first harvest, which usually consisted of the herbs planted during the Vernal Equinox. Used for food, medicines and ritual, these gifts of the land clearly denote the importance of the harvest and the cycle of growth to the body, mind and soul.

June Weddings

With all the reference to the cycle of life, it is small wonder that June has been the month for both Handfastings (trothing to one another in the Olde Way) and weddings. The pull to bring forth the harvest of feelings is as bountiful as the harvest of the land.

Even today, as we enjoy our summer vacations, we, too, reap the bounty of the past season of labor and renew ourselves to face the coming of fall.

The Summer Solstice and Honeymoons

The moon of Midsummer is, in pagan tradition, called the “Honey Moon” from the mead made of fermented honey drunk after the many marriage ceremonies held on the Summer Solstice.

Lughnasad/lammas: July 31st, Day of the celebration of being the predator not prey.

Although in the heat of a Mid-western summer it might be difficult to discern, the festival of Lammas (Aug 1st) marks the end of summer and the beginning of fall. The days now grow visibly shorter and by the time we've reached autumn's end (Oct 31st), we will have run the gamut of temperature from the heat of August to the cold and (sometimes) snow of November. And in the midst of it, a perfect Mid-western autumn.

The history of Lammas is as convoluted as all the rest of the old folk holidays. It is of course a cross-quarter day, one of the four High Holidays or Greater Sabbats of Witchcraft, occurring 1/4 of a year after Beltane. It's true astrological point is 15 degrees Leo, which occurs at 1:18 am CDT, Aug 6th this year (1988), but tradition has set August 1st as the day Lammas is typically celebrated. The celebration proper would begin on sundown of the previous evening, our July 31st, since the Celts reckon their days from sundown to sundown.

However, British Witches often refer to the astrological date of Aug 6th as Old Lammas, and folklorists call it Lammas O.S. ("Old Style"). This date has long been considered a "power point" of the Zodiac, and is symbolized by the Lion, one of the "tetramorph" figures found on the Tarot cards, the World and the Wheel of Fortune (the other three figures being the Bull, the Eagle, and the Spirit). Astrologers know these four figures as the symbols of the four "fixed" signs of the Zodiac, and these naturally align with the four Great Sabbats of Witchcraft. Christians have adopted the same iconography to represent the four gospel-writers.

"Lammas" was the medieval Christian name for the holiday and it means "loaf-mass", for this was the day on which loaves of bread were baked from the first grain harvest and laid on the church altars as offerings. It was a day representative of "first fruits" and early harvest.

In Irish Gaelic, the feast was referred to as "Lugnasadh", a feast to commemorate the funeral games of the Irish sun-god Lugh. However, there is some confusion on this point. Although at first glance, it may seem that we are celebrating the death of the Lugh, the god of light does not really die (mythically) until the autumnal equinox. And indeed, if we read the Irish myths closer, we discover that it is not Lugh's death that is being celebrated, but the funeral games which Lugh hosted to commemorate the death of his foster- mother, Taillte. That is why the Lugnasadh celebrations in Ireland are often called the "Tailltean Games".

One common feature of the Games were the "Tailltean marriages", a rather informal marriage that lasted for only "a year and a day" or until next Lammas. At that time, the couple could decide to continue the arrangement if it pleased them, or to stand back to back and walk away from one another, thus bringing the Tailltean marriage to a formal close. Such trial marriages (obviously related to the Wiccan "Handfasting") were quite common even into the 1500's, although it was something one "didn't bother the parish priest about". Indeed, such ceremonies were usually solemnized by a poet, bard, or shanachie (or, it may be guessed, by a priest or priestess of the Old Religion).

Lammastide was also the traditional time of year for craft festivals. The medieval guilds would create elaborate displays of their wares, decorating their shops and themselves in bright colors and ribbons, marching in parades, and performing strange, ceremonial plays and dances for the entranced onlookers. The atmosphere must have been quite similar to our modern-day Renaissance Festivals, such as the one celebrated in near-by Bonner Springs, Kansas, each fall.

