This is based off of a mixture of historical evidence and personal experience. The dates, as always with holidays of this nature, are subject to change based off lunar cycles and personal ability. These are the dates I have chosen to celebrate; I follow a solar calendar to keep the dates consistent year-to-year and make it easier for my work schedule and future family.
All of these holidays will eventually be getting their own posts! This is condescend information.
Skirophoria June 10th & 11th
This was a major agricultural festival where the agricultural deities, such as Demeter, Poseidon, Dionysus, Persephone and Helios, were thanked and given seasonal offerings. Some celebratory activities include feasting on honey, cheeses, grains, fruits, and wine. Abstinence also was practiced on these days.
This holiday is in honor and thanks to Demeter for the grains she provides. In history games were played in celebration as well as offerings to Demeter. There is more information here, as I only recently learned about this holiday.
This holiday honors the dead and ancestors. The offerings went towards your ancestors, with activities such as telling their stories, looking at memorabilia of them, and visiting graves. I personally also like to pray to chthonic deities such as Demeter, Hades, and Persephone asking them to continue to protect the souls of my ancestors.
Eleusinian Mysteries September 10th thru 20th (pick your own days to celebrate)
In antiquity, this was the initiations for the Eleusinian Mysteries cult, which promised a blessed afterlife for its initiates. I like to celebrate this as a time for Demeter, Persephone, and Triptolemos. This year I will be performing a personal oath during this time, with inspiration from the initiation rites that we have uncovered. Some ways to celebrate include reading the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, a ritual bath, fasting during the day, and giving offerings to Demeter, Persephone, and Triptolemos.
Thesmophoria October 12th, 13th, 14th
This festival is in honor of Demeter, allowing women to celebrate freely. Chasity and abstinence were practiced during this festival, and in antiquity it included pig sacrifices; both of these actions showing ritual purity. This can be celebrated with abstinence, cakes baked into phallic shapes, and singing hymns.
This was another agricultural festival in honor of Demeter, Poseidon, and Dionysus. Celebrations include offerings to the deities, thanking them for our crops and meals, drinking wine and feasting, and baking cakes shaped as phallic symbols.
