The proper year wheel

[Winter Black]

A lot of the time, I see people who say "Samhain is always Hallowe'en!" or that "Imbolc always falls on Groundhog day!" These generaliztions, while not entirely off, are actually incorrect.
Since Samhain is coming up, and so many of you might celebrate it on the wrong day, I want to break this down easily for you.
This year, Samhain is actually on the 5th and 6th of November. It starts at noon on the 5th, and ends at noon on the 6th.

The proper wheel looks something a little like this:

rough holiday schedual

January 1 - New Year's Day
January 5 - Twelfth Night
January 6 - Eastern Orthodox Christmas
- Twelfth Day
or Epiphany
or Old Christmas
January 20 - Inauguration Day
- Saint Agnes' Eve - woman dreams of future husband
2nd New Moon after
Winter Solstice - Chinese New Year (lunar calendar)

February 2-6 1st Cross-Quarter Day

February 2 - Groundhog Day
- Candlemas
or feast of the Purification of the Virgin Mary
or of the Presentation of the Child Jesus
- 40th Day of Christmas
- Imbolg / Imbolc (other Celtic names)
or Brighid
or Oimelc
February 14 - Valentine's Day
March 15 - Ides of March - 1st month middle, Roman calendar
also assassination of Julius Caesar
March 17 - St. Patrick's Day - sowing of peas in Ireland

March 19-21 1st Quarter Day - Spring (Vernal) Equinox

March 21 - Ostara / Eostre (Saxon goddess of Spring)
Full Moon after SE - Passover
Following Sunday - Easter
Previous Friday - Good Friday
April 1 - All Fool's Day (old new year's day)
April 1st Sunday - Begin Daylight Savings Time (clocks 1 hour forward)
April 30 - May Eve
or Walpurgisnacht (witches' Sabbath)
or Walpurgis Night (after St. Walpurga)
May 1 - May Day - May Poles, May Queens, May-dew, etc.
- Beltane / Bealtaine - Celtic bonfire festival

May 4-7 2nd Cross-Quarter Day

May 5 - Cinco de Mayo (Mexico)
May 2nd Sunday - Mother's Day
May last Monday - Memorial Day ("Decoration Day", officially May 30)
June 14 - Flag Day
June 3rd Sunday - Father's Day

June 20-22 2nd Quarter Day - Summer Solstice

June 21 - Litha (Norse/Anglo-Saxon for "longest day")
June 23 - St. John's Eve - European Midsummer celebration
July 1 - Dominion Day (Canada)
July 4 - Independence Day (U.S.)
August 1 - Lammas ("loaf mass") - harvest festival
or festival of St. Peter's Chains
or of the Maccabees
or of the Gule ("mouth") of August
- Lugnasad - Gaelic summer "games of Lug" (sun-god)
or Lughnasada
or Lunasa

August 5-8 3rd Cross-Quarter Day

September 1st Mon - Labor Day

September 21-24 3rd Quarter Day - Fall (Autumnal) Equinox

September 21 - Mabon (Welsh for "son")
New Moon after FE - Rosh ha-Shanah (Jewish New Year)
10 days later - Yom Kippur ("Day of Atonement")
October 2nd Monday - Thanksgiving (Canada)
October last Sun. - End Daylight Savings Time (clocks 1 hour back)
October 31 - Hallowe'en
or All Hallows E'en
or Hallowmas Eve
November 1 - Dia de los Muertos
or Day of the Dead (Mexico)
- All Saints' Day
or Hallowmas or Allhallowmas or Allhallows
- Samhain - Celtic feast of departing Sun & new year
or All Souls' Night
November 2 - All Soul's Day - prayer for souls in purgatory
November 1st Tues
after 1st Mon - Election Day

November 5-8 4th Cross-Quarter Day

November 5 - Guy Fawkes Day
November 11 - Veterans' Day (World War I Armistice Day)
- Martinmas (death of St. Martin)
or Martinmas-in-Winter
November 4th Thurs - Thanksgiving (U.S.)
December 13 - St. Lucy's Day ("the year's midnight")
December 19 - Saturnalia - Roman midwinter festival, 7 days long

December 20-23 4th Quarter Day - Winter Solstice

December 21 - Yule (Norse for "wheel") - Germanic 12-day feast
December 24 - Christmas Eve
December 25 - Christmas Day
December 31 - New Year's Eve

Now, this is including some other religions holidays, as well, to give it a feel of how different holidays fall on different days. But even this one has a few generalizations.