A ceremonial highlight of such festivals was the "Catherine wheel". Although the Roman Church moved St. Catherine's feast day all around the calender with bewildering frequency, it's most popular date was Lammas. (They also kept trying to expel this much-loved saint from the ranks of the blessed because she was mythical rather than historical, and because her worship gave rise to the heretical sect known as the Cathari.) At any rate, a large wagon wheel was taken to the top of a near-by hill, covered with tar, set aflame, and ceremoniously rolled down the hill. Some mythologists see in this ritual the remnants of a Pagan rite symbolizing the end of summer, the flaming disk representing the sun-god in his decline. And just as the sun king has now reached the autumn of his years, his rival or dark self has just reached puberty.

Many commentators have bewailed the fact that traditional Gardnerian and Alexandrian Books of Shadows say very little about the holiday of Lammas, stating only that poles should be ridden and a circle dance performed. This seems strange, for Lammas is a holiday of rich mythic and cultural associations, providing endless resources for liturgical celebration.

The Autumn Equinox: September 21st, Time to reflect on ones self.

As with the Vernal Equinox, the Autumnal or Fall Equinox, also known as Mabon to those who follow the Olde Way, is the time when day and night are equal. Here the land is full of the gifts of nature and the effort of humankind.

The night air has a tang about it, the darkness of winter is coming and it's time for the earth to sleep until the sun is again brought forth from the dark.

The Second Harvest

In the ancient cycle of the year, this was actually the second harvest; the first harvest festival occurs on August 1st and is known as Lammas. As methods of agriculture became more uniform and sophisticated, the autumn harvest was moved back until the last possible growing time was completed to maximize its size. As such, the Autumnal Equinox became synonymous with not only the completion of the harvest, but also the end of summer.

Relationship to Thanksgiving

This final gathering of the crops and the beginning of preparations for the long winter that lay ahead marked a time of thanksgiving for all that Nature had given her children and for the completion of another turn of the Great Wheel.

Although an essential part of human life, celebrating the bounty of the harvest would not appear in the post_Christian era until the late 1500s and early 1600s by those individuals whom history would later call "Pilgrims". Gateway to Winter The Autumnal Equinox marks the beginning of shorter days and longer nights. We gather with friends to strengthen our spirits in preparation for the passage into Winter. But it is a time of thanksgiving, for on the other side of that dark Winter is Spring.

Mabon, much like the modern day Thanksgiving, was a time for feasting, celebrating the good fortune of the previous year and preparing for the long months of winter that were ahead.

All Hollows Eve or Halloween or SamHain: October 31st, The Fire festival, the time to settle the score with destruction rituals, curses, and Revenge.

Halloween (Allhallows Even) was observed by some churches with religious services. However, most persons regarded it as a secular festival. In its strictly religious aspect, it is known as the vigil of Hallowmas or All Saints' Day, observed on November 1 by the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches.

The festival of Halloween is based on a combination of the Christian commemoration of the departed faithful (All Saints' Day) with the pre-Christian Celtic feast associated with a celebration of the end of summer and the Celtic New Year. Celts who lived in what is now known as Ireland, Scotland and parts of Great Britain celebrated their new year that began November 1. Allhallows' Even was observed on the evening of October 31st. Around 800 A.D., the day became known among Christians as Allhallomas which eventually changed to All Hallow E'en, or Halloween.

Celtic peoples adopted Christianity quickly, easily, and strongly. The conversion of Celtic peoples did not, however, keep them from celebrating some of their old customs. Attempts to replace the year-end custom in the old Celtic calendar were only partially successful. Some of our Halloween traditions date back to these early times.

Summer's end and the celebration of a good harvest has always been an important event in the life of agrarian peoples. Samhain "Hallowday" or Samfuin (sam + fuin) summer's end, marked the end of the yearly cycle and was celebrated with both religious and agrarian rites. It was the period for threshing and of food preparation for the winter season. On that evening, so it was believed, present, past, and future became one. Celts gave thanks for the safe return of their cattle to winter quarters, and invoked their gods for prosperity and good crops for the coming year.

Samhain was both the "end of summer" and a commemoration of the dead. The spirits of the departed were believed to visit their kinsmen in search of warmth and good cheer as winter approached. It was a time when evil, as well as good, spirits returned to the living. Fairies were believed to migrate from one home to another, and Hallowe'en was the time when humans kidnapped by elfin folk could reclaim their lost loves or relatives.

