Summer (in the Northern Hemisphere, for those of you in the real south, this will be winter but the timing is the same) officially begins this year June 21, 2023 at 10:50 am.  This is when the when the sun is at its zenith along the northernmost path in the sky.  Of course, it’s felt like summer for a lot longer.  The Celtic calendar (you know the one that makes Stonehenge work) is based on Quarter Days and the Cross-Quarter Days like the summer solstice and this all sounds rather esoteric but we still plan our elections, weddings, almanack prognostications, and other special events on these significant calendar artifacts.

The Celts divided the year into four major divisions each beginning on what were called Quarter Days; these days were marked the solstices (when the sun sets at its most northern or southern point on the horizon) and equinoxes (when the sun sets due west). This pattern drove everyday life as it also fit into the rhythm of the ways people farmed.

When the 12-month Roman calendar came to Brittan, all of the Celtic days began to conform closely with the liturgical year of the Christian church and became identified with major religious festivals.  Hence we have Lady Day ( Feast of the Annunciation on March 25) at the Spring equinox; Midsummer Day ( St. John’s Feast Day on June 24) at the Summer solstice; Michaelmas (Feast of St Michael  on September 29) at the Fall equinox; and Christmas (December 25) at the Winter equinox.   

Lady Day became the traditional day for hiring farm laborers for the planting and harvesting seasons ahead. At Midsummer Day, folks celebrate by feasting, dancing, singing, and preparing for the hot summer days ahead. Around the time of the fall equinox, the harvest commenced and there were great fairs and festivals. This started the custom of early autumnal elections, because it was a convenient time for people to gather. Farm workers were usually paid for their year’s labor at Christmas, giving them reason to celebrate and three months rest before the next season.

At the midpoint between each solstice and equinox are the Cross-Quarter Days. For the ancient Celts, these signaled the beginning of a season, with the major two divisions being winter (Samhain), starting the dark half of the year, and summer (Beltane), starting the light half of the year.  On February 2 we have Candlemas;  May 1 we have May Day; on August 1, we have Lammas (loaf mass) Day; and on October 31 is Halloween.  All of these are based on the farming cycle and the changing of seasons. Candlemas is the beginning of the lambing season.  Farmers see this day as important for estimating how soon spring-like weather will come and when to plant the crops.  Our Groundhog Day is a remote survivor of this celebration.  May Day, or Beltane, marks the beginning of summer.  It is a day for dance and song to hail the sown fields starting to sprout.  On May Day, young couples court and pair off but their weddings would not come until the next Quarter Day — Midsummer Day (June 24).   This is why June is still one of the most popular months for weddings. Lammas is the festival associated with harvesting grain, it marked the beginning of the wheat harvest, and especially celebrated the first wheat or corn crop. On Lammas. tenant farmers would present the first crop harvest to their landlord.  Finally, Samhain (“summer’s end”) is celebrated as today’s Halloween. In the Celtic calendar this was the start of the new year.  Halloween is the day when the cattle were brought in from pasture and those needed for the winter’s supply of meat would be slaughtered. This association with slaughter gives Halloween its association with ghosts and graveyards. 

In the 18th and 19th Centuries, the tradition of celebrating Quarter Days takes on a more commercial meaning.  On quarter days all debts and lawsuits had to be settled and a public record made.  This meant arguments and disputes – in theory at least – were not allowed to linger on. Today, many business have quarterly financial reviews so ensure they are on track to meet their annual anticipated budget.  In addition to rent payments, staff were hired and school terms started on the quarter days. These are all hold-overs from the ancient Celts and the cycle of farming.

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