pagan holidays and the Gregorian calender

pagan holidays and the Gregorian calender

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11 Responses

  1. bedb says:

    Re: pagan holidays and the Gregorian calender
    I wanted to add because I’m still pondering this…that Feb 2…Bridget’s Day would actually be closer to modern Valentine’s Day on the old calender.

    Are there any pagan groups keeping to the old dates or is it not important?

  2. Mauro says:

    Re: pagan holidays and the Gregorian calender
    I’ve heard a few "traditionalist" groups still use the Julian calendar but, frankly, I’ve never met anyone from their numbers who could confirm this.

  3. indiagold says:

    Re: pagan holidays and the Gregorian calender
    oh dear you have confused me-is there a thread on the site to tell us a potted history of these calendars and how they differ and why?
    However I do see the point -as if the particular day is important ie to do with planetary alignments or whatever,
    you would have to get it right

  4. Mauro says:

    Re: pagan holidays and the Gregorian calender
    Everything you may want to know about calendars (comprising a handy converter) is here: http://www.fourmilab.ch/documents/calendar/

  5. bedb says:

    Re: pagan holidays and the Gregorian calender
    thank you

  6. indiagold says:

    Re: pagan holidays and the Gregorian calender
    and thank you again-good resource

  7. esmeraldamac says:

    Re: pagan holidays and the Gregorian calender
    So, is it important to non-pagans to celebrate Christmas on the day that Christ was actually born? In which case, December 25th/5th Jan are almost certainly both wrong. And as for Easter… well, we all know that was cobbled together in Whitby and as it varies from year to year, it’s certainly no anniversary.

    Pagans set a lot of store by actual solstices, which are astronomically-defined and nothing to do with any man-devised calendar. They celebrate midwinter at actual midwinter (not Christmas!), and midsummer at actual midsummer (not St. John’s Eve!). So they’re getting something right.

    As for the other dates, they’re traditional.

    Just like Christmas.

  8. bedb says:

    Re: pagan holidays and the Gregorian calender
    I do not honor Christmas as the birth of Christ…I know better…and it’s become more of a business holiday to most people as opposed to a religious one. Easter….pascha is the name I actually like better…is set according to the stars and such…but I’m not that knowledgeable. I actually believe in Christ and the old gods….it works in my head.

    I do know that most pagans follow the solstices…but my point is this…..I use the Julian calender to determine Samhain….Beltine….Lughnasa. Nor do I recognize a winter Yule. If these days are magical days….I don’t think the magical beings went…oh wait Pope Gregory has changed the time. Using the Gregorian conversion posted below Imbolc on the Julian calender is January 20 which it is not….but Valentine’s day on the Gregorian calender is the day before Julian Imbolc. The creator of the Gregorian calender set it for a time when the ewes would not be in lambing mode. The Gregorian calender was designed for many reasons…but one of them was to upset the anceint observances.

    http://www.fourmilab.ch/documents/calendar/ 

    I simply wanted to create a topic of discussion.

  9. Wiccaman says:

    Re: pagan holidays and the Gregorian calender
    The seasons set the dates or rather the time of events

    When survival depends on when to plant and not when Tescos are open the sun and moon are more important than “30/31 days have such a month”

    The shortest and longest days must be the two most important of the year

  10. bedb says:

    Re: pagan holidays and the Gregorian calender
    I agree with your comment where planting and harvesting and the killing of livestock is considered. My grandparents never slaughtered a hog before the first frost.

    But as you know….February 1 Gregorian time is in January Julian time. This is not the time of lambing. Lambs born in January Julian C. will suffer greatly and risk death. I celebrate OC Imbolc on Valentine’s day Gregorian. Since I live in Texas, USA there are babies on the ground, but they are put up at night and it rarely gets deadly cold here.

    Nor do I recognize Oct. 31 Gregorian as Samhain. It’s why all the church Harvest festivals don’t bug me. The real Samhain is several weeks later, and as a person who believes in the otherside….that is the night I am most interested in. I do not believe the spirits change their activities because men change their calenders.

    This is me and I am not advocating everyone should do what I do.

  11. brianj says:

    Re: pagan holidays and the Gregorian calender
    Thanks for sharing these calendars. It’s cool yet I just don’t understand it fully. Probably, I’ll just use the one that I’m used to so that I can continually celebrate same holidays. lol! Well, it’s how you celebrate it. I think I’d write some essays about my experiences during holidays.

    [quote=Mauro]Everything you may want to know about calendars (comprising a handy converter) is here: http://www.fourmilab.ch/documents/calendar/
    [/quote]