Jack-O'-Lanterns were scooped out of turnips with skull-like faces carved into them. This may reflect the ancient custom of placing skulls around the tribal fire to keep evil demons away. Bobbing for apples is a relic of the "Ordeal by Water," signifying the passage of the soul to the hereafter over the waters separating them. To encourage fertility, the Halloween cat, the black cat, became a familiar symbol of Halloween. Some believed that if you held a mirror and ate an apple at the same time, you would see the reflection of your future mate in the mirror.

Immigrants from Ireland, Scotland and England, brought secular Halloween customs to the U.S. but the festival did not become popular until the latter part of the 19th century, at the time of the mass immigration from Ireland after 1840. Halloween grew and changed over the years, with people, including those of other ethnic groups, adding (or subtracting) things from it. The association with ghosts and spirits goes back to older pagan customs. Germans took to celebrating Halloween with gusto. For them dressing up reminded them of "Fasnacht," "Karneval" and "Fasching" in the old country with masks and costumes; and witches and black cats reminded them of Walpurgisnacht and of fairy tales like "Hansel and Gretel."

Witches entered Halloween in the 19th century. One of the most important witches Sabbaths was held on Halloween. Witches were alleged to fly to these meetings on broomsticks, accompanied by black cats, who were their constant companions. Magical rites and ceremonies were performed by witches from all over the region at a sacred spot.

It is to the role of the witches in Halloween that Germans could relate especially well. The most famous sacred spot for witches was in the Harz* mountain region of Germany. Until the 18th century, maps of Germany showed witches hovering over this spot, the Blocksberg/Brocken. For Germans Halloween blended with the "Walpurgisnacht," and the Witches Sabbath on the night leading into May 1st. On that day, bonfires, the Maifeuer (May fires) are burnt in the old country, to drive away the witches and the horned god, the devil.

Halloween, as we know it in America, with all the folk stories and urban legends, is a distinctly American phenomenon, with the "Trick or Treat"-bit appearing after 1930. The "trick or treat"-custom resembles an old Irish practice associated with Halloween Eve. Groups of peasants went from house to house demanding food and other gifts in preparation for the evening's festivities. Prosperity was assured for the liberal donors and threats were made against the stingy ones. A similar custom was practiced, and still is in some areas, by Germans. Knocking on doors for food and drink is practiced during the Karneval Season or at New Years. Best known is the custom of the Star Singers on Epiphany, carolers going from door to door, singing and collecting for poor relief or overseas missions.

Pranks such as wandering groups of celebrants blocking doors of houses, carrying away gates and plows, tapping on windows and throwing vegetables at doors (corn candy), also struck a familiar note. In rural areas and small towns, especially of Bavaria and Austria, tricks and pranks are to this day practiced in such customs as "stealing the Maibaum" in Bavaria.

The U.S.-style Halloween was returned by the Irish and the Scots to the countries of origin and became popular in England since the late 1960s with one exception, "Trick or Treat," even the phrase was not then used (although it seems to become used now). Nor was it accepted that failure to offer a "treat" was grounds for trickery, pranks and even vandalism.

Halloween has also entered Germany. It is celebrated at Burg Frankenstein where a connection between the castle and Mary Shelley's novel has been established. (See "In Search Of Frankenstein" by Radu Florescu, Robson Books Ltd. London; and "Burg Frankenstein - Mythen, Märchen und das Monster" by Walter Scheele, Fouque-Verlag, Egelsbach).

Today some families and even parishes hold group celebrations, often with costumes of the saints, poor souls or famous Catholics and other elements, to reinforce the Christian side of Halloween's origins.

The tendency to manipulate (often for commercial gain) rather than to celebrate folk festivals reflects the growing influence of a rational outlook on life and the progressive loss of folk vitality. The secular character of American culture is reflected as well in the public neglect of the religious significance of Halloween. Only the children with their costumes, masks and the "trick or treat" custom, keep the spooky and irrational--even if only pretending--from becoming another casualty of modernity.

Witches and black cats, ghosts and Frankensteins, ghosts' heads carved from pumpkins, candles, bobbing for apples, the "trick or treat" custom, candy and food, masks, parties and innocent little pranks also express joy in the present and the life-giving harvest that ensured the future.

Cider, Lemon juice, cinnamon sticks and other herbs will make a wonderful treat. For a bewitching cold or hot cider brew add chunks of dry ice to the cider, after mixing it with cold water. The mixture will bubble and steam and provide a delicious spooky treat.

