If you’ve been curious about pagan holy days, what they are, when they fall, and what each one means, this is a date-by-date guide to the eight sabbats. Whether you’re a seeker just starting to engage with earth-honoring spirituality, a Christian curious about the calendar, or someone planning to attend a ceremony, this should give you the lay of the year.
What Is a Sabbat?
The word sabbat comes from the same root as the Hebrew Shabbat (“rest, ceasing”). In pagan and earth-honoring traditions, a sabbat is one of the eight sacred festivals that make up the Wheel of the Year. Together, the eight sabbats divide the year into roughly six-week segments and mark the turning of the seasons.
Each sabbat has its own character, its own themes, traditional foods, rituals, and meaning.
The 8 Sabbats and Their Dates
1. Samhain, October 31 to November 1
The Celtic new year and the festival of the ancestors. Marks the end of the harvest, the beginning of the dark half of the year, and the thinning of the veil between the living and the dead. Christian observance: All Saints’ Day (Nov 1), All Souls’ Day (Nov 2). Themes: remembrance, release, ancestral connection.
2. Yule, December 20–23 (Winter Solstice)
The longest night of the year. Celebrates the return of the light as the sun begins to climb again. Christian observance: Christmas (Dec 25). Themes: rebirth of the light, hope in darkness, gathering by the fire.
3. Imbolc, February 1–2
The first stirrings of spring beneath the snow. Associated with the goddess Brigid (and Saint Brigid). Christian observance: Candlemas (Feb 2). Themes: purification, new beginnings, the return of light.
4. Ostara, March 19–22 (Spring Equinox)
Day and night in balance, then light begins to win. The word “Easter” derives from “Eostre”, the same goddess. Christian observance: Easter (movable feast, generally near Ostara). Themes: planting, resurrection, renewal.
5. Beltane, May 1
The great fire festival of life and fertility. Traditionally celebrated with bonfires, Maypole dancing, and flowers. Themes: passion, growth, abundance, joy. (Read about our Beltane celebration.)
6. Litha, June 20–22 (Summer Solstice)
The longest day. Peak of solar power. Themes: fullness, light, recognizing abundance just before it begins to wane.
7. Lughnasadh, August 1
The first harvest festival, named for the god Lugh. Sometimes called Lammas in Anglo-Saxon tradition (“loaf-mass”). Themes: gratitude, gathering, the first fruits of effort.
8. Mabon, September 20–23 (Autumn Equinox)
Day and night in balance again, then darkness begins to win. The second harvest. Themes: gratitude, preparation for the dark, equilibrium.
Solstices, Equinoxes, and Cross-Quarter Days
The eight sabbats fall into two categories:
- Four solar sabbats, Yule, Ostara, Litha, Mabon, tied to astronomical events (solstices and equinoxes).
- Four cross-quarter days, Samhain, Imbolc, Beltane, Lughnasadh, falling at the midpoints between the solar sabbats. These have Celtic agricultural origins.
Together they make the eight-fold cycle most pagan, Wiccan, Druidic, and Christo-pagan traditions observe today.
Greater Sabbats and Lesser Sabbats
In some traditions, the cross-quarter days (Samhain, Imbolc, Beltane, Lughnasadh) are called the “Greater Sabbats” and the solar sabbats are called the “Lesser Sabbats.” This distinction comes from older Celtic tradition, in which the cross-quarter festivals were the primary high-holy days, with the solstices and equinoxes added later in the modern synthesis.
Other traditions treat all eight equally. Practice varies.
How Different Traditions Observe Them
The eight sabbats are common to most contemporary earth-honoring traditions, but each tradition shapes its observance differently:
- Wicca, typically uses formal ritual structures (casting a circle, calling the quarters, invoking the God and Goddess).
- Druidry, focuses on seasonal observance through the lens of Celtic mythology and nature.
- Christo-paganism, observes the sabbats alongside the Christian liturgical year, finding the two calendars complementary.
- Solitary practitioners, often simpler home-based observances: candles, meals, walks, journaling.
How We Observe the Sabbats
At the Pagan Church of Christ, each sabbat is marked with a seasonal ceremony. The shape varies by season, bonfires for Beltane, candles in the dark for Yule, an ancestor altar for Samhain, but the underlying rhythm is consistent: a teaching, a ritual element, shared time, and a closing.
If you’d like to attend a sabbat ceremony, check our Events page for what’s coming up next, or email us for time and location details.
Sources & Further Reading
- Ronald Hutton, Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain (Oxford University Press, 1996)
- Diana L. Paxson, Sacred Wheel of the Year (Llewellyn, 2024)
- Margot Adler, Drawing Down the Moon (Beacon Press, 1979, rev. 2006)
- Ellen Evert Hopman, A Druid’s Herbal of Sacred Tree Medicine (Destiny Books, 2008)