Holidays Connected to Astronomic Events

Here’s a quick look at some of the year’s most colorful astronomically-based holidays around the world:

January: Makar Sankranti

People in India mark the start of the harvest season with Makar Sankranti, timed to the movement of the Sun into the constellation of Capricorn.

On the day, usually January 14 in the Gregorian calendar, temples hold special services, children go from house to house singing for sweets, and colorful kites dance in the skies across the country.

Panchanga: the Hindu calendar

March: Higan

Observed around the spring and autumn equinoxes, the Japanese Buddhist festival of Higan usually is observed March 17–23 and September 20–26 on the Gregorian calendar.

Traditionally, people return to their hometowns for the holiday to pay respect to their ancestors. In its spiritual meaning, Higan translates as “other shore” and reflects the desire of worshipers to cross over from the worldly shore of illusion to the opposite shore of enlightenment.

The Buddhist calendar

April: Songkran

The traditional April 13 Thai New Year, Songkran, marks the start of the rainy season and the rise of the constellation of Aries. But in recent years, Songkran has evolved into a light-hearted water festival.

To mark the day, crowds wander the streets in the heat, squirting each other with water guns, ambushing passersby with buckets of cold water, and sometimes even getting elephants to spray their neighbors.

Holidays in Thailand

June: Inti Raymi

On the Southern Hemisphere’s winter solstice, usually June 20, Andean people honor the Inca Sun god with the Inti Raymi festival. Music, parades, and costumes featuring colorful woven aya huma masks highlight the ceremonies.

In ancient times, holiday rituals included the sacrifice of llamas adorned with silver and gold at temples dedicated to the Sun god. Animal offerings are no longer a part of Inti Raymi, but reenactments of traditional Incan ceremonies are held across the Andes.

June: Midsummer

The summer solstice is celebrated in many parts of the globe, with some of the most interesting longest-day traditions taking place in Scandinavia.

In Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland, bonfires, feasts, and traditional dances are common Midsummer celebrations. In Norway, Sankthansaften (Saint John’s Eve) falls on June 23 and is marked by gatherings around large bonfires, often set by a fjord or other body of water. An older tradition in some places is holding mock weddings, and legend holds that hiding flowers under your pillow that solstice night will cause you to dream of your future spouse.

July: Tanabata

In Japan, the Star Festival is celebrated on the 7th day of the 7th month of the Japanese lunisolar calendar (usually July 7th in the Gregorian calendar).

While the Gregorian calendar is now standard in Japan, lunisolar calendars, which indicate both the phase of the Moon and the position of the Sun in the sky, are sometimes used for traditional holidays.

Solar, lunar, lunisolar: learn about different types of calendars

Based on an ancient Chinese legend, Tanabata celebrates the celestial meeting of stars representing two deities: Orihime and Hikoboshi, who, according to the story, are desperately in love but separated from each other by the Milky Way, and are only allowed to approach each other once a year.

Many Japanese people mark the day by writing their wishes on slips of paper known as tanzaku and hanging them on bamboo stalks that are set afloat on a river after the festival.

September: Chuseok

South Koreans mark the lunar calendar’s autumn equinox, usually around September 23 in the Gregorian calendar, with Chuseok, the Harvest Festival.

In gratitude for a good harvest, families come together on the day, pay respect to ancestors, and share traditional foods like sindoju rice wine, Asian pear and sweet rice cakes known as songpyeon.

The Harvest Moon

November: Diwali

The Indian Festival of Lights, Diwali, is a five or six-day event that peaks on the darkest night of the Hindu lunisolar month of Ashvin (or Kartika in some areas), falling on November 1 on the Gregorian calendar.

Many adherents start their Diwali celebration with a ritual oil bath at sunrise, then attend services at temples that are lit up by hundreds of lamps, lanterns, and candles. On many nights, fireworks blaze in the sky, and some people decorate their floors with colored powder and sand in traditional patterns known as rangoli.