by Martin Chapman

Created on: June 11, 2008   Last Updated: June 30, 2008

PAGAN FESTIVALS IN THE US

Many of the immigrants coming to America over the last 500 years brought with them a history of Pagan traditions, although they may have been unaware of such. Some of these traditions were written out of history by the Christian churches and Roman colonization. However, in some cases Christianity adopted to the strong local Pagan traditions, for example the Celtic and pre-Celtic traditions of Ireland, which were beyond the reach of the Roman Empire and its campaigns to eliminate Druidism.

The Celtic pagan solar and agricultural festivals of the spring and autumn equinoxes and the summer and winter solstices have survived to this day. There were four great days of the Celtic year: Beltaine at the start of May; Midsummer; Lughnasadh on 1st August; and Samhain on 31st October. After Samhain the Sun says goodbye to its power and must wait a half year under the dominance of the forces of winter darkness and evil. The Winter Solstice marks the shortest day of the year and is a time of hope and rebirth.

I recently had the pleasure of visiting the spectacular passage tomb of Newgrange, located at Br na Binne, County Meath in Ireland. Newgrange is one of the pyramids of Europe. It is the world's oldest sun observatory and was built some 700 years before the great pyramids in Egypt. During the Winter Solstice, which occurs about the 21st December, a beam of direct sunlight shines through the roof-box above the entrance, goes along the passage and reaches across the tomb chamber floor as far as the front edge of the basin stone in the end recess. Thus the light of the sun, the source of life, enters the darkness of the entrance to the underworld and symbolizes the birth of new life.

The Church took the approximate time of the Winter Solstice and used that as the birth date of Jesus Christ. Just as Jesus had a cup of life, so too was the Celtic God Dagda the owner of the Cauldron of Life. The Dagda "the good God" was the leader of the Tuatha De Danann, the Gods of the Gaelic people of Ireland. The Dagda himself was the son of the River Goddess Danu and Bel (or Bil) of the Underworld. Bel is seen as the father of the Gaelic Gods and men. It is the Dagda and his son Angus who are associated with the Newgrange site.

In all the Celtic festivals, bonfires are lit on hilltops and hearth fires rekindled. The modern Christmas celebration begins on Christmas Eve, when the traditional Yule log is brought to the family hearth. This log is cut by the male head

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