Sabbat (neopaganism)
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In the Wiccan form of neopaganism, a Sabbat is one of the eight major seasonal festivals which make up the Wheel of the Year. These include the solstices and equinoxes, and four additional festivals, sometimes referred to as the "cross-quarter days".
Pagans usually also observe secular holidays in their culture, and sometimes festivals from majority religions - for example, participating in Christmas gatherings if the rest of their family does so. However, they do not usually commemorate these holidays by rituals in their or another religion.
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[edit] Etymology
The word Sabbat derives from the same roots as "Sabbath (Christian)" or "Shabbat (Judaism)", namely Old English "sabat", Old French "sabbat", Latin "sabbatum", and Greek "sabbaton" (or sa'baton), which comes from the Hebrew "shabbat", which means "to cease or rest". See also "sabbath". It was used during the European witch trials for supposed gatherings of witches engaging in Devil worship; such gatherings were earlier referred to as "synagogues of Satan". Jews, at the time, were widely believed to be Devil-worshippers, which explains the use of Jewish terms to describe the activities of witches. Murray was misled by the word's coincidental resemblance to the term esbat. See "esbat".
[edit] The Festivals
Festivals celebrated in the northern hemisphere by neopagans include:
- Samhain, pronounced /ˈsawənʲ/, Last Harvest, Blood Harvest, (Approx. October 31). This is the pagan new year, while it can be calculated when the sun reaches 15 degrees Scorpio (approx. November 5 through the 10th) it is traditionally celebrated on the Western cultural holiday of Halloween.
- Yule, the winter solstice, midwinter (Approx. Dec 21). This is calculated when the sun reaches its southernmost point in the northern hemisphere and the day is at its shortest.
- Imbolc (also know as Oimelc, Brigid, or Candlemas), (Approx. February 1). This can be calculated when the sun reaches 15 degrees Aquarius (approx February 2nd-7th). Traditionally celebrated on February 2nd.
- Ostara, the vernal equinox or spring equinox(Also known as Lady Day, Eostar, or Eostara.) (approx. March 21). This is calculated when the sun crosses the equator moving northward.
- Beltane, May Day, Lady Day (Approx. May 1). This can be calculated when the sun reaches 15 degrees Taurus (approx May 4th-10th), but traditionally it is celebrated on May 1st.
- Litha or Midsummer, the summer solstice, (Approx. June 21). This is calculated when the sun reaches its northernmost point in the northern hemisphere and the day is at its longest.
- Lammas, (Lughnasadh, pronounced /luːnəsə/ 1st Harvest, Bread Harvest (Approx. August 1). This is calculated when the sun reaches 15 degrees Leo approx. Aug 3rd-10th; however, it is traditionally celebrated on August 1st or 2nd.
- Mabon, the autumnal equinox (also known as Harvest Home, 2nd Harvest, or Fruit Harvest) (approx. Sept 21). This is calculated when the sun crosses the equator moving southward.
Most witches also hold smaller rituals, alone or with a coven, Lodge, or Circle. These are held monthly, often at each full moon but sometimes at the new moon; see Esbats.
Druid and Heathen (Asatru) festivals have different names entirely. (Druids only name the "fire festivals" differently - i.e., the equinoxes and solstices. The rest are the same.) Druids do not order their meetings by the moon but also hold regular working and study meetings.
[edit] Dating of sabbats
Dates for sabbats vary widely, due to a number of factors. The dates on which solstices and equinoxes occur shift in a regular pattern against the Gregorian Calendar widely used in daily life. See Gregorian Calendar#Calendar seasonal error for a depiction of that pattern. For the standard references for the dates of the solstices and equinoxes see USNO website.
Samhain, Imbolc, Beltane and Lughnasadh are sometimes defined as cross-quarter points and their dates seem to betray anachronistic respect for the Gregorian calendar. Unlike the astrological calendar the Gregorian is not aligned with particular astronomical events in the wheel of the year. In the Gregorian calendar four boundaries between months are close to, but several days earlier than, the true midpoints between solstices and equinoxes. If the Gregorian calendar had equal-length months and were accurately aligned with the true cross-quarter points then the solstices and equinoxes would fall halfway through the months of December, March, June and September, and the true cross-quarter points would be on the boundaries between October and November, January and February, April and May and between July and August.
In the Southern Hemisphere, most Pagans advance these dates six months to coincide with the seasons; for example, an Australian Pagan will celebrate Beltane on November 1, when a Canadian Pagan is celebrating Samhain.
In addition, most Pagans are somewhat flexible about dates, tending to celebrate at the nearest weekend for convenience. Among Pagans, this is commonly referred to as Pagan Standard Time.
Until fairly recently, the four seasons were based on the cross-quarter days. The summer solstice (northern hemisphere) was called midsummer, now it is the beginning of summer in many countries. If the summer solstice were midsummer then summer began on Beltane and ended on Lughnasadh. In terms of length of day, a function of season, the pattern was sensible when this was the case. Summer was the season of long days. Winter was the season of long nights. Spring and autumn were transitional seasons between the two. In the modern definition of summer, beginning at the summer solstice, summer begins at the longest day of the year and each day gets shorter. In some countries, these definitions have been aligned with the Gregorian Calendar so seasons officially start at the beginning of the month (e.g. December 1 in New Zealand).
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- BBC summary of Pagan festivals
- About the Sabbats by Judy Harrow
- The Witches' Sabbats by Mike Nichols
