Celtic Calendar

Like many stone circles, Foxhenge is closely tied to the cycles of the seasons. The ancient Celts recognised the markers of the seasons and made them into the basis for their calendar; they still influance our modern calendar today.

As the Earth orbits the Sun, its tilt on its axis causes different parts of the planet to be angled more directly toward the Sun. In the northern hemisphere, where Foxhenge is located, we catch the Sun’s rays most directly in the summer, giving us longer days and hotter temperatures. In the winter, the southern hemisphere is pointed toward the sun, so we northerners have colder temperatures and hotter days.

The days at which the tilt is most extreme—meaning that half of the world has their longest day of the year, while the other half has their shortest—are called the solstices, which comes from the Latin for “sun standing.”

In between the solstices, there are two days when day and night are exactly equal. They are called equinoxes, which means “equal night” in Latin.

All together, there are a total of four special days:

• Fall Equinox

  The fall, or autumnal, equinox was the Celtic festival of “Mabon.” It is recognised as the first day of fall and occurs on September 22 or 23 in the northern hemisphere. Foxhenge is aligned so that the sun’s rays hit it on the fall equinox. This year, the fall equinox will be on Sunday, September 22 at 8:43:38 am Eastern time.

• Winter Solstice

  The winter solstice, which the Celts celebrated as “Yule,” is the shortest day of the year. It marks the begining of winter on the modern calendar. In the northern hemisphere, the winter solstice occurs on December 21 or 22. The Celtic monument Newgrange is aligned with the winter solstice. This year, the winter solstice will be on Saturday, December 21 at 4:20:20 am Eastern time.

• Spring Equinox

  The spring, or vernal, equinox marked the festival of “Ostara” for the Celts. Today, it marks the start of spring. The spring equinox falls on March 20 or 21 each year in the northern hemisphere. This year, the spring equinox will be on Tuesday, March 19 at 11:06:30 pm Eastern time.

• Summer Solstice

  The summer solstice, known to the celts as “Litha,” is the longest day of the year. It is considered the begining of summer. In the northern hemisphere, the summer solstice occurs on June 20 or 21. The famous Celtic monument Stonehenge, which inspired Foxhenge, is aligned with the sunrise on the summer solstice and the sunset on the winter solstice. This year, the summer solstice will be on Thursday, June 20 at 4:50:49 pm Eastern time.

The National Weather Service provides diagrams and more information, along with exact dates of equinoxes and solstices. These dates are also printed on most calendars.