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List of multinational festivals and holidays

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This is an incomplete list of festivals and holidays that take place during the winter in the northern hemisphere, especially those commemorating the season. Many festivals of light take place in this period since the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere is the Winter Solstice.

Holidays are listed in chronological order under each heading.

Buddhist

  • Bodhi Day: 8 December - Day of Enlightenment, celebrating the day that the historical Buddha (Shakyamuni or Siddhartha Guatama) experienced enlightenment (also known as Bodhi).

Celtic

  • Samhain: 1 November - first day of winter in the Celtic calendar (and Celtic New Year's Day)
  • Winter Solstice: 21 December-22 December - midwinter
  • Imbolc: 1 February - first day of spring in the Celtic calendar

Chinese

Christian

Germanic

  • Modranect: or Mothers' Night, the Saxon winter solstice festival.
  • Yule: the Germanic winter solstice festival

Hindu

  • Navratri:Nine-day celebration worshipping female divinity, in October or November. Culminates in Dussehra.
  • Diwali:Known as the Festival of Lights, this Hindu holiday celebrates the victory of good over evil. The five-day festival is marked by ceremonies, fireworks and sweets. Women dress up and decorate their hands with henna tattoos for the melas, or fairs. Many different myths are associated with Diwali, one of which celebrates the return of Lord Rama after a 14-year exile and his defeat of the demon Ravana.
  • Bhaubeej

Jewish

  • Hanukkah: Starting on 25 Kislev (Hebrew) or various dates in November or December (Gregorian) - eight day festival commemorating the miracle of the oil after the desecration of the Temple by Antiochus IV Epiphanes and his defeat in 165 BCE.
  • Tu Bishvat: New Year of the Trees occurring on the 15th of Shevat, January or February.
  • Purim: Occurring on 14th or 15th day of Adar, late February to March, commemorating the miraculous deliverance and victory of the Jews of the Persian Empire in the events recorded in the Book of Esther

Muslim

  • Eid ul-Adha: Starting on the 10th of Dhul Hijja, a four day holiday commemorating the Prophet Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his son, Ishmael.
NOTE: The Islamic calendar is based on the moon and this festival moves with respect to the solar year. It is, however, falling in the winter in the first decade of the present [21st] Century of the common era.

Pagan and Neo-Pagan

  • Samhain: 31 October - first day of winter in the Celtic calendar (and Celtic New Year's Day)
  • Yule: (Winter Solstice) - Germanic and Egyptian Pagan festival of the rebirth of the Sun
  • Imbolc: (Oimelc) (1 February or 2), but traditionally the evening of (31 January)[1]

Andean

  • Inti Raymi: Festival of the Sun in Quechua, winter solstice festival in areas of the former Inca empire, still celebrated every June in Cuzco.

Persian

  • Sadeh: A mid-winter feast to honor fire and to "defeat the forces of darkness, frost and cold". Sadé or Sada (Persian: سده) Jashn-e Sada/Sadé (in Persian: جشن سده), also transliterated as Sadeh, is an ancient Iranian tradition celebrated 50 days before nowrouz. Sadeh in Persian means "hundred" and refers to one hundred days and nights left to the beginning of the new year celebrated at the first day of spring on March 21st each year. Sadeh is a mid winter festival that was celebrated with grandeur and magnificence in ancient Iran. It was a festivity to honor fire and to defeat the forces of darkness, frost, and cold.
  • Yalda: The turning point, Winter Solstice (December 21). End of the longest night of the year (Darkness), and beginning of growing of the days (Lights). A celebration of Good over Evil. Shabe Yaldā (Persian: یلدا) or Shabe Chelle (Persian: شب چله) is an Iranian festival originally celebrated on the Northern Hemisphere's longest night of the year, that is, on the eve of the Winter Solstice.
  • Chahar Shanbeh Suri: Festival of Fire, Last Wednesday of the Iranian Calendar year. It marks the importance of the light over the darkness, and arrival of spring and revival of nature. Chahārshanbe-Sūri (Persian: چهارشنبه‌سوری), pronounced Chārshanbe-Sūri (Persian: چارشنبه‌سوری) is the ancient Iranian festival dating at least back to 1700 BCE of the early Zoroastrian era.[1] The festival of fire is a prelude to the ancient Norouz festival, which marks the arrival of spring and revival of nature. Chahrshanbeh Soori, is celebrated the last Tuesday night of the year.

Polynesian

Roman

Secular

Slavic

  • Karachun - the ancient Slavs polytheistic winter solstice festival


Fictional

  • Festivus: 23 December - quirky holiday invented on the television show Seinfeld
  • Festival of the Bells: Midwinter celebration in Fraggle Rock, also mentioned in A Muppet Family Christmas.
  • Decemberween: 25 December - A holiday in the Homestar Runner universe, occurring 55 days after Halloween.
  • Hogswatchnight: December 32 - New Year's Eve/Christmas in Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels (plays on Hogmanay, Watch Night, and "hogwash")
  • Winterfair: from the Vorkosigan Saga of Lois McMaster Bujold; a Barrayarran cultural holiday
  • Chrismukkah: the modern-day merging of the holidays of Christianity's Christmas and Judaism's Hanukkah.
  • Chrismahanukwanzakah: the modern-day merging of the holidays of Christianity's Christmas, Judaism's Hanukkah, and the African-American holiday of Kwanzaa.
  • Hedgehog Day: 2 February - supposed archaic European version of Groundhog Day, dating back to Roman times.
  • Wintersday: The annual winter holiday in the MMORPG Guild Wars. This holiday is based on Christmas and Yule and one can get neat hats.
  • Starlight Celebration: The annual winter holiday based on Christmas/Yule/winter solstice in the MMORPG Final Fantasy XI (aka FFXI). Players can collect various holiday equipment, Mog house furnishings, fireworks, and food.
  • Shoe Giving: - quirky holiday famously invented on the show Hyperdrive (TV series)
  • Freezingman: - 11 January- A Burning Man inspired event held in Colorado as a Winter Arts and Music Festival http://www.coloradofreezingman.com http://tribes.tribe.net/freezingman
  • Noob Day: December 26 - The day following Christmas when all the people who received online games as gifts go online for the first time and are killed off or mocked by veterans. This carries on the old concept of Christmas greenies from the 1980s, when computer BBSes would be flooded by "greenies" (new users) who had just received their first modem as gifts.
  • Feast of Winter Veil: December 15 to January 2 - holiday in the MMORPG World of Warcraft. This holiday is based on Christmas. Cities are decorated with christmas lights and a tree with presents. Also special quests, items and snowballs are available. It features 'Greatfather Winter' which is modeled after [Santa Claus]. [1] [2]
  • Kwansolhaneidmas: December 19 - an interdenominational holiday celebrated by people on Facebook.
  • Winter-een-mas: January 25 - January 31 - from Ctrl+Alt+Del

See also

References

  1. ^ Imbolc: one of the eight Wiccan sabbats (seasonal days of celebration)
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