"Chiller," a spooky album from Erich Kunzel with the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra is available as a CD from Musical Heritage with selections from Lloyd-Webber: The Phantom of the Opera, Mussorgsky: Night on Bald Mountain; Berlioz: The Damnation of Faust; Waxman: The Bride of Frankenstein; Goldsmith: Poltergeist and much more, including digital sound effects.

The Harz Mountains, 2,000 square kilometers of untouched nature, with woods, wild romantic valleys, bizarre caves, quiet streams and roaring waterfalls that inspired famous poets, such as Goethe and Heine it is an area with sagas and legends shrouded in mystery.

Notorious creatures live on the Brocken peak - witches. In Germanic history, witches were once women or goddesses of the woods, later priestesses, female doctors and marvelous women of the night who were first worshipped, then gazed at timidly and finally damned. In the Harz mountains the night of the witches, the "Walpurgisnacht," is a big event. In popular Christian beliefs, the Walpurgis night belongs to the witches and women who can perform magic. It falls on the eve of May 1, the feast day of St. Walpurga. She came to Germany from England in the 8th century to spread the Christian word and performed many miracles. According to popular beliefs, St. Walpurga is pursued by mean spirits, demons and witches riding on brooms in the Walpurgis night. Anyone who helps her shall be rewarded with gold, the tale goes. In the Harz mountains the Walpurgis night is always a happy festival. Witches with pointed noses and hats, with twig brooms between their legs and wearing a colorful scarf around their necks hang in the streets. In the Harz villages, especially those near the Brocken, people have a good time celebrating.

ALLERHEILIGEN AND ALLERSEELEN

Days remembering and commemorating the dead have been observed by peoples all over the world. In the northern countries, as days grew shorter and nights longer and as the year wound down, it became a time to focus on the mystery of human death. Especially in Germany there are, in November, many commemorations of the dead. Allerheiligen (All Saints) and Allerseelen (All Souls) are celebrated in Catholic areas at the beginning of November. November 9 is the commemoration of the Kristallnacht (crystal night) pogrom. On the 3rd Sunday in November the German Volkstrauertag (Memorial Day) is observed. On the last Sunday before Advent is Totensonntag (Sunday of the Dead) when Protestant Christians remember their dead. It corresponds to the Catholic All Souls Day. On the Wednesday before, the original Protestant "Buss- und Bettag" (Day of Repentance and Prayer) takes place. The last Sunday before Advent is also the last Sunday of the Church Year. The new Church Year is ushered in with Advent and the expectation of Christmas.
All Saints/All Souls became focal points of veneration of the dead ever since Pope Gregory in 835 initiated the church wide celebration. Dates still fluctuate somewhat. In Bavaria and Austria the time between October 30 through November 8 is celebrated as "Seelenwoche" (All Souls Week). Hallowtide is a time to remember and honor the dead, and it is a time when the "veil between the worlds," this world and the next, is "thinner" than normally.

By the end of the middle ages, the celebration of Allhallows Eve was an established part of the calendar of the Roman Catholic Church. However, after the Reformation, Protestants rejected Halloween and did not recognize All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day, because of strict adherence to the Ten Commandments, among which honoring the dead is not mentioned. Good deeds should not be carried out for the dead, but for the living. However, the Lutheran Church was not able to keep people from their need to commemorate their dead. Thus "Totensonntag" (Sunday of the Dead) was initiated, to be celebrated by Protestants on the Sunday before the first Sunday in Advent.

Allerheiligen/All Saint's Day was at first celebrated to honor all martyrs, later including all saints, known and unknown, and it now honors all those who died in the faith. The Catholic calendar is filled with names of saints and martyrs on the day when they died for their faith in Jesus Christ. Some were celebrated locally by observing the anniversary of their death, as a feast in honor of their birth into eternal life. The preservation of relics was a wide-spread custom. Devout Catholics would take the name of the saint on whose feast they were baptized and would celebrate their nameday every year. Over the centuries, as saints were added, a need for a common feast of all saints was becoming evident. It was first introduced in 610, when on May 13, Pope Boniface IV consecrated the ancient Roman Pantheon as a temple of the Blessed Virgin and All Martyrs ("Sancta Maria ad martyres"). Beginning with Gregory III the celebration of a feast of All Saints was commemorated at St. Peters on November 1. In 835 Pope Gregory IV extended this feast to the entire Church.

