Feb 1
half-way through winter, the quarter cross, Imbolc and Candlemas
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seen from United States
half-way through winter, the quarter cross, Imbolc and Candlemas
First Day of Summer (astronomically speaking) ---
Near as I can tell, the halfway point between the Spring Equinox and the Summer Solstice (called the Celtic cross quarter of Beltane, though it predates the Celts and goes back to early agrarian cultures) is today, May 5, 2023, at 7:35 PM Pacific Daylight Time.
Summer Solstice is Midsummer. Today is beginning of Summer.
What's everyone doing for Beltane in quarantine?
I'm thinking about just doing some artwork in the sunshine.
We are halfway to Spring!
The real first day of winter
The Autumn Cross-Quarter occurs 7 November 2014, 11:56 UTC (3:56 Pacific Standard Time). This marks the point on the Earth's circuit around the sun that is half way between the autumn equinox and the winter solstice.
Astronomers of antiquity measured these dates with a high degree of precision, using what we would consider crude instruments and cumbersome mathematics.
One reason the cross-quarters matter is that it has been the common sense of humanity since these observations began, that the solstices are MID-summer and MID-winter. June 21 and December 21 (or thereabouts) are not "the first day of summer/winter" as the publishers of calendars would have it.
The calendar is about our shared experience of length of daylight and how it changes, and how the sun's pattern (years) interacts with the moon's patterns (months). Like so many things in the modern world, the calendar has been simplified (I admire the self-reliance of the lunar calendar of Judaism!), sanitized, and accepted as a thing in itself. We forget the calendar is a story about phenomena.
The Autumn Cross-Quarter is sometimes called Samhain, which is pronounced "SAW-wonn". Like so many things from the ancient world, the cross-quarters (especially Beltane and Samhain) have been culturally appropriated by neo-pagan cults attempting to Something-or-other because Reasons. Mostly they seem to know what they are against: Christ. I hope we can mark the movement of the sun and the passing of the light without confusing Samhain with All Saints Eve, or painting ourselves with goat blood. ^_^
Archeo-astronomy Norseman Style
5 May 2013 at 8:05 UTC the earth passes the "Beltane" cross-quarter between the Spring Equinox and the Summer Solstice. We don't celebrate Cinco de Mayo at our house, but there is always some passing reference to the Turn of Summer. Since the Summer Solstice is Midsummer Night, the cross-quarter must be the real "First Day of Summer"!
The Spring Cross Quarter
Imbolc (say it "ih-molg") is the astronomical cross-quarter between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox. In Ireland it is called St. Brigid's day -- St. Brigit of Kildare, that is.
My ancient ancestors divided each golden year into "pieces of eight", as it were. They marked and celebrated the ongoing life and the cycle of the seasons. Don't put too much stock in self-styled neo-pagan (read "Victorian") trappings draped on solid archaeo-astronomy.
In 2013, the spring cross-quarter actually occurs 3 February at 15:57 UTC. Its actual date varies because of the vagaries our leap-year calendar.
As a result, celebration of the cross-quarter varies by culture. In Ireland, St. Brigid's day is the First of February. In Asia, the new moon following the spring cross-quarter is the start of the new year (e.g., Tet in Vietnam).
At our house, we celebrate the cross-quarter on Groundhog Day. After all, the cross-quarter is the original reason for the hooplah this morning in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, USA.
Samhain - Autumn Cross-Quarter 7 November 2012
Today is a cusp of the seasons, the turning of fall into winter.
Face it: if the Summer Solstice is Midsummer Night, and we sing about the Bleak Mid-Winter at Winter Solstice time, then the solstices and equinoxes can not be "The first day of ----" as the calendar publishers would have it.
So today is the First Day of Winter, or Samhain, or the Turn of Winter, or -- as we call it at my house, "Cain's Birthday" !!!