January is a month that holds special significance for many pagan traditions. In various pagan cultures, this month is a time for celebrating important holidays and engaging in rituals that honor the change of seasons and the cycles of life. One significant pagan holiday observed in January is Imbolc, also known as Candlemas or Brigid's Day. Imbolc is a Gaelic festival that marks the beginning of spring and is dedicated to the Celtic goddess Brigid. It is a time for purification and fertility rituals, as well as lighting candles to symbolize the returning light and warmth. Another pagan holiday celebrated in January is Yule, which takes place around the winter solstice.
The Folklore Year – January
Many British folklore customs are of Celtic origin. The Celts divided their year by four great festivals, starting with Samhain, signifying the arrival of winter and the New Year, which fell on 1st November. Imbolc was next and occurred on 1st February, followed by Beltane on 1st May and Lugnasdh on 1st August.
Whilst these dates were all fixed within the Celtic year, the exact dates may not correspond precisely with those above, as dates were adjusted when first the Julian calendar was introduced, and later when England changed to the Gregorian calendar in 1751.
As with Christian festivals such as Easter, many Celtic celebrations do not have definite dates and are moveable or flexible.
Readers should always check with local Tourist Information Centres (TIC’s) that events or festivals are actually taking place before setting out to attend.
Permanent dates in January
| 1 st January | Hogmanay New Year Celebrations | Scotland | It is believed that many of the traditional Hogmanay celebrations were originally brought to Scotland by the invading Vikings in the early 8th and 9th centuries. |
| 1 st January | Andrew’s Dole | Bideford, Devon | Dates from 1605, when Mayor John Andrew provided a loaf of bread to each of the poor old folk within the town |
| 1 st January | Mummers’ Plays and sword dancing | Northumberland and Durham | Traditional masked mimes dating from the 15th century in which a character is killed and then brought back to life, so signifying the death of the Old Year and rebirth of the New Year. |
| 1 st January | Mummers’ Play | Symondsbury, Dorset | |
| 1 st January | Needle and Thread Ceremony | Queens College, Oxford | In a ceremony dating back 600 years, each college member is given a needle and some coloured silk thread to mend their academic hoods and instructed to ‘Take this and be thrifty’. |
| 5 th January | Twelfth Night | Throughout the UK | Formerly the last day of Christmas and the time to remove all Christmas decorations, also the night for the traditional Wassailing celebrations. |
| 6 th January | Twelfth Day | The twelfth day after Christmas Day and the Old Calendar date for Christmas Day. | |
| 6 th January | Baddeley Cake Ceremony | Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London | In 1794 Robert Baddeley bequeathed a sum of £100, so that every year a Twelfth Night cake could be served to the cast performing at the theatre. |
| 6 th January | Haxey Hood Game | Haxey, Lincolnshire | A tradition which started in the 13th century when Lady de Mowbray was riding through the village. A gust of wind blew the Lady’s silken hood away and the villagers fought for the privilege of returning it to her. |
| 6 th January | Royal Epiphany Gifts | St James’s Palace, London | First started during the reign of George II, the monarch commemorates the Gifts of the Magi on the Feast of the Epiphany. Today money is donated to the poor of the parish. |
| 7 th January | St Distaff’s Day | Traditionally the day when people returned to work after the Christmas festivities. | |
| 11 th January | Old Calendar Hogmanay | ||
| 11 th January | Burning the Clavie | Burghead, North East Scotland | Perhaps a little slow to change, the folk of Burhead ignore the fact that the calendar changed in 1752 and celebrate their New Year by burning the ‘clavie’, a half barrel nailed to long pole used for salmon fishing. |
| 13 th January | St Hilary’s Day | Traditionally known as the coldest day of the year. | |
| 17 th January | Wassailing Orchards | Carhampton and Roadwater, Somerset | Takes place on the Old Twelfth Night, when the wassailing party enter the orchards with a goodly amount of cider with which toast the trees and thus encourage a fruitful season. |
| 25 th January | Burns Night | Scotland and now worldwide | Robert Burns is the best loved Scottish poet, admired not only for his verse and great love-songs, but also for his character and wit, his high spirits, ‘kirk-defying’, hard drinking and womanising! |
| 30 th January | Charles I’s Martyrdom | Windsor Castle and London | Commemoration of the first anointed king to be officially executed. A memorial service is held at Windsor Castle and choristers march from St. Martin-in-the-Fields to Trafalgar Square. |
Straw Bear Day, Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire
Flexible dates in January