The feast of Allerseelen/All Souls developed more gradually, first with a monastic celebration of the departed at the French Monastery of Cluny in 998, it was then expanded to other monasteries, orders and dioceses. It was especially for the "Armen Seelen" those poor souls who were still in purgatory and had not yet reached their full communion with God.

Beginning in the 14th century it was celebrated just one day later, on November 2. Because All Souls' Day confronted people with death and their deceased relatives, All Saints' Day lost much of its earlier radiance. Requiem masses, cemetery processions, decorated graves with flowers and wreaths, alms and good deeds, were intended to shorten the time of suffering of the souls of the deceased in purgatory.

All Saints/All Souls over time became a celebration of the community and the extended family. All dead of a village will congregate for the "Geistermesse." All living members of a family try to return to their native village. In procession one moves to the graveyard and the graves, decorated and lighted with small lamps. The custom of decorating the graves makes the symbolic connection between the graveyard "Gottesacker" and the Garden of Eden, the lost paradise, where Adam and Eve were placed at creation. Now, the souls of the ancestors are to rediscover paradise after the difficult path through purgatory. Placing candles on the grave goes back to the idea that light is necessary for illumination and to see God.

In Catholic Austria at noon on All Saints' Day there may be a whole hour of "Schidungsläuten" or "Seelenausläuten." The souls are released until in the morning after All Souls the bells give the sign for parting. The customs in Austria are determined by a belief in a bodily presence. At All Saints/All Souls the departed are everywhere, in the dark, above the graves of the cemetery, on the paths in the fields, they travel in the wind and can be in frogs and toads. They are in church and walk alongside the living and sit at the table at meal time.

Frequently donations of food will be given to the poor or to children. The children receive gifts from the god parents or walk around the village in "Heischeumzügen" (asking for a small gift) with an All Souls song.

In Germany Allerheiligen/All Saint's Day on November 1 is an official holiday. People visit and spruce up the graves of their loved ones, and to bring a flower arrangement, a heart, wreath or cross made of evergreens and pines. German graves are planted with evergreens and flowers all year round. In 1993 the author of this participated in the All Saints/All Souls celebration in a small village in Bavaria. In the "Allerheiligen Gottesdienst" (church service), the sermon dealt with "all saints," all those, past and present who live a godly life. Family members, living out of town returned to the village. At noon there was a big family dinner followed by a procession to the cemetery. In the afternoon another family gathering took place at home for "Kaffee und Kuchen." On the next morning, All Souls' Day, there was a church service and prayers for the dead.

All Saints'/All Souls' Day services as serious Christian observations are limited to the Catholic Church in America and hence are barely-- if at all--noticed by the general public. Their exclusive religious character doesn't permit secularization/commercialization.

On All Saints/All Souls at St. Joseph's Church in Jasper, Indiana, there is a Mass and, weather permitting, a procession from the church all around the cemetery. In the middle of the cemetery at the cross, there is a prayer, and the choir sings special songs for the holy souls. People who can get off work come to Mass. There is a book at the church where the names of the deceased are entered. During the service someone from the deceased's family comes to the altar and in rotation goes to the rostrum and tells that person's name. This is done to remember those members of the parish who have died through the year.

There are also individual visits to the graves, and there is a bottle of holy water to sprinkle on the graves. Everyone goes to decorate the graves on All Souls Day and on Memorial Day. If real flowers are used, graves are decorated in the morning before the procession or the day before. With artificial flowers the grave can be decorated earlier.

Samhain

The ancient Celts divided the year into four quarters: Samhain (the winter quarter), Imbolc (the spring quarter), Beltane (the summer quarter), and Lughnasadh (the autumn quarter). Unlike the Gregorian calendar, the Celtic year began in November, with Samhain. The Celts were influenced mostly by the lunar and stellar cycles that ruled the agricultural year - which begins and ends in late autumn when the crops have been harvested and the soil is prepared for the winter.

Samhain not only marks the beginning of the Winter Quarter -it also marks the beginning of the dark half of the year.

Literally, it means "summer's end". The ancient, wandering Celts marked their ceremonies by the stars and it is believed that the Celtic "day" began at sunset, thereby reinforcing the influence the moon and stars had on the culture. Hence, the Celtic New Year celebration would begin each year on the Eve of November 1st. The atmosphere of the eve of Samhain is one of introspection and ancestral communion. The Celts believed that the doorway between this world and the otherworld was especially thin on the eve of Samhain. During this time, it was believed that fairies and the spirits of those who have died were able to come back to our realm and trick humans into getting entrapped in the fairy mounds where they would be lost forever. Sometimes people got into the spirit of things by playing tricks on each other as well.

