Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Wiccan Holidays That Are Observed

By Roseann Hudson


The wiccans have extremely interesting holidays that they would religiously observe because it is a part of their tradition. If one is interested in knowing more about the wiccans and their rituals, then they should look no further than the wiccan holidays. Here are just a few of them that are widely being celebrated by wiccans around the world.

Probably the most famous of all these dates would be none other than the Feast of Samhain or more commonly known in the modern world as Halloween. Although most people celebrate Halloween with kids dressing up as ghosts, its origin actually stems out from a witch tradition. It is usually celebrated during October 31 and November 1 and is known to be the time where the dead are able to visit the world of the living.

Now everyone knows that Christmas is known to be the birth of Christ but what many do not know is that the event itself did not happen on December 24. The date December 24 came from the date of the Pagan holiday which is known as Yule. This event transpires during December 23 and it is the time wherein the Sun God is born anew.

Ostara is also a very widely practiced tradition that falls on March 21 which is actually close to Easter Sunday. It is said in the Druidic lore that it was during this time that the Goddess of Fertility would bestow blessings upon those who would want to bear a child. The symbol used by this Goddess was a bunny along with an egg which was adopted for modern Easter celebrations.

Now Beltane, which happens on the start of summer, is yet another crucial event because it is the day wherein the Sun God, Bel, would receive his coronation. Now Beltane literally translates to the Fire of Bel which means that it is during this time that the Sun God has received his powers and is bestowing it to the earth. The result of this is the blooming and blossoming of the flora on earth.

Now Mabon is a time wherein the wiccans would actually wine, dine, and be merry. This would happen on September 21 and is actually the counterpart of Thanksgiving which would happen on the Autumn Equinox. During this time, the length of the night and day are equal and it is here where they will pay tribute.

Now the wiccans are also known to celebrated Litha which is the midsummer. Everyone is probably familiar with the midsummer night eve which also happens to fall on the same date as the feast of St. John the Baptist. This event, which happens in June 21, is the time wherein the Sun God is at his greatest and is the time of the longest day in a year.

So basically, those are some important dates in Wiccan tradition. As one can see, many holidays have came from the witch calendar and have been commercialized over the years. If one would dig deeper into each holiday, he will actually find that most of them would have a Pagan origin.




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