| Various date throughout January – check here | Morris Dancing | Alvechurch, Birmingham, Bradford, Goathland, Horsham, Monkseaton, Turners Hill and West Chillington. | Regarded as an ancient tradition even in the reign of Elizabeth I, these ‘madde men’ with their ‘Devils dance’ were banned by the Puritans following the Civil War. |
| Saturday before Plough Monday | Straw Bear Day | Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire | The `straw-bear’ being a man completely covered in straw, led by a string, and made to dance in front of people’s houses, in return for money, beer or food. |
| Sunday nearest the 5 th of the month | Plough Sunday | Chichester and Exeter Cathedrals and Hedenham Church, Norfolk | Traditionally the first Sunday after Epiphany, the time to celebrate the long hours of tilling and preparing the soil before the seed can be sown. A celebration of the mystery of land and human labour. |
| Tuesday after Plough Monday | Straw Bear Day |
January 1
Festival of Gamelia: Roman holy day. Held on the Kalends of January (first day of the month) and dedicated to Juno Gamelia, the patron Goddess of marriage. Named for the Greek month of Gamelion on the Attic calendar, a lunar month that occurred in December or January. The Greek month of Gamelion celebrated the marriage of Zeus and Hera. According to Plutarch, marriages required the protection of Zeus, Hera, Aphrodite, Peitho, and Artemis.
Feast of Hera:
Feast of Hera: Greek holy day. Hera is the Greek Goddess of marriage. This feast is part of Gamelia (see above). On the Greek island of Samos (the withy bushes of the island were believed to be Heras birthplace) a priestess secretly took the idol of Hera from the temple and hid it in a lonely place among the willow branches in the woods along the islands shore. The idol was discovered with great celebration and cakes set beside it as bridal offerings.
The idol was wrapped in withy (willow) and placed in a secluded osier couch (osier is a kind of willow). After the feast, the idol was purified and restored to the temple. The restoration of the idol to the temple indicated that the sacred marriage to Zeus was complete.
This ritual echoed Zeus abduction of Hera. In Greek mythology, Zeus turns into a cuckoo and chases Hera to the top of Mount Ida, where he forces himself on her sexually in the midst of a great cloud. When the cloud clears, flowers spring from the ground and Zeus and Hera are married. Premarital sex may have been practiced in celebration of the myth. A Samoan poet wrote Bring wine and the Muses charmful lyre that we may sing of the far-famed bride of Zeus, the mistress of our island.
Withy (willow) branches were woven for the Feast of Hera. Withy was also used in Greek marriage ceremonies. Hera, who started as an Earth Goddess in pre-Greek times became the Greek Goddess who protected marriage and birth.
Frost Faeries:
Frost Faeries: Wiccan holy day. The frost faeries of winter are out on this morning. You may find wonderful pictures in the morning frost on your windows.
New Years Day:
New Years Day: International holiday (originally Western holiday). New Years Day. This is the most international of all holidays, celebrated worldwide with parties and fireworks displays. The dropping of a large public ball to mark the local midnight, most famous from New York Citys Times Square celebration, is common throughout the world. The modern calendar is based on the Roman calendar, which was based on the Kemetic (ancient Egyptian) solar calendar. The Romans realigned the start of the months to match their New Years Day in March (which is why September, October, November, and December are named the 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th months respectively) and renumbered the years to match the mythical founding of Rome. Later the New Year was moved to January first and the Christians renumbered the years for the desingated birthday of the mythical Jesus. Currently 162 nations celebrate January 1st as New Years Day. An old British magick tradition states that if you leave a loaf of bread and a penny on a table overnight, that you will have plenty of food throughout the coming year.
There is a folk superstition that if you use scissors on New Years Day that you will cut off your own good fortune for that year.
New Years Day Magick:
New Years Day Magick: A spell requesting Seshat grant your wish for the new year. Tie four knots equal distance into a piece of red hemp twine less than one meter (or one yard) long. Red represents life force. The hemp twine represents time. Tie the knots from left to right and concentrate on your wish for the year being tied into the fabric of time. Open your front door. Tie the knotted hemp twine into a circle. On the first knot tell Seshat your hope. On the second knot tell Seshat your wish. On the third knot tell Seshat your belief. On the fourth knot receive Seshats blessings. Place the knotted red hemp twine on your altar to remind yourself of your request of Goddess. Note that this spell involves breathing on knots and therefore carries the death penalty in Islamic nations.