Now, I broke the year down into eight 45 day parts. Starting from this year's Samhain, November 5th, which is my New Year. At the beginning of each count (or, if you like, at the end), there is a major holiday.
For instance, at the beginning of the 45 days of Death, there is Samhain. At the beginning of the 45 days of Cold, there is Winter Solstice.
At the beginning of the 45 days of Rebirth, there is Imbolc, or whatever your path calls it.
After that, the 45 days of Warmth (Spring Equinox); the 45 days of Rain (Beltane); the 45 days of Heat (Summer Solstice); the 45 days of Harvest (Lammas); and the 45 days of Preperation (Fall Equinox).
These are just the names I've given each of the 8 segments. You can call them anything you wish. But the fact of the matter still remains that if you want to be solarly correct about your holidays, than these segments of the year are important to remember.
And since the day is always shifting, you have to go through the calendar each year, and count 44 days between the solstices and equinoxes. That 44th day, at noon, until noon the next day, is your cross quarter.

I just wanted to set that straight.  

[Nihilistic Seraph]

It might be noted that the current astrological system is about a few millenia out of date, and to be accurate, we'd actually need 13 astrological symbols.  

[Jameta]

Another note is that, while it is important to know the details of a holiday, it is the message that should be focused on rather than the fine print. It has been noted multiple times that Jesus of Nazereth probably was not born on December 25th; however, giving a physical date to celebrate that day helps keeps things clear for people and allows them (or at least, is supposed to) to focus on the greater meaning of it all. Other holidays, in my opinion, should likewise be followed. 3nodding  

[The Bookwyrm]

Current evidence suggests that Jesus was actually born in early to mid October, and I think we're all well aware of the early church's tendency to scramble Christian holidays to coincide with Pagan ones as a conversion tactic. I have to agree with Jammah; while it's wonderful to have a cemeted date, it's not always necessary.

The ancient Celts opperated on a luar calendar; Samhain for them always started at midnight on the last day of the 10th month, and ended at midnight on the first day of the 11th month, which is what we do now. Same idea, simply a different calendar system. That we're reclaiming the old holidays doesn't mean that we have to to reclaim the letter rather than the spirit; many other holidays have had their dates thrown off through various calendar systems, and some have been intentionally reorganized; has that really had a siginificant impact on what they mean?

On the same note, our seasons run a bit differently here in North America than they do in Europe; if we truely wanted to follow the letter of these holidays, we'd have to adjust them further, as our spring and summer start a bit later, our winters are a bit longer, etc. I enjoy the simplicity of being able to say that one particular holiday falls on a particular day.  

[Winter Black]

Well, its all a matter of personal choice, and I have nothing against people who don't follow the same calendar as I do. I just wanted it to be known that the dates were not originally what they are now. For Reconstructionalists, and those who care to know.

Personally, I follow a very Lunar calendar. My whole life is based around the times of the Full Moons, right now. And I think it will be for a long time to come, since this is a schedual and calendar that feels right to me. My New Year is in less than a Lunar Month. This means, to me, that I'll be entering a new cycle in my life. And its up to me to figure out which one, and how to adapt.

Thanks for the additional information. There are some things I had overlooked there. You guys are the best. wink  

[Starlock]

I do fixed dates for the cross-quarters for a number of reasons, the main one being it's just plain easier. Way I see it there's no one right time to do things anyway. Those of us who have to work often end up having to put off celebration times anyway to accomodate personal schedules. xd  

[The Bookwyrm]

Starlock

I do fixed dates for the cross-quarters for a number of reasons, the main one being it's just plain easier. Way I see it there's no one right time to do things anyway. Those of us who have to work often end up having to put off celebration times anyway to accomodate personal schedules. xd

Amen to that! I'm just waiting for confirmation on my new schedule before I start planning out my Samhain rit for this year. sweatdrop  

[Anima Lux]

Uhm.. 'Scuse me, but isn't 'proper' relative in meaning--?

Yeah, I'll agree with Starlock. I like the fixed dates.. or making my own. :3