Pagan Journeys

Sabbats/Holidays and Esbats => Sabbats/Holidays => Topic started by: baiombi on July 03, 2010, 07:17:03 PM

Title: Any other holidays?
Post by: baiombi on July 03, 2010, 07:17:03 PM

Hello guys!

I've been doing a lot of research on holidays that pagans celebrate and I've noticed that most have collectively agreed to observe mainly celtic and asatru holidays. While I love learning about the traditions surrounding these holidays (and I enjoy recognizing them!)

I've found there are few people who celebrate pagan holidays from other cultures and info about what they do in honor of them. I was just curious if any of you celebrate anything other than the commonly accepted pagan holidays. If you do please tell me about them! I would also be particularly interested in a culture that honors winter for what it is rather than just a waiting period for spring/summer.

Does anybody else celebrate/welcome winter as opposed to just wishing it were spring? I'd love more info about holidays and winter celebration! Also please correct me where I'm mistaken I know I'm new so I might have misinterpreted some things.

  :shame:
Title: Re: Any other holidays?
Post by: Fox on July 03, 2010, 08:08:39 PM
We have a whole section devoted to holidays here...  http://www.paganjourneys.com/index.php?board=57.0

Yes, they are mostly your traditional Pagan holidays, but you should find some interesting info in there.
Title: Re: Any other holidays?
Post by: earthmuffin on July 04, 2010, 10:53:25 AM
Where I live winter is a period of relief from the scorching heat of summer and fall in which things come to life again so I do celebrate it differently than most folks though not based on any traditional pagan celebration. I celebrate the seasons for what they represent here where I live. I think that it is important to do that to connect to the Earth, rather than just following the generally accepted form of pagan holiday celebrations regardless of how it fits with your environment. If you are a pagan living on the Equator the generally accepted pagan holidays just won't make a whole of sense or help you connect with your environment.

Somebody correct me if I am wrong but I think pagans generally celebrate winter as a time of rest and renewal, as well as a time to turn inward and focus work on deeper, internal issues. So it's not just a time for thinking about spring and summer, but a necessary period in and of itself.
Title: Re: Any other holidays?
Post by: Fox on July 04, 2010, 01:03:51 PM
EM, I agree.  I do tend to struggle a bit with some of the traditional holiday connections because what may be going on for others around that time of the year just isn't there yet here or doesn't have the same connection here. 

For me, Winter is definitely a time of reflection, but it is also a time to celebrate family and the care we have for each other.  It is important to remember that around that time of year because the kids are becoming stir crazy and arguing more because they are getting to spend less time outside and are usually bouncing off the walls ready for the gift giving of the rest of the holidays.
Title: Re: Any other holidays?
Post by: Tirya on July 04, 2010, 02:02:20 PM
I think a lot of American neopaganism is so solidly based on European roots (particularly British) because of cultural ties, weather similarities, and language that the Wheel of the Year is almost the "default value" of pagans in America, even if they don't follow a specific path. It makes sense that the traditions and symbols would become pretty predominant, too.

You might find researching other cultures interesting - non-European paths would probably have some completely different symbols, meaning, and traditions that might resonate for you. Egyptian, for example (where they don't have "a winter" as we know it, rather the inundation of the Nile):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_solstice has a list of how the winter solstice is observed and the mythos behind it in various cultures.

For me personally, I tend towards the astronomical observances (solstices and equinoxes) as having meaning - the cross-quarter days (Imbolc, Beltaine, Lammas, Samhain) not so much. The actual shifting of the daylight feels like it has more relevance to me than the life/death/rebirth fertility cycle that is the backbone of the Wheel of the Year.
Title: Re: Any other holidays?
Post by: earthmuffin on July 04, 2010, 09:46:43 PM
Tir, I also find the solstices and equinoxes to be more personally meaningful though I also enjoy Samhain a lot because of the fun it presents with kids.
Title: Re: Any other holidays?
Post by: Ghost Wolf on July 04, 2010, 10:16:23 PM
The solstices and equinoxes are vitally important. More so than most people realize. I encourage everyone to get a book entitled Uriel's Machine, by Christopher Knight and Robert Lomas.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dus-stripbooks-tree&field-keywords=Uriel%27s+Machine&x=8&y=11
Title: Re: Any other holidays?
Post by: Fox on July 04, 2010, 10:50:40 PM
Tir, I also find the solstices and equinoxes to be more personally meaningful though I also enjoy Samhain a lot because of the fun it presents with kids.

I'm right there with you, sis!  :D
Title: Re: Any other holidays?
Post by: baiombi on July 05, 2010, 11:15:56 AM

Hey thanks all for your responses and thanks for the links as well!! A lot of what you've mentioned seems relevant to how I relate to the seasons. I feel compelled to honor the changes observed in nature (regardless of what culture it comes from) and I still love the European-based sabbats. The lessons I've taken from Buddhism have taught me to love where/when I am now, in the present, so I just wanted to learn ways to honor the current season, because I know there is an active purpose for each one :)

Title: Re: Any other holidays?
Post by: bluefire on July 05, 2010, 12:27:03 PM
To me, the sabbats are celebrated for exactly the reason you mention, Baiombi, to honor significance of each stage of life.  Every sabbat, every season, is glorious for what it contributes to the whole.  The Wheel of the Year shows us the value of balance.  Within the wheel of the year, with sabbats to illuminate the changes, there is also the lunar cycle, with esbats to illuminate the more subtle but personal energy shifts.  Then within the lunar cycle, we have our days and nights, the shifting that is closest and most easily felt.  From large to small, around and around, energy is dynamic and changing, just like our lives.
Title: Re: Any other holidays?
Post by: Fox on July 05, 2010, 12:52:50 PM
I thought this would be better suited in the Sabbats/Holidays board for anyone looking for something similar in the future, so I have moved it.
Title: Re: Any other holidays?
Post by: Zlat on September 27, 2011, 01:00:54 PM
I celebrate winter for winter, to me summer is the waiting period for fall to return.

Mostly the celebrations I do are based on natural events (the first snowfall, the first new/full moons since the snowfall, the first storms, and whenever I feel that I -need- to celebrate or take the time to enjoy the winter season and be grateful for it).

I used to live in England (UK), and winter there is mostly like early spring here (you know, wet and nippy but never really cold and I only saw snow fall once in 3 years-and it was only about 1cm deep and melted within 12 hours). Since I've been back, one of my favorite past-times is to just watch the snow fall.

The celebrations usually involve cooking big yummy meals with ample desserts (apple crisp is my specialty), performing a ritual (or sometimes just a prayer) honoring the season and the earth, and sitting by the big door-windows watching the snow and the skies with hot chocolate.

Fall and winter are by far my favorite seasons; despite the frozen car engines and slippery roads.