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Being of mainly British Isles ancestry -- though at this distance of time,
who knows how much I have of which inhabitants/invaders of those islands
-- the ancient Celtic calendar interests me enough to want to do something
with this domain name. But I haven't decided what, yet. Crossquarter days were the markers of the changing seasons, and the solstices and equinoxes that we use now were then considered the midpoints of each season (hence midwinter's and midsummer's days). The crossquarter days are the halfway points between a solstice and equinox, if you see what I mean. A good series of articles outlining solar festivals in many different cultures can be found here under "Seasonal Markers". Meanwhile, here is a simple list of the Celtic seasonal holidays according to my current understanding: Samhain (crossquarter day) - christianized as All Hallows' Eve/All Saints' Day, aka Halloween. Beginning of winter. Yule - aka Midwinter's day - winter solstice. By the Roman calendar in use at the time Christmas became established, the winter solstice fell on December 25. Imbolc (crossquarter day) - persists as Groundhog Day. First day of spring. Ostara - spring equinox - Easter. Eggs and rabbits = fertility symbols. Beltane (crossquarter day) - May Day. First day of summer. Midsummer's day - summer solstice. Lughnasad (crossquarter day) - christianized as Lammas, "loaf-mass" (first harvest), but now the least remembered of the four crossquarter days. Would be around the beginning of August. First day of autumn. Autumn equinox.
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