When the Roman Empire reached Celtic lands, they added their own feast of the dead to Samhain. The Christians reassigned the meaning of Samhain to honor the saints, as All Saint's Day on November 1st. They also named October 31 as All Hollow's Eve. Although using different nomenclatures, all of these festivals and feasts are celebrating the accessibility, veneration, awe, and respect of the dead.

Many of our modern-day Halloween traditions have their roots in these ancient rituals. In order to ward off spirits, candles were placed in hollowed-out and carved turnips, the forerunner of our (pumpkin) jack-o-lanterns. The carvings were to scare away spirits that might mean you harm, while the candle's flame would invite those spirits that know you to come closer. The wearing of costumes or donning clothing of the opposite sex was a popular means of tricking the spirits as well. A few rituals have contributed to the fun of trick or treating. The custom of "soul-caking" was when children would go from door to door around the village, begging for cakes and in return would pray for the souls of the dearly departed. It was also believed that this was not a night to be alone, so villagers would go door to door collecting food for a community feast. In the center of the Celtic Otherworld is an apple tree of magical powers. Old stories tell of crossing the sea to reach the magical apple tree- this could be the origin of our Halloween tradition of bobbing for apples.

The Celts believed in a cyclical timeline, wherein the ending is also a beginning and the night of Samhain, All Hallow's Eve, exists on a point outside of normal time. Divination and superstitions are part and parcel of Samhain, with many rituals existing to tell the future. With so much mysticism shrouding the festival, Samhain - or Halloween - remains one of our magical holidays that still incorporates the ancient flavor of its origins. Happy New Year!

The Winter Solstice: December 21st, The Celebration of being self-amancipated.

Winter Solstice, or Yule, is held on or around December 22nd. It marks the shortest day of the year (in the Northern Hemisphere) and is an important holiday to those who follow the old ways.

To the ancients, it appeared as if the Sun and Moon stopped in their flight across the sky—this is the longest night of the year and was a time of both anticipation and rejoicing at the Sun’s rebirth out of the Goddess.

The Sun’s representation as the male divinity, or celestial ruler, predates Christianity. As with other rituals and celebrations, the Church felt that by assimilating this holiday into the Christian beliefs, it would help convert those who still followed the Olde Way.

Definition of Solstice

Solstice derives from an ancient Latin word meaning “stop,” or “to stand still.” According to Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary, it refers to one of two points when the sun is furthest from the celestial equator.

Relationship to Christmas

The selection of December 25th as a Christian holiday was first recorded in scholarly texts dating to 325 A.D., although the actual practice was first decreed in 274 A.D. by the Emperor Aurelian. Since the non-Christians viewed this time as the rebirth of the sun, it made sense for the Church to also mark this period as the celebration of the nativity of Christ. Curiously, the selection of the day appears arbitrary although mankind had long known how to calculate the solstices. One can only guess that, rather than shift the celebration each year, a regularly scheduled event was preferable—the old Roman desire for order never quite left the new faith.

The Winter Solstice marks a crucial part of the natural cycle. In a real sense, the sun begins anew its journey toward longer days, Symbols of the Solstice

The Yule Log, candles and mistletoe . . . what are the origins of these Symbols of the Solstice?

Times of new growth and renewal of the world once again. In a spiritual sense, it is a reminder that in order for a new path to begin, the old one must end and that spring will come again.

Burning the Yule Log

The term Yule stems from the Anglo-Saxon “yula” or “wheel” of the year. In ancient pagan ritual, the Yule Log was lit on the eve of Winter Solstice and burned for twelve hours. Later, the Log was replaced by the Yule Tree, but instead of being burned, it was adorned with burning candles.

Imbolc or Candlemas: January 31st, Day of indulgence and fertility.

In the U.S. it is known as Groundhog Day. In Catholic tradition February 2 is Candlemas Day (Maria Lichtmess), the feast day commemorating the purification of the Virgin Mary and the presentation of Jesus in the Temple at Jerusalem. It is named after the candle light procession which precedes the mass. Candles are also blessed on this day.

