At its heart, Halloween is an astronomy holiday. It’s a day rooted in Earth’s orbit around the sun. It’s a cross-quarter day and a testament to our ancestors’ deep understanding of the sky.
October 31 marks the approximate midway point between the September equinox and the December solstice. This means Halloween also an astronomy holiday, and one of the year’s four cross-quarter days.
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| Learn about the four seasonal Quarter Days in the ancient Celtic calendar. |
Some historians are divided as to whether the ancient Celts observed the solstices and equinoxes (quarter days). Some believe that the Celts divided the year into just four major sections: Samhain, Imbolc, Beltane, and Lughnasadh (cross-quarter days).
