Upcoming February Pagan Holidays, Celebrations and Rememberance days
2nd/Horning 2,
2nd: Imbolc, the celebration of the goddess Breo Saighit (celtic-irish)
Imbolc is a Celtic holiday that was widely celebrated in Scotland and Ireland. The word “imbolc” means ewe’s milk. The traditional shepherds celebrated this time of new life as their sheep gave birth, grass began growing again after cold winters, and the days grew longer.
Imbolc occurs during the Druid Month of Rowan. Rowan symbolizes protection and power. It is governed by the Rowan Tree (Mountain Ash).
2: Lammas or Lughnasadh (Southern Hemisphere), marking the grain harvest at the end of summer.
2nd/Horning 2,
Barri: This is the day we celebrate the wooing by Ingvi Freyr of the maiden Gerd, a symbolic marriage of the Vanir God of Fertility with the Mother Earth. It is a festival of fertility, the planted seed and the plowed furrow. For those of you who garden, this is the time to plant seeds indoors, to later be transplanted in the summer garden.
9th Odin World Prayer Day
9th February 995-1000(?):
day of remembrance for Eyvind Kinnrifi, another victim of the forced conversion of Norway by king Olaf Tryggvason /Olaf the Fat.
Olaf tortured him to death by placing a bowl of red-hot embers on his stomach until his body burst open. Eyvinds crime was a steadfast loyalty to the Old Gods. A good day to reflect on kristjan kindness.
13–21: Roman Festival of Parentalia, a time of quiet, personal reflection, in which the ancestors were honored.
14th/Horning 14,
Feast of Val
(today known as christian Valentines Day)
Feast of Vali: This feast originally celebrated the death of Hothr at the hands of Vali. This late winter festival relates to the triumphant return of the light of the sun over the dark days of winter. Today it is traditional celebration of the family. A time for the customary exchange of cards and gifts with loved ones. It is also a time for the renewal of marriage vows and an occasion for marriages.
15th February 1385: Jogaila, king of Lithuania, converted to christianity and so began the fight against the last kind of paganism survived in Europe
15: Lupercalia, celebrating fertility and the coming of spring.
17: Celtic Tree Month of Rowan ends
18: Celtic Tree Month of Ash begins
24th February: EUROPEAN PAGAN MEMORY DAY
24th February 391: Theodosius forbids to look at pagan statues, rites are declared outlaw and so attending to the temples (Cod. Theod. XVI, 10, 10). Though according to some sources this edict was issued on the 22nd February, we chose this day for the European Pagan Memory Day because it is said that in this day Vesta's fire in Rome, the symbol of Roman paganism, was no longer attended and this was the first sacred fire which was set off in Europe.
27th February 380: Theodosius declares christianity to be the state religion on the Roman Empire (Cod. Theod. XVI, 1, 2)
