The magic calendar
103 festivals, solstices, days of the dead and lucky and unlucky days, with the entries tied to each. Dates are worked out afresh every day; those marked "about" follow the moon or local calendars and can shift by a day.
Sponsored ClearTrust Solstices, festivals, days of the dead and omen days, with the dates each next falls on.
October 2026
On now, about 26 Sept to 10 Oct 2026Pitru PakshaThe fortnight of the ancestors, when water, sesame and rice balls are offered to the dead of the family.
11 to 19 Oct 2026Navratri, the nine nightsNine nights for the goddess in her forms, with fasting, dance and the worship of young girls.
13 Oct 2026Tuesday the 13thIn Greece, Cyprus and Spain, Tuesday rather than Friday is the unlucky day, and Tuesday the 13th the worst.
31 Oct 2026HalloweenThe eve of All Saints, now a children's festival of costume and sweets, with older beliefs about spirits, witches and love divination under it.November 2026
1 to 2 Nov 2026Todos SantosAll Saints in Bolivia, Guatemala and the Andes, with bread dolls for the dead, tables of food at the grave and kites flown to speak to them.
1 to 2 Nov 2026Fete GedeThe Vodou festival of the Gede, the family of spirits of the dead, held at the cemeteries of Haiti on 1 and 2 November.
1 Nov 2026The Wheel of the YearThe modern Pagan calendar of eight sabbats, from Samhain to Mabon, assembled in the mid twentieth century from older festivals.
about 25 Nov 2026Loy KrathongThe full-moon night when small floats of leaves, flowers and candles carry away bad luck on the river.
29 Nov 2026St Andrew's EvePoland's Andrzejki and the Romanian night of St Andrew, when wax is poured through a key hole and girls try to learn who they will marry.December 2026
13 Dec 2026St Lucy's Day and Lussi NightOnce thought of as the longest night, when in Scandinavian belief the troll-woman Lussi rides and animals must be guarded.
17 Dec 2026San Lazaro and Babalu-AyeIn Cuba and its diaspora, pilgrims honour St Lazarus, who is also Babalu-Aye, the orisha of disease and healing, on 17 December.
20 to 21 Dec 2026Shab-e Yalda and fal-e HafezThe longest night of the year, kept awake with fruit, poetry and a question put to the poems of Hafez.January 2027
10 Jan 2027Vodun Day at OuidahBenin's national day of its indigenous religion, with processions, masked figures and offerings on the Atlantic shore.
11 Jan 2027Burning of the ClavieA burning tar barrel carried round Burghead on the old new-year night, said to cleanse the town of evil spirits and bring luck.
26 Jan 2027Up Helly AaA fire festival in Lerwick, Shetland, in which hundreds of costumed Vikings drag a replica longship through the town and burn it.February 2027
3 Feb 2027SetsubunThe eve of spring in the old calendar, when roasted soybeans are thrown to drive out demons and bring in luck.
6 to 9 Feb 2027Tet and its protective customsVietnam's new year, with the kitchen god sent to heaven, a first visitor chosen for luck and a tall pole to keep spirits out.
7 to 9 Feb 2027CarnivalThe days before Lent, when masks, disguise and reversal of order were said to loosen the hold of the dead and the spirits.
14 Feb 2027St Valentine's Day love divinationA day on which, in older custom, the first person you meet or the first bird you see was said to show your future partner.March 2027
5 Mar 2027The brujos of CatemacoA gathering of healers and sorcerers at Lake Catemaco, Veracruz, on the first Friday of March, with cleansings for the coming year.
about 6 Mar 2027Wai Khru at Wat Bang Phra (Sak Yant festival)The annual gathering where tattooed devotees renew the protective power of their sacred tattoos and sometimes fall into trance.
6 Mar 2027Maha ShivaratriThe great night of Shiva, kept with fasting, an all-night vigil and the pouring of water and milk over the lingam.
8 to 9 Mar 2027Nyepi and the ogoh-ogohBali's day of silence, preceded by a night when giant demon effigies are paraded and burned.
16 Mar 2027Chaharshanbe SuriThe Tuesday night before the last Wednesday of the Persian year, when people jump over bonfires to leave sickness and ill luck behind.
about 20 Mar 2027Spring equinoxThe day of equal day and night in March, kept by modern Pagans as Ostara, and watched at ancient sites such as Loughcrew in Ireland.
