For most people, Thanksgiving is a holiday with fond memories of food and family gatherings. The real origins of the holiday are up for debate. Many Native Americans view Thanksgiving as a “day of mourning” rather than a celebration. Thanksgiving is rememb…
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Call it midsummer, the first day of summer or summer solstice; it all means essentially the same thing. It’s the day with the longest amount of daylight and the shortest night of the year. In 2023, the summer solstice will occur on Wednesday, June 21. In som…
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If you’re interested in connecting to ancient spiritual practices, you should include celebrating the equinoxes on your yearly festival calendar. The spring and fall equinoxes are already marked on the calendar you probably have sitting near your desk, b…
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Celebrating the end of one year and the dawn of another involves all kinds of rituals and traditions. While some make obvious sense, like counting down the seconds until midnight, there are some that can seem a bit odd. From commonplace actions like kissing wh…
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Candles are actually a nice addition to a number of winter rituals for pagans.
The winter can be a long and harsh season. When the temperature plummets, plenty of people hide indoors to escape the chill. Unfortunately, depression and low spirits are also common…
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Western civilization is influenced by Paganism in some pretty surprising ways.
You
may be surprised to learn that many holidays we celebrate have Pagan origins,
including several that are associated with Christianity. With Western culture
being relatively young…
Many Christmas traditions can be traced back to pagan origins.
Christmas seems to come earlier and earlier each year. November will barely be over and people will begin setting up their trees, hanging wreaths, and blasting carols from their cars and homes. While ma…
Kwanzaa encourages black heritage and pride while honoring important values that uplift the community and promote positive growth and development.
From Yule commemorations of ancient Germanic cultures to Jewish Hanukkah festivities, midwinter is often a time when p…
Through the freezing weather, it can be useful to discover winter practices to help and warm your spirits.
Winter can be a very brutal season. Between sudden snowstorms, frigid temperatures, and mornings when you just can’t get out from under the covers, th…
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Imbolc is an opportunity to look forward to the return of spring.
For many people,
the holiday season tends to die down once New Year’s Day has come and gone.
Still, there are millions of people around the world who look forward to
another important celebrat…