[FiB]

I've lots of pagan friends and it has become habit for me to be mindful at most of the pagan dates (all the equinoxes etc) and celebrate all the seasonal happenings.  I think if you are in tune with nature, look after what you can, and give thanks for bounty ..... you are pretty in tune with the old ways.  Here are the main holidays..

Pagan Holidays:
The Sabbats
Yule (Dec 20-23) - Winter Solstice, called Yule, is the longest night of the year. It is the start of winter, when the earth sleeps. We celebrate the rebirth of the Sun and the knowledge that spring will come again.


Imbolc (Feb. 2) - Even more so than Yule, Imbolc is a celebration of light. Falling halfway between Winter Solstice and Vernal Equinox, this is often the time when we begin to see the first signs of Spring. The Sun is reborn, and growing in power, but is not yet at its full strength.


Ostara (March 20-23) - The Vernal (or Spring) Equinox, Ostara is a celebration of burgeoning fertility. Spring has begun in full force, and the world is beginning a cycle of renewal. The egg and rabbit are both traditional symbols of Ostara.


Beltane (May 1) - Beltane, or Mayday, is a celebration of sacred union. The vast majority of plants are in flower, and for many animals this is mating season. Along with the celebration and reenactment of the sacred union of God and Goddess, Beltane rituals include Maypole dances, bonfires, and making flower wreaths and bouquets.


Litha (June 20-23) - The Summer Solstice, Litha, is the longest day of the year. It often coincides with the start of the harvest season. Many traditions believe that unlike most Sabbats, Litha is a day of work. Generally lasting from dawn to dusk, this day of work is meant to remind us of the labor of bringing in the first fruit harvests of the year.


Lammas (July 31) - Lammas is the first of the Harvest festivals. It is the time to begin to realize the results of our efforts throughout the year. Traditional foods this time of year include berries and bread made from the first grain harvest.


Mabon (Sept 20-23) - Autumnal (Fall) Equinox, Mabon is the Second Harvest festival. Most of the harvest is in and counted; the people know what they will have to survive through winter. With the first signs of winter beginning to show, people are beginning to finish their tasks for the year.


Samhain (Oct 31) - Samhain marks the end of the harvest for the year. The barriers between the worlds of the living and the dead are thinner than at any other time of the year. Samhain is a time to celebrate and remember those who have passed on from this world.

[Fowlman]

Yes it's Lammas next week, any excuse to drink copious amounts of mead 

[RUSTYME]

Cheers fib , seeing it written down like that , i see that i pretty well follow those times in feelings and mood (in tune with) , without knowing why . Explains a lot !

[Castle Farm]

Is there a grant you can get.?

[deepinthewoods]

i can confirm paganism is alive and well in kernow. i was quite impressed when the school included it in the basic religious education. mind you theres lots of us.
tregeseal circle is very special, as is the merry maidens. id thoroughly reccomend everyone to visit sancreed holy well. i go at least yearly.

[YorkshireLass]

I was under the impression that "pagan" was a catch-all term for non/pre-Christian religions? generally earth/nature based. So that Wicca is a pagan religion, but not all pagans are Wiccans?


Well, I like the respect-for-nature aspects but I don't go as far as ceremonies. Now a good party I could get behind 

[in the hills]

Thanks for that FiB.


I sort of understand the nature bit but googling the term "Pagan" it seems to be a bit of an umbrella term and cover many different ways of worshipping/thinking. Find it a bit confusing    Talks of worshipping many Gods, Goddesses, deities, etc. and not always just the nature/earth thing.


Still wouldn't know quite how to explain the term to the children. Find it interesting but can't get my head around it. 

[RUSTYME]

Yep , same here ith . The confusion , mine mainly , just put me off finding out more .

[FiB]

I was under the impression that "pagan" was a catch-all term for non/pre-Christian religions? generally earth/nature based. So that Wicca is a pagan religion, but not all pagans are Wiccans?

I thought that too... I bet there are as a many interpretations of pre christian traditions and beliefs and religious groups under the banner pagan, as there are denomonations of christian etc.  I tell my son its used to describe  the old ways and beliefs of this country  before christianity hit the shores.

[in the hills]

Yes, probably very complex. Told mine it was from before Christian days but still followed by some today. Would like to have more understanding of it myself but think it would take a bit of doing.


If you work it out Rustyme ..... let me know.   

[RUSTYME]

Will do ith . Will have to find a 'paganism for idiots' book , going for 1p on amazon first though !
I blew my last months budget for books , i brought James Wongs 'grow your own drugs' for 42p !
So will start flogging the heroin soon , ( not really folks , i was JESTING !) .

[Fowlman]

To put it simply all of the world were pagan before christianity and Islam an all the other faiths came along, each region had its different views and traditions. I personally don't do the rituals etc but i quite enjoy the parties 


The celts, saxons and norse followed very similar traditions.

[jaykay]

I reckon all religions are trying to get to the same place. But what happens is that the side stuff, the rituals or whatever that people put in place to make it more likely that other folk would reach the same understanding, take over and become the religion, missing the point entirely.

My take on it is, combining my pagan inclinations with my Methodist upbringing is this:

All of the natural world has something special and unifying about it, which includes humans but that humans usually live unaware of, and apart from, this in the modern world.

That there is way more than can be understood rationally and put into that clumsy way of communicating, words.

That living in a respectful and connected way, is lots more important than what you profess to believe in. That what you do as a result of understanding all this is what matters.

[Fowlman]

Spot on jaykay. 

[in the hills]

I like that, Jaykay