Since the celebration of the winter solstice, by Candlemas, the sun has gained one whole hour. In the Black Forest the spinning wheel would now be put aside: "Lichtmess, Spinnen vergess, by Tag zu Nacht ess" (Candlemas, forget spinning, eat supper by daylight).

Sunny weather in early February is a bad omen for the arrival of Spring and German sayings abound: "Wenn's an Lichtmess stürmt und schneit, ist der Frühling nicht mehr weit; ist es aber klar und hell, kommt der Lenz noch nicht so schnell" (When it storms and snows on Candlemas Day, Spring is not far away; if it's bright and clear, Spring is not yet near).

The groundhog forecast is based on a German tradition brought to Pennsylvania in 1887. "Wenn der Bäzu Lichtmess seinen Schatten sieht, so kriecht er wieder auf sechs Wochen ins Loch" (When the bear sees his shadow at Candlemas, he will crawl back into his hole for another six weeks.) The bear has been replaced by the badger (Dachs) or hedgehog (Igel) and in the U.S. by the groundhog (woodchuck, a species of marmot).

The official forecast for the arrival of Spring is given by Punxsutawney Phil from his heated burrow (lodge) at Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. In 1993, after a nose-to-nose chat with the president of his Inner Circle, the town group that actually determines the prediction, days before the big event, "Phil" declared: "six more weeks of winter there'll be;" he had seen his shadow.

Imbolc

(pronounced "IM_bulk" or "EM_bowlk"), also called Oimealg, ("IM_mol'g), by the Druids, is the festival of the lactating sheep. It is derived from the Gaelic word "oimelc" which means "ewes milk". Herd animals have either given birth to the first offspring of the year or their wombs are swollen and the milk of life is flowing into their teats and udders. It is the time of Blessing of the seeds and consecration of agricultural tools. It marks the center point of the dark half of the year. It is the festival of the Maiden, for from this day to March 21st, it is her season to prepare for growth and renewal. Brighid's snake emerges from the womb of the Earth Mother to test the weather, (the origin of Ground Hog Day), and in many places the first Crocus flowers began to spring forth from the frozen earth.

The Maiden is honoured, as the Bride, on this Sabbat. Straw Brideo'gas (corn dollies) are created from oat or wheat straw and placed in baskets with white flower bedding. Young girls then carry the Brideo'gas door to door, and gifts are bestowed upon the image from each household. Afterwards at the traditional feast, the older women make special acorn wands for the dollies to hold, and in the morning the ashes in the hearth are examined to see if the magic wands left marks as a good omen. Brighid's Crosses are fashioned from wheat stalks and exchanged as symbols of protection and prosperity in the coming year. Home hearth fires are put out and re_lit, and a besom is place by the front door to symbolize sweeping out the old and welcoming the new. Candles are lit and placed in each room of the house to honour the re_birth of the Sun.

Another traditional symbol of Imbolc is the plough. In some areas, this is the first day of ploughing in preparation of the first planting of crops. A decorated plough is dragged from door to door, with costumed children following asking for food, drinks, or money. Should they be refused, the household is paid back by having its front garden ploughed up. In other areas, the plough is decorated and then Whiskey, the "water of life" is poured over it. Pieces of cheese and bread are left by the plough and in the newly turned furrows as offerings to the nature spirits. It is considered taboo to cut or pick plants during this time.

Various other names for this Greater Sabbat are Imbolgc Brigantia (Caledonni), Imbolic (Celtic), Disting (Teutonic, Feb 14th), Lupercus (Strega), St. Bridget's Day (Christian), Candlemas, Candlelaria (Mexican), the Snowdrop Festival. The Festival of Lights, or the Feast of the Virgin. All Virgin and Maiden Goddesses are honoured at this time.

Activities of Imbolc: Candle Lighting, Stone Gatherings, Snow Hiking and Searching for Signs of Spring, Making of Brideo'gas and Bride's Beds, Making Priapic Wands, Decorating Ploughs, Feasting, and Bon Fires maybe lit.

Your Birthday when ever it is, Celebration of your birth and a celebration of life and your accomplishments.

As everyones birthday is unique as your own birth of individuality, unfortunately we cannot place any history on birthdays, since it is yours and yours alone! Celebrate this day as if it were your last. And enjoy it with whatever makes you happy!