OUR HOLIDAYS AND OBSERVANCES

​

EIGHT FOLD CALENDAR

​

The Eight-fold Seasonal Calendar is not exactly the same as those that recognize a similar set as they are often based on disconnected roots or confused information. Our Druish Calendars make efforts to correct these issues and draw from known traditions but is uniquely rooted in the shared cultural heritage of communities in Europe, Scandinavia, and Siberia who lived symbiotically with Caribou/Reindeer, and other migratory animals, following and honoring their migratory customs, and adapted directly into the following festivals. These are based on more ancient and known cultural sources than many medieval and late/modern reinventions. Note, I removed "deity" names because there are no good ones that convey properly the specific seasons or months. Because of that I will only use an order of "God" or "First, Second or Third Goddess."

​

Pre-Spring (February 1–2): Light Festival

 

1. Context: Pregnant caribou cows begin leading their herds from pine forests to open fields as spring’s glow emerges.

2. Practices: Torch parades and fire dancing celebrate returning sunlight, symbolizing warmth and new life. Traditions are associated with cattle and rain rather than snow.

3. Divine Aspect: First Goddess

4. Significance: Welcomes light, promising renewal and aligning with lengthening days.

 

Spring (March 21–22): Life Festival

 

1. Context: As snow melts and flowers bloom, caribou calves are born. Herders light bonfires to deter predators and hunt stragglers.

2. Practices: Egg gifting, celebrating baby animals and parenthood, spring cleaning, and burning waste (old food, debris) to clear fields and purge vermin.

3. Divine Aspect: Second Goddess

4. Significance: Marks the equinox, balancing day and night, and symbolizes renewal through birth and cleansing.

 

Pre-Summer (May 1–2): Flower Festival

 

1. Context: Caribou graze on fresh growth while their young are nurtured. Herders maintain protective fires.

2. Practices: Celebrate blooming youth through flowers, learning customs, and leaping over fires to banish “Ghost Sickness.” Votive boats with lamps guide spirits to the hereafter.

3. Divine Aspect: Third Goddess

4. Significance: Honors nature’s full bloom, symbolizing health, fertility, and purification.

 

Summer (June 21–22): Midsummer Festival

 

1. Context: Herders mark calves, repair tools and tents, and share stories for entertainment and teaching.

2. Practices: Strength is celebrated through sports, exercise, and crafting, reflecting young animals play-fighting to establish roles.

3. Divine Aspect: God

4. Significance: Marks the solstice, when daylight reaches its peak, fostering resilience and preparation.

 

Pre-Fall (August 1–2): Harvest Festival

 

1. Context: Caribou bulls are selected for slaughter to conserve resources, with hides and bones repurposed for tools and clothing.

2. Practices: Feasting, trading, hunting, and harvesting (hay, wheat, barley) offer gratitude for the abundance of land, sea, and sky.

3. Divine Aspect: First Goddess

4. Significance: Marks the beginning of the harvest, celebrating abundance and gratitude.

 

Fall (September 21–22): Love Festival

 

1. Context: During caribou mating season, herders fish, gather berries, and witness bulls battling for dominance.

2. Practices: Festivities include romantic celebrations, weddings, contests of skill and strength, games, and fortune-telling for pairing partners. Fermented fruit wine enhances the celebrations.

3. Divine Aspect: Second Goddess

4. Significance: Marks the equinox, fostering love and community harmony.

 

Pre-Winter (November 1–2): Hunters Fest

 

1. Context: Herders track caribou to marshlands, culling weaker animals to prepare for winter.

2. Practices: Celebrations center around hunting, food preservation, storytelling, and offerings at tombs as temples. 

3. Divine Aspect: Third Goddess

4. Significance: Marks the darker half of the year, honoring ancestors and scarcity.

 

Winter (December 21–22): Midwinter Festival

 

1. Context: Caribou and herders gather in pine forests, sharing resources to maintain peace.

2. Practices: Family, friends, and strangers exchange gifts, fostering unity and hospitality during shared winter camps.

3. Divine Aspect: God

4. Significance: Marks the winter solstice, when darkness peaks, celebrating harmony and resilience.​​​

​​

THREEFOLD MAIN HOLIDAYS AND REMAINING NINE MONTHS (TWELVE-FOLD CALENDAR)

​

This was also inspired by ancient architecture that reflects these same concepts before questionable reconstruction was added to what is known as the Goseck Circle, which is a Neolithic structure sometimes called Germany's Woodhenge, in Goseck in the Burgenlandkreis district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It was constructed around 4900 BC, and appears to have remained in use until around 4700 BC and likewise has openings to the North, South East and South West.

​

SIMPLIFIED REFERENCE 

 

GOD Winter Festival (December 21–23)

 

Held during the winter solstice, Winter-Tide emphasizes survival in harsh winters while promoting peace, hospitality, and community. It celebrates resilience through storms and the sharing of resources, strengthening family and friendship bonds in alignment with ancient traditions. Winter spans the modern Yuletide and Christmas, originally encompassing November through February. It centers on the Winter Solstice and New Year, marked by communal celebrations and survival strategies during harsh conditions.

