I gave in [Fig. 7] the Gregorian dates of the beginning of the quarters of the May year, if nothing but the sun’s declination of 16° 20′ N. or S., four times in its yearly path, be considered. These were:—
| May Year. | Greek Calendar. | Roman Calendar. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| End of Winter | } | Feb. | 4 | Feb. | 7 | Feb. | 7 | |
| Beginning of | Spring | |||||||
| „ | Summer | May | 6 | May | 6 | May | 9 | |
| End of Summer | } | Aug. | 8 | Aug. | 11 | Aug. | 8 | |
| Beginning of | Autumn | |||||||
| „ | Winter | Nov. | 8 | Nov. | 10 | Nov. | 9 | |
In the table I also give, for comparison, the dates in the Greek and Roman calendars ([p. 20]).
There is no question that on or about the above days festivals were anciently celebrated in these islands; possibly not all at all holy places, but some at one and some at another; this, perhaps, may help to explain the variation in the local traditions and even some of the groupings of orientations.
The earliest information on this point comes from Ireland.
Cormac, Archbishop of Cashel in the tenth century, states, according to Vallancey, that “in his time four great fires were lighted up on the four great festivals of the Druids, viz., in February, May, August and November.”[24]
I am not aware of any such general statement as early as this in relation to the four festivals of the May year in Great Britain, but in spite of its absence the fact is undoubted that festivals were held, and many various forms of celebration used, during those months.
From the introduction of Christianity attempts of different kinds were made to destroy this ancient time system and to abolish the so-called “pagan” worships and practices connected with it. Efforts were made to change the date and so obliterate gradually the old traditions; another way, and this turned out to be the more efficacious, was to change the venue of the festival, so to speak, in favour of some Christian celebration or saint’s day. The old festivals took no account of week-days, so it was ruled that the festivals were to take place on the first day of the week; later on some of them were ruled to begin on the first day of the month.
When Easter became a movable feast, the efforts of the priests were greatly facilitated, and indeed it would seem as if this result of such a change was not absent from the minds of those who favoured it.
The change of style was, as I have before stated, a fruitful source of confusion, and this was still further complicated by another difficulty. Piers[25] tells us that consequent upon the change “the Roman Catholics light their fires by the new style, as the correction originated from a pope; and for that very same reason the Protestants adhere to the old.”