This started the custom of early autumnal elections, because it was a convenient time for people to gather. ArtesiaWells/Getty Images September 29, MichaelmasĪround the time of the fall equinox, the harvest commenced on this day, and there were great fairs and festivals. Image: A Midsommar celebration in Stockholm, Sweden. John the Baptist is celebrated exactly six months before that of the celebration of Christ’s birth.) Folks celebrated by feasting, dancing, singing, and preparing for the hot summer days ahead. (The English church later celebrated this day as the birthday of John the Baptist, who foretold the coming of Jesus. (In the church calendar, this day became the feast of the Angel Gabriel’s annunciation to the Virgin Mary that she would be the mother of Christ.) June 24, Midsummer DayĪround the time of the summer solstice, this day was the midpoint of the growing season, halfway between planting and harvest. March 25, Lady DayĪround the time of the spring equinox, Lady Day became the traditional day for hiring farm laborers for the planting and harvesting seasons ahead.

This fit readily into the rhythm of the ways people farmed.Īs the 12-month Roman calendar was adopted for both civil and religious purposes, all of the Celtic days began to conform more closely with the liturgical year of the Christian church and became identified with major religious festivals. The days that marked the four major divisions of the year were called Quarter Days they marked the solstice (when the sun sets at its most northern or southern point on the horizon) and equinoxes (when the sun sets due west). Together, the Quarter Days and Cross-Quarter Days made an eight-part year that reflected the natural progression of the seasons. For this article, we will assume that the ancient Celts observed all eight divisions of the year. Some believe that the Celts divided the year into just four major sections: Samhain, Imbolc, Beltane, and Lughnasadh (what we call Cross-Quarter days). Some historians are divided as to whether the ancient Celts observed the solstices and equinoxes (what we call Quarter Days).

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Equinox fall festival