 

Winter was a time of scarcity, with clans competing with one another and predators for dwindling game. Bonfires and communal gatherings safeguarded communities, while gift-giving solidified alliances, laying the foundation for modern holiday traditions. This overlaps with the Midwinter Festival of Yule which derives from Old Germanic and Norse variants (ġiell, giul, ġeōl, jól) and Greek-influenced gelos (“yell,” meaning cheer, and laugh based on the context of application, and in that sense "celebration").er (elder) still retaining a sense of authority earned through time. 

​

• Lunar Markers: Yule Month, Full Long Night Moon, Bright Cold Moon.

• Associations: Winter storms, festivity, resource sharing, peace, and friendship.

​

Practices:

 

• Feasting: Communal meals of pork, ale, bread, and a boar’s head centerpiece represent unity, with livestock culled for sustenance. Pig slaughter and cooking, communal fires, gift-giving.

• Gift-Giving: Originating as gestures of goodwill, clans exchanged resources in forest and mountain sanctuaries, fostering hospitality and unity.

• Bonfires and Yule Log: Fires symbolize the sun’s return and ward off evil, while Yule log ashes are preserved for protective rituals. Large communal bonfires, encircled by animal-hide tents, provided warmth, light, and protection from predators. Stories of survival, dangerous creatures, and narrow escapes were shared, preserving lessons and warnings across generations.

• Storytelling: Myths recount celestial caribou tracks forming the Milky Way, tying survival to divine creation.

​

Symbolism:

 

• Caribou/Deer Skull: Totem of family and resilience.

• Decorations: Wreaths, garlands, trees, and mistletoe—evergreens like holly (with green leaves, white flowers, red berries) and pine—symbolize endurance. Holly’s sharp leaves represent protection, while pine’s fragrance connects to forests where nomadic clans followed caribou herds.

​

GOD: Spring Festival (April 30–May 2)

 

It celebrates nature’s renewal: animals give birth, plants bloom, and flocks return. Its connection to Easter comes from a term meaning “Eastern,” referencing the sun’s rise. The Easter Bunny, first documented in 1682 Germany, is a literary invention rather than an ancient symbol. Medieval Europe adapted the Triple Hare into trinity-based concepts, falsely attributed as Celtic. This overlaps with the Flower Festival and occurs near Beltane, emphasizing spring’s vitality, fertility, and themes of renewal and romantic unity. Langantide, also a base word form for Lent, reflects the sanctity and abundance of life.

​​

Lunar Markers: Snow Crust Month, Full Pink Salmon Moon, Egg Moon.

Associations: Light, life, mating, and dominance among young animals and people.

 

Practices:

 

• Bonfires: Flames purify fields, bless cattle, and bring good fortune (note: the original meaning of bonfire was bone fire).

• Maypole Dancing: Ribbons woven around a birch pole symbolize union and reproduction.

• Handfasting: Temporary engagements honor romantic bonds as a trial run of a year and a day before full on marriage.

• Gathering Seeds and Flowers: Planting seeds, picking flowers, celebrating fertility.

• Wight Offerings: Milk and butter are left for Wights to maintain harmony.

 

Symbolism:

 

• Hare/Rabbit: Represents life’s abundance and celestial cycles. Originally linked with Geese, Swans and other Bird flocks. 

• Eggs and Flowers: Gifts of boiled eggs signify health; flower crowns mark beauty and fertility.

• Fertility Symbols: Anything connect to love, weddings, sex, birth, and temporal cycles (past, present, future; cause, course, consequence). The egg-laying hare was a humorous fiction, not a pre-monotheistic belief.

 

GOD: Summer Festival (July 31–August 2)

​

Honors hunting, harvesting, and ancestors. A blend of preparation for autumn and reverence for heritage, it ties to the west and water as symbols of life and afterlife —spanning July through October— centers on the first full moon between August 2 and 14. It marks preparations for winter through hunting and harvesting, with the wild boar as a key symbol. This overlaps with the Harvest Festival.​

​​​

Lunar Markers: Molt Month, Full Sturgeon Moon, Green Corn Grain Moon.

Practices: Wheat threshing, bread making, hunting (specially wild boar and deer) and harvesting.

 

Practices:

 

• Harvesting: Communal activities include threshing, baking, and gathering herbs.

• Water Rituals: Streams and wells are blessed; floral wreaths float to honor ancestors.

• Ancestor Tributes: Burial mounds are cleaned, and offerings are made.

• Fire Symbols: Flaming wheels rolled downhill mimic the sun’s descent, votive fire boats to bid farewell to the dead.

 

Symbolism:

 

• Wild Boar: Embodies harvest and fertility.

• West and Water: Reflect ancestral bonds and spiritual transitions.​​

 

​THE THREE GODDESSES AND REMAINING 9 MONTHS OF THE SOLAR YEAR

 

All three associated with crafting tools, clothes, and mending such as tents used for temporary shelters, making of nets to capture fish and other animals, as well as measuring the conditions of life for all things. They are various known as the Wayward Sisters, the Wyrd Sisters and the Nornir/Norns to name but a few. The following will be the associated sub-names and will show how they connect with the sub-names of Godan. 

​

GODDESS 1

​

• JANUARY: New Year Month, Full Wolf Moon, Feasting and Drinking.

• MAY: Reindeer Calf Month, Full Flower Corn Planting Milk Moon, Hawking, Seeking a Spouse.

• SEPTEMBER: Harvest Month, Full Corn and Harvest Moon, Grape harvest and wine making.

 

GODDESS 2

​

1. FEBRUARY: FULLA (FULLNESS). Consort of Sadan. Bear Month, Snow Moon and Polar Bear Month, Enjoying a warm fire.

2. JUNE: GRANI (GRAINS/GREENS). Consort of Grim. Acorn Month, Full Strawberry and Rose Moon, Hay harvest, and storage.

3. OCTOBER: HELIA (HEALER). Consort of Wulder. Rut Month, Full Blood, Hunter’s and Second Harvest Moon, Plowing and sowing.

 

GODDESS 3

​

1. MARCH: Swan/Stork Month, Full Crow and Worm Moon, Pruning trees, and digging ditches.

2. JULY: Hay Month, The Full Thunder and Buck Moon, Wheat harvest and fence mending.

3. NOVEMBER: Hunters Month, Full Long Night and Bright, Cold Moon, Gathering acorns and food for pigs.

​​

​Symbolism of the Three Goddesses

 

The Three Goddesses, metaphorically referred to as Horn Bearers, are associated with:

 

• Opened Spaces: Representing their diverse symbolism and roles.

• Seasonal Alignment: Each Goddess governs four segments of the seasons, creating a four-fold division marked by the 12 months of the year.

• Sub-Divisions: Each of the four segments contains 9 sub-divisions, resulting in a total of 36 points, tying into solar and lunar calendar concepts.

​​

Different sources will have their own associated seasonal symbolism from different cultural perspectives, however, there is some overlap to a degree. These are far more traditional than most modern claims.

 

Basic/Standard Associations 1

​

January: New Year Month

February: Bear Month

March: Swan/Stork Month

April: Snow Crust Month

May: Reindeer Calf Month

June: Acorn Month

July: Hay Month

August: Molt Month

September: Harvest Month

October: Rut Month

November: Hunters Month

December: Yule Month

 

Basic/Standard Associations 1

​

January: Full Wolf Moon

February: Snow Moon and Polar Bear Month

March: Full Crow and Worm Moon

April: Full Pink Salmon and Egg Moon

May:  Full Flower Corn Planting Milk Moon

June:  Full Strawberry and Rose Moon

July: Full Thunder and Buck Moon

August: Full Sturgeon and Green Corn Grain Moon

September: Full Corn and Harvest Moon

October: Full Blood, Hunter’s and Second Harvest Moon

November: Full Frosty, Beaver Trapper's Moon

December: The Full Long Night and Bright, Cold Moon

 

Basic/Standard Associations 1

​

January: Feasting and Drinking.

February: Enjoying a warm fire.

March: Pruning trees, or digging.

April: Planting, and picking flowers.

May: Hawking, and seeking a spouse.

June: Hay harvest, and storage.

July: Wheat harvest and fence mending

August: Wheat threshing and bread making.

September: Grape harvest and wine making.

October: Plowing and sowing.

November: Gathering acorns and food for pigs.

December: Killing and cooking pigs.

 

Basic/Standard Days of the Week

 

In De temporum ratione (On the Reckoning of Time) by Bede the Venerable,  (c. 672/673–735 CE) was an Anglo-Saxon Benedictine monk, historian, and theologian from Northumbria, England, the spellings leading to our present forms were applied by trying to create a presumed set of associated "deities" to the Roman Latin context. Because he couldn't do better, or whoever he borrowed it from, Saturn's day remained. Of course no one could sort out one to fit Saturday so it was left in place.

 

The forms he gives are:

 

• Mōnandæg (Monday) Day 1,

• Tīwesdæg (Tuesday) Day 2

• Wōdnesdæg (Wednesday) Day 3

• Þunresdæg (Thursday) Day 4

• Frīgedæg (Friday) Day 5

• Sæternesdæg (Saturday) Day 6

• Sunnandæg (Sunday) Day 7

 

However, it is organized today as

 

• Sunnandæg (Sunday) Day 7, now Day 1

• Mōnandæg (Monday) Day 1, now Day 2

• Tīwesdæg (Tuesday) Day 2, now Day 3

• Wōdnesdæg (Wednesday) Day 3, now Day 4

• Þunresdæg (Thursday) Day 4, now Day 5

• Frīgedæg (Friday) Day 5, now Day 6

• Sæternesdæg (Saturday) Day 6, now Day 7

​​​