At the heart of Druidism lies a love of Nature and of her changing faces as the seasons turn. Eight times a year, once every six weeks or so, Druids participate in a celebration that expresses this love. These seasonal festivals can be large public events with hundreds of adults and children gathering at sacred sites, such as Stonehenge, Avebury, or Glastonbury in England, or at the other extreme,
they can be very private events celebrated by a single Druid in their garden or living room, or by a small group of Druids and friends who have gathered together in a park or garden. These eight seasonal festivals consist of the solstices and equinoxes - four moments during the year which are dictated by the relationship between the Earth and Sun � and the four �cross-quarter' festivals which are not determined astronomically, but are related to the traditional pastoral calendar.
Samhain
The name of this festival Samhain comes from the month name in the ancient Celtic calendar. This festival marks the end of the summer season and the end of the harvest. The customs involved in this festival is similar to that of the Halloween thus having a close association with the Catholic All Souls' Day .Samhain is also the name of a festival in various currents of Neopaganism inspired by Gaelic tradition.Samahain marks the transition from one life to the next. The rituals which are performed during this festival are mainly for protection from evil spirits thus overcoming fears psychologically as well as psychically. So by celebrating this positive energy is spread in the family. This is the time where the family members come back home for winter. There is also another belief where the dead member of the family come back home and they should be welcomed back at the family hearth. This is a practice followed by the Christians in the European countries and in addition the Mexicans welcome the spirit of the dead ones by scattering flowers from the churchyards to the homes. There is also another custom followed by the Druids where a fire is kindled on the hills of Tlachtga in Ireland and for people for whom it is possible it is a must for them to carry back home a torch of fire and add to the hearth fire. The people of Scotland have another custom, where the youngsters would carry a torch of fire from the temple of fire God and run around boundaries of field to protect creatures and homes from malevolent fairies and spirits.
Winter solstice / Alban Arthuran
This festival of Alban Arthuran occurs when the position of the Sun is at its greatest angular distance on the other side of the equatorial plane from the observer's hemisphere. It looks as though the sun disappears beneath the horizon during the daytime, but the following day it is higher in the sky and thus reborn. The main significance of this is the long nights and short days. During these days the Solstice candle are lit and wishes are made for the future. The people of Druid community make a small outdoor fire as darkness falls and burn sprigs of yew, oak, holly, as well as pine needles and rosemary and pray to god for the sun to shine again and for it to regain its power. As they do this they think of the ones close to their heart and include in the prayer so that they will be showered with the power of the Sun. On this particular night of Alban Arthuran the Druids take a metal bowl full of water and light the Christmas candle and make the wax to drip into it where first a slight image is got as it drips and followed by a permanent image as the wax sets in. This is an indication for the future of which area will harvest the best and first and to maximize the energy of the sunlight.
Imbolc/Oimelc
This is a festival for healing of the land, people and animals. Imbolc festival which falls in the month of February indicates the starting of Spring. It is one of the most significant festivals of the Celtic culture. The lactating Mother Goddess is worshipped on this day for milk is supposed to be very sacred to the Celts. On the eve of these festival eight candles are placed in a circle in water and lit so that the light rose from the water of the goddess signifies the unity of Fire and Water. As a custom the maiden Brighid is represented by a small doll dressed in white with a quartz crystal on the heart is placed in a straw bed and honey with three drops of milk is poured into it, along with young leaves and buds surrounding the bed to indicate spring. For God to shower his positive energy in us it is a custom of the people to pour some milk in a heat proof bowl and then ice cubes are dropped in which is then melted with a small candle placed beneath the bowl and prayers are followed. The Druids get the light of the new season by sitting within a circle made of pink or blue candles.
Lughnasadh
Lughnasadh is celebrated on August 1st with bonfires and dancing. It consists of rituals to bless the fields. This is a time of family reunions, parties and merry making. This practice may trace back to the Lughnasadh celebrations of the Helvetii, Celtic people of the Iron Age who lived in what is now Switzerland. Corn knots, corn king and corn mother figures are made by using dried grass or corn with the help of blue and red thread and hung in the home for protection in winter and then on the day of Spring Equinox they are burnt. The ashes got from this is scattered in the garden or on indoor plants to bring abundance to the home during the winter. If the people feel certain things happening to them are not just then for each activity of injustice a knot with dried grasses is made and buried and on top of it a late flowering seed is planted. There is another custom to be performed on the eve of Lughnasadh celebration where bread is put in milk and as you stir wishes are made for good harvest for the future. At dawn crumble the bread to share with friends and family and leave offerings of crumbs for the wild birds.
