List of winter festivals - Definition and Overview

List of winter festivals: This is an incomplete list of festivals and holidays that take place during the winter in the northern hemisphere, especially those commemorating the season. Many festivals of light take place in this period, since the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere is the Winter Solstice. See also Christmas around the world for more information about Christmas specifically.

Holidays are listed in chronological order under each heading.

Celtic

• Samhain November 1 - first day of winter
• Imbolc February 1 - first day of spring

Chinese

• Dong zhi - Winter solstice
• Signature of the Constitution of the Republic of China (Taiwan) - December 25 - a secular national holiday, which due to its date is celebrated in some respects like Christmas
• Chinese New Year (late January - early February) - actually a spring festival

Christian

• Advent - four weeks prior to Christmas - preparing for the birth of Christ.
• Saint Nicholas' Day - December 6
• Christmas Eve - December 24
• Christmas - December 25 - the birth of Christ.
• Saint Stephen's Day - December 26
• Saint John the Evangelist's Day - December 27
• Holy Innocents' Day - December 28
• Saint Sylvester's Day - December 31
• Feast of the Circumcision - January 1
• Feast of Fools - January 1
• Twelfth Night - Epiphany Eve January 5
• Epiphany (feast) - January 6 - the arrival of the Three Magi.
• Orthodox Christmas - January 6
• Candlemas - February 2

Germanic

• Modranect, or Mothers' Night , the Saxon winter solstice festival.
• Yule the Celtic winter soltice festival

Jewish

• Hanukkah - December (variable) - eight day festival commemorating the miracle of the candles after the destruction of the Temple

Neopagan

• Yule (Winter Solstice) - rebirth of the Sun
• Imbolc (February 1 or 2) - festival of candles

Persian

• Yalda (Winter Solstice) - Birth of Sun God Mehr

Roman

• Saturnalia, the Roman winter soltice festival
• Hedgehog Day, the archaic European version of Groundhog Day, dating back to Roman times - February 2
• Lupercalia, the Roman end-of-winter festival - February 15

Secular

• Zamenhof Day - December 15 - Birthday of Ludwig Zamenhof, inventor of Esperanto; holiday reunion for Esperantists
• Festivus - December 23
• HumanLight -December 23
• Chrismukkah
• Winterval