The year ahead
315 festivals, holy days, harvests and seasonal customs, with this year's dates. Dates are worked out afresh every day; those marked "about" follow the moon or local calendars and can shift by a day.
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December 2026
21 Dec 2026Yalda NightThe longest night of the year: pomegranates, watermelon, nuts and the poems of Hafez read by family together.
21 Dec 2026Winter SolsticeThe longest night: Yule fires, Newgrange lit at dawn, Yalda, Dongzhi, and the return of the light.
22 Dec 2026Dongzhi FestivalThe winter solstice: tangyuan in the south, dumplings in the north, and families reunited on the longest night.January 2027
February 2027
March 2027
April 2027
about 1 to 14 Apr 2027HanamiCherry blossom viewing: picnics beneath the pink trees, lanterns at night and a close following of the blossom front.
2 Apr 2027Sizdah BedarThe thirteenth day of Nowruz, spent outdoors: families picnic by the water and throw the sprouted wheat into a stream.
30 Apr 2027Walpurgis NightThe eve of May: bonfires on the hills, singing and the driving away of witches and winter.May 2027
1 May 2027Beltane and May DayThe first day of summer in the Gaelic year: bonfires, dew washed on the face, maypoles and morris dancers at dawn.
3 May 2027Sham el-NessimEgypt's ancient spring festival, kept on the Monday after Coptic Easter with picnics, salted fish and coloured eggs.
6 May 2027HidirellezThe day spring begins in Turkey and the Balkans, when wishes are written, tied to a rose bush and jumped over a fire.June 2027
21 Jun 2027Summer SolsticeThe longest day: sunrise at Stonehenge, bonfires, the Fête de la Musique and the white nights of the north.
23 to 24 Jun 2027Ligo and JaniLatvia's midsummer: oak-leaf crowns, caraway cheese, a night of fires and songs that lasts until dawn.
25 Jun 2027MatarikiThe Maori new year, when the Pleiades star cluster rises before dawn in mid-winter, with remembrance, food and stories.
25 to 26 Jun 2027MidsummerThe Nordic midsummer: a flowered pole raised and danced around, herring and strawberries, and bonfires by the water.July 2027
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Imbolc: Culnacreann, CC BY 3.0, source
- Hanami: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kupala Night: Ivan Sokolov, Public domain, source
- Beltane: Stefan Schäfer, Lich, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Hıdırellez: Правительство Республики Крым, CC BY 4.0, source
- Matariki: Robert Gendler, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sizdah Bedar: PersianDutchNetwork, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Sadeh: Farzad j, Public domain, source
- Jāņi: Heinrihsons, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Setsubun: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tirgan: LACIPETO, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sham Ennessim: Ikonact, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Dongzhi: N509FZ, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tu BiShvat: כוכבה לוי, CC BY 2.5, source
- Walpurgis Night: Luis Ricardo Falero, Public domain, source
- Winter solstice: Image by Przemyslaw " Blueshade " Idzkiewicz, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Yaldā Night: M.Sadegh Nikgostar/Tasnim News Agency, CC BY 4.0, source
- Abu Simbel Sun Festival: Olaf Tausch, Public domain, source
- Midsummer: Kora27, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Spring Equinox: Image by Przemyslaw " Blueshade " Idzkiewicz, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Summer Solstice: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 2.0, source