21 Mar to 2 Apr 2027Nowruz, the threshold of the yearThe spring equinox new year, with a deep clean, a table of symbolic foods and first-footing for luck.
21 to 22 Mar 2027Holika DahanThe bonfire on the eve of Holi, burned in memory of Holika, and a night when ash and the fire are used as protection.
26 Mar 2027Good Friday folk beliefsA day of many small beliefs: bread baked on it said never to go mouldy, eggs laid on it said to keep, and buns hung up as a charm.
27 to 28 Mar 2027Easter firesOn Holy Saturday and Easter night, large bonfires are lit in northern Europe to drive out winter, with older claims of warding off witches.
27 to 28 Mar 2027Burning of JudasFigures of Judas, often stuffed with fireworks and made to look like local politicians, are hanged and burned in Holy Week.
16 Mar 2027Chaharshanbe SuriThe Tuesday night before the last Wednesday of the Persian year, when people jump over bonfires to leave sickness and ill luck behind.April 2027
about 15 Apr to 13 Jun 2027Nagol, the land dive of Pentecost IslandA tower-jump with vines tied to the ankles, done each spring in Vanuatu in the belief that it helps the yam crop.
24 Apr 2027St Mark's EveOn 24 April in English folk belief, those who kept watch in the church porch at midnight would see the ghosts of those who would die that year.
30 Apr 2027Walpurgis Night and the BrockenThe eve of May, when in German tradition witches were thought to gather on the Brocken and bonfires and noise were used to drive them away.May 2027
8 May 2027Akshaya TritiyaA day held to be auspicious in itself, so that any new venture needs no search for a lucky hour.June 2027
9 Jun 2027Dragon Boat Festival and its protective herbsThe fifth day of the fifth month, a time believed dangerous for illness, met with mugwort, calamus and scented sachets.
23 to 24 Jun 2027Noche de San JuanOn the night of 23 June, Spaniards light beach bonfires, jump the flames and write wishes to be burned, in a rite of cleansing at midsummer.
about 25 to 27 Jun 2027Gnawa and World Music Festival, EssaouiraA June festival in a Moroccan port town that brings the Gnawa, descendants of enslaved West Africans, to a wide audience.
25 Jun 2027MatarikiThe Māori new year, when the rising of the Pleiades before dawn is read for the year ahead and the dead are remembered.July 2027
6 to 7 Jul 2027Ivan Kupala NightThe Slavic midsummer night, when girls float wreaths on rivers, couples leap fires, and a fern is said to flower for a moment with a treasure.
15 Jul 2027St Swithin's DayA weather omen: in English lore, rain on 15 July means rain for forty days after, and fair weather means forty days of dry.August 2027
1 Aug 2027Lughnasadh and LammasThe first-fruits festival at the start of August, a Gaelic assembly tied to the god Lugh, and the English loaf-mass of Lammas.
1 to 31 Aug 2027Pachamama monthAugust in the Andes is the month of offerings to the Earth Mother, when she is said to be hungry and open, and the ground is fed with food and drink.
6 Aug 2027Nag PanchamiThe day for honouring snakes, with milk and flowers offered at anthills and snake images.September 2027
14 to 16 Sept 2027Chuseok and the rites for ancestorsThe autumn harvest holiday when families set out food for the ancestors and visit their graves.
about 22 Sept 2027Autumn equinox and MabonDay and night again equal in September, kept in the modern Pagan calendar as Mabon, a thanksgiving for the harvest.Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Tsagaan Sar: User:Chinneeb, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Nyepi: Matt Croxson, Public domain, source
- Theyyam: Shagil Kannur, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Salem Witch Trials: unattributed, Public domain, source
- Groundhog Day: Anthony Quintano, CC BY 2.0, source
- Ghost Festival: Chong Fat, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Setsubun: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Chaharshanbe Suri: Philippe Giabbanelli, CC BY 3.0, source
- Nowruz: Katzenfee50, CC0, source
- Shab E Yalda: M.Sadegh Nikgostar/Tasnim News Agency, CC BY 4.0, source
- Kaparot: https://www.flickr.com/people/69061470@N05, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Lag Baomer: Yoninah, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Qingming: Jacklee ., CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Lantern Festival: -Zest, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Chinese New Year Protection: Myrabella, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Dragon Boat Festival: After Wen Jia, Public domain, source
- Obon: Batholith, Public domain, source
- Tanabata: Laika ac, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Daeboreum: hojusaram, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Chuseok Ancestral Rites: by Joseph Steinberg (Baltimoron in Korea) at Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Songkran Blessings: ผู้สร้างสรรค์ผลงาน/ส่งข้อมูลเก็บในคลังข้อมูลเสรีวิกิมีเดียคอมมอนส์ - เ, CC BY 3.0, source
- Wai Khru Wat Bang Phra: Phydoughx ( talk · contribs ), Public domain, source
- Vesak Blessings: ผู้สร้างสรรค์ผลงาน/ส่งข้อมูลเก็บในคลังข้อมูลเสรีวิกิมีเดียคอมมอนส์ - เ, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Loy Krathong: John Shedrick, CC BY 2.0, source
- Galungan Kuningan: Davidelit, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tet Protective Customs: vi:Lưu Ly, Public domain, source
- Diwali Lakshmi Night: Kalli navya, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kali Puja: Jonoikobangali, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Maha Shivaratri: Navneesh Ramessur, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Navratri Nine Nights: Mukerjee, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Durga Puja: Subhrajyoti07, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Holika Dahan: Jitenderasingh, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Makar Sankranti: Saloni Desai, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Pitru Paksha: Firoz Shakir, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Akshaya Tritiya: Fgndgndgnr, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ambubachi Mela: Kunal Dalui, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Nag Panchami: No machine-readable author provided. Krish Dulal assumed (based on cop, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Raksha Bandhan: Suyash.dwivedi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Thaipusam Kavadi: hams Nocete, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Naadam Ovoo: Chongkian, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sham El Nessim: Ikonact, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Gnawa Festival Essaouira: Anderson sady, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Meskel: DanielGirmaTsige, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Timkat: Jean Rebiffé, CC BY 4.0, source
- Osun Osogbo Festival: Cheeka 2.0, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ouidah Vodun Day: I cropped, original authors are Ridpath, John Clark, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Famadihana Season: Saveoursmile (Hery Zo Rakotondramanana), CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Matariki: Robert Gendler, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Makahiki: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Nagol Land Diving: Paul Stein, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Halloween: Toby Ord, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Imbolc St Brigid: Culnacreann, CC BY 3.0, source
- Candlemas Weather Lore: Andrea Mantegna, Public domain, source
- Valentines Day Love Divination: Upload: Chordboard, Public domain, source
- Lupercalia: Andrea Camassei, Public domain, source
- Carnival Masks: Etienne Le Cocq, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kukeri Surva: Nenko Lazarov, CC BY 2.5, source
- Epiphany Befana: El Ágora, Public domain, source
- Tres Reyes Magos: Gentile da Fabriano, Public domain, source
- Krampusnacht: Naturpuur, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Saint Lucy Lussi Night: Fredrik Magnusson, CC BY 2.0, source
- Yule Midwinter: Robert Chambers, Public domain, source
- Wassail Twelfth Night: Joss Smithson, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Saint Agnes Eve: August von Wörndle, Public domain, source
- Walpurgis Night: Luis Ricardo Falero, Public domain, source
- Beltane: Stefan Schäfer, Lich, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- May Day Garlands: Bryan Ledgard, CC BY 2.0, source
- Good Friday Folk Lore: Bellina 09, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Easter Fires Osterfeuer: Jürgen Eissink, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Burning Of Judas Holy Saturday: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Midsummer St Johns Eve: Kora27, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Noche De San Juan: Jules Breton, Public domain, source
- Ivan Kupala Night: Ivan Sokolov, Public domain, source
- St Swithins Day: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Lughnasadh Lammas: Mountainash333, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Spring Equinox Ostara: Przemyslaw " Blueshade " Idzkiewicz, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Summer Solstice Stonehenge: Stefan Kühn, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Winter Solstice Newgrange: Tjp finn, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Hogmanay First Footing: Robbie Shade, CC BY 2.0, source
- Silvester Bleigiessen: Micha L. Rieser, Attribution, source
- Up Helly Aa: Mike Pennington, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Burning Of The Clavie: Richard Slessor, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Solar Eclipse Omens: Luc Viatour, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Dia De Muertos: RubeHM, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Todos Santos Andes Guatemala: Fra Angelico, Public domain, source
- Festa De Iemanja Salvador: Samuel Tobbytex007, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- San Lazaro Babalu Aye: Fernando Gomes de Ologunedé, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Inti Raymi: Cyntia Motta, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Pachamama August: Penarc, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- St Andrews Eve Divination: Henryk Siemiradzki, Public domain, source