as Imbolc or Brigit’s Day, celebrated on February 2nd; Beltane, also known as May Day or Cetsamhain, celebrated on May 1st; and Lammas, also called Lughnasadh, celebrated on August 1st.
These festivals have been followed in one form or another for centuries by many Pagan societies and they have all picked up other names as time has passed. They are known by many other names in other cultures and the alternatives here are the more common western alternatives. Not all Pagan or Neopagan religions celebrate all of the Sabbats, greater or lesser, but those that do tend to observe the greater Sabbats.
The followers of the Abrahamic religions are probably familiar with Halloween and follow the ‘trick or treat’ theme but few will celebrate any of the other greater Sabbats, although there are exceptions. Candlemas is very popular in Ireland as Brigit is the Irish Goddess of poetry, crafts, prophecy, and divination. The Gaelic origin of these festivals makes them more widely followed in the British Isles than in other countries.
The Greater and Lesser Sabbats are combined with the Wheel of the Year by Wicca Witchcraft and more information on them and the wheel can be found at Greater and Lesser Sabbats
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