German New Year:
German New Year: German holy day. German New Year (based on Roman New Year), dedicated to Perchta or Bertha.
Roman New Year:
Roman New Year: Roman holy day. Sacred to Jupiter, Juno, and Janus. January is named for Janus.
Japanese New Year:
Japanese New Year: Japanese holy day. Japanese New Year. To compute the Japanese year add 660 to the Western year.
New Years Day Celebrations:
New Years Day Celebrations: Celebrated with making of noise at local midnight. Shooting gunsinto the air is dangerous. Spells and rituals for protection and divination. Exchange of gifts, especially herring, bread, and fuel for the home fire.
Day of the Tuatha de Danaan:
Day of the Tuatha de Danaan: Celtic holy day. Day of the Tuatha de Danaan (the people of Danu). Their Gods are Brian, Luchar, and Uar, sons of Brighid, who is associated with Danu, the ancestral Goddess and grandmother of the Tuatha de Danaan. Celtic information provided by Shelley M. Greer ©1997.
Day of Keeping Things:
Day of Keeping Things: Kemetic (ancient Egyptian) holy day. Day of keeping things of the Wabet of Asar [Osiris] which have been placed in the hands of Anpu [Anubis].
Oshogastu:
Shogastu: Japanese holy day. Oshogastu (or Shogastu)is for the Household Gods. This is the first of a six day Shinto New Year festival, originally aligned with the start of the Chinese/Asian New Year, but now aligned with the Western calendar. Honor the kami (divine spirits) of the four directions and they will provide good health, prosperity, and happiness for those who live in divine order.
Fortuna:
Sacrifice Day for Fortuna: Roman holy day. Day of offerings to the Roman Goddess Fortuna in hope that she will bless the new year. Romans made offerings to Fortuna, first-born daughter of Jupiter and Goddess of fortune, women, and fertility, in hopes that she would grant them good luck. In addition to offerings of material goods, Romans could make offerings to Fortuna through their actions, such as helping the poor or unfortunate. Because Fortuna had a capricious and unpredicatable nature, these offerings of good works could result in Fortuna treating you less cruelly when she turns bad fortune to you.
Birthday of Chronos:
Birth of Chronos: Roman holy day. Birthday of Chronos (same as the Greek Uranus), lord of time and father of Jupiter (same as the Greek Zeus). The common illustration of the old man with the hourglass and scythe is Chronos.
Kwanzaa:
Last Day of Kwanzaa: Swahili and Afro-American holy day. December 26-January 1 is Kwanzaa (Swahili for first fruits), created by Maulana Karenga in 1967, based on a traditional Swahili festival for the first fruits of the harvest, dedicated to the Seven African Principles. In the Swahili language the Seven Pricniples are called the Nguzo Saba and are: Umoja, Kujichagulia, Ujima, Ujamaa, Nia, Kuumba, and Imani. Umoja (unity) is to strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation, and race. Kujichagulia (self-determination) is to define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves, and speak for ourselves. Ujima (cooperative work and responsibility) is to build and maintain our community together and make our brothers and sisters problems our problems and to solve them together. Ujamaa (cooperative economics) is to build and maintain our own stores, shops, and other businesses and to profit from them together. Nia (purpose) is to make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community, to restore our people to their traditional greatness. Kuumba (creativity) is to do always as much as we can, in the way we can, so as to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it. Imani (faith) is to believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders, and the righteousness and victory of our struggle. Celebrated by more than 20 million Blacks in the United States, Canada, England, the Caribbean, and parts of Africa with parades, community festivals, and family gatherings in the home. Participants dress in African garb, exchange Swahili greetings, decorate their surroundings in the symbolic colors of red, green, and black, tell stories, feast on traditional foods, and exchange homemade gifts. In the Yoruban tradition the Seven African Powers are: Obatala, Yemaya, Elegba, Oya, Oshun, Chango, and Ogan.
Black Nazarene Fiesta:
Black Nazarene Fiesta: Philippino holy day. Black Nazarene Fiesta in Manila, the Philippines (January 1-9).
St. Concordius Day:
St. Concordius Day: Christian holy day. Roman Christian saint.
Another pagan holiday celebrated in January is Yule, which takes place around the winter solstice. Yule is a time to honor the rebirth of the sun and the return of longer days. Many pagan traditions incorporate the lighting of a Yule log and the exchange of gifts to symbolize the cycle of giving and receiving.
calendar
This day on different world calendars.
Information on various calendars from around the world.
When January 1 was a ‘wicked’ Pagan festival called ‘Calends’
It is often claimed that New Year is a Christian festival. And that the current Gregorian New Year on January 1 was first instituted by Pope Gregory in 16th century. Is that really so?
According to Bible, New Year does not occur in the winter month of January. It rather occurs in Spring in the month of Nisan (March-April). This was precisely when the Early Christians celebrated new year. So how did the New Year “change”?
Until 1752, Christians of England and US celebrated the New Year on March 25. “The year begins on 25th day of March”-
When Christians celebrated New Year on March 25 then who celebrated the New Year on January 1?
The pagans celebrated the New Year on January 1. They called it the festival of Calends. They decorated their houses with wreaths and offered sacrifices to Goddess Juno.
Initially, the Christians banned the January 1 New year festival. “The whole wicked celebration is Pagan” they said.
January 1 was banned by Bishop Eufronius in the council of tours (567 CE). The Christians continued celebrating New Year on March 25.
“God created the universe on March 25” – Pope Benedict
It was only with introduction of Gregorian calendar in 1582 that January 1 was reinstated as New Year. By 16th century, there were no Pagans in Europe celebrating Calends. Having a new year on March 25 in a Calendar starting on January 1 had turned out to be very inconvenient.
Indeed, the Gregorian calendar is Christian and the shift involved from Julian involved a change to accommodate Easter. But this has got nothing to do with January 1 which was the new year directly adopted from pagan Julian calendar
(This article has been compiled from the tweet thread of @BharadwajSpeaks)
Additionally, some pagan traditions celebrate the holiday of Saturnalia in January. Saturnalia was an ancient Roman festival that honored the god Saturn and was known for its festivities and revelry. It was a time of feasting, gift-giving, and social liberties, where societal rules were temporarily suspended. In January, many pagans also engage in divination practices and set intentions for the year ahead. This can include the use of tarot cards, crystal balls, or other tools for gaining insight and guidance for the future. Overall, January is a month that holds a variety of significant pagan holidays. These celebrations serve to honor nature, the changing seasons, and the interconnectedness of all living things. They provide an opportunity for personal reflection, spiritual growth, and connection with ancient traditions..
Reviews for "Welcoming the Return of Light: Pagan Celebrations in January"
1. John Doe - 1/5 stars - "I do not understand why people celebrate pagan holidays in January. It goes against my religious beliefs, and I find it disrespectful. I believe that celebrating these holidays promotes a pagan lifestyle that goes against the values I hold dear. I would much rather focus on religious holidays that align with my beliefs."
2. Jane Smith - 2/5 stars - "While I respect others' right to celebrate pagan holidays in January, it's not something that resonates with me. I find the rituals and traditions associated with these holidays confusing and don't see the appeal. I prefer to celebrate more mainstream holidays that have a clear historical or religious significance. January pagan holidays just feel like a fad to me."
3. David Wilson - 1/5 stars - "I had high hopes for January pagan holidays, but I was sorely disappointed. The celebrations felt chaotic and disorganized, with no clear structure or purpose. It seemed like an excuse for people to indulge in excessive drinking and partying without any deeper meaning. I believe that holidays should have some sort of moral or spiritual significance, and January pagan holidays just didn't provide that for me."
4. Sarah Thompson - 2/5 stars - "As someone who identifies with a different spiritual path, I found it difficult to connect with the January pagan holidays. The rituals and customs felt foreign and didn't resonate with my own beliefs. While I appreciate the diversity of religious practices, I personally prefer holidays that align with my own spirituality. January pagan holidays just didn't do it for me."
5. Michael Davis - 1/5 stars - "The idea of pagan holidays in January just seems unnecessary to me. We already have enough holidays to celebrate at this time of year, and introducing more feels excessive. I prefer to focus on the traditional holidays that have been celebrated for centuries, rather than adopting newer, less established ones. January pagan holidays just seem like a passing trend to me."