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lprovenSince I have mystified a few people with my earlier post, as was my express intention, here's a little clarification.
The fripperies of the human calendar aside, the year is divided into 4 quarters by the 4 main solar events of the year: the summer solstice (the longest day), the winter solstice (the shortest day) and the 2 equinoxes. The days that are half way in between these are the cross-quarter days.
They are also pagan festival days: today (or around now, depending on which calendar you use) is Imbolc or Imbolg. The others are Beltane, Lughnasadh and Samhain. The Christians, bunch of opportunist thieves that they are, nicked these for their Candlemas, Walpurgis Night, Lammas & Halloween in their efforts to assimilate into Northern European society. Fling 'em back out again, I say. Let 'em go join the fun in the Fertile Crescent and Mesopotamia. ;¬)
What this means to me is that we're over the hump of winter and sliding downhill into Spring, now, and that's cause for celebration, I reckon!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beltane
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lughnasadh
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samhain
The fripperies of the human calendar aside, the year is divided into 4 quarters by the 4 main solar events of the year: the summer solstice (the longest day), the winter solstice (the shortest day) and the 2 equinoxes. The days that are half way in between these are the cross-quarter days.
They are also pagan festival days: today (or around now, depending on which calendar you use) is Imbolc or Imbolg. The others are Beltane, Lughnasadh and Samhain. The Christians, bunch of opportunist thieves that they are, nicked these for their Candlemas, Walpurgis Night, Lammas & Halloween in their efforts to assimilate into Northern European society. Fling 'em back out again, I say. Let 'em go join the fun in the Fertile Crescent and Mesopotamia. ;¬)
What this means to me is that we're over the hump of winter and sliding downhill into Spring, now, and that's cause for celebration, I reckon!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beltane
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lughnasadh
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samhain
