Celtic Wheel of the Year

Notes can be found in the Endnotes section.
Also see the Celtic World Site Bibliography.

The succession of night and day and of Winter and Summer were deeply important to the Celtic peoples.(1) The times between these day- and year-halves were considered auspicious for contact with the Otherworld through divination and also for kin-group purification and protection. The commencement of these two seasons was celebrated with the fire festivals of Samhain and Bealtaine, the beginning of Winter and the beginning of Summer, respectively. Two additional festivals were Imbolc and Lughnasa. Imbolc signaled the beginning of Spring and Lughnasa the beginning of the Harvest season. Likewise, the day also was further broken down into mid-day and mid-night, all of these being liminal turning-points of the day or year.(2) The Celts were may have been aware of, but did not necessarily celebrate, four additional solar events: Winter Solstice, Vernal Equinox, Summer Solstice and Autumnal Equinox. Many of the stone monuments associated with these astronomical events were constructed by the Neolithic peoples who preceeded the Celts and so their importance is not clear. The Celtic practice of celebrating festivals between these solar and lunar events coincides well with their penchant for liminality.

This article attempts to briefly explain the evidence of how ancient Celtic cultural groups celebrated the festivals of their year and to compare those customs with how some modern Pagan and Christian groups celebrate those same festivals. The main modern Pagan groups specified in this article are: Celtic Reconstuctionism (CR), Modern Druidry, Wicca and Celtic Christianity. (Confused?)

Many contemporary Pagan groups celebrate all eight festivals, but some groups, such as some Celtic Reconstructionists, celebrate only the four main feasts. Christianity has retained some influences from these ancient festivals as well, transferring the traits of many mythological figures from deities to saints or transforming indigenous festivals into Holy Days. This article also attempts to clarify some misconceptions about Celtic festivals, namely the Germanic, not Celtic, origins for some customs thought to be Celtic.

For a brief overview of Celtic deities, see the Celtic Deity FAQ. Areas of the world inhabited by the Celts include: Alba (Scotland), Breizh (Brittany), Cymry (Wales), Eire (Ireland), Galiza (part of Spain), Gaul (middle Europe), Kernow (Cornwall), Mannin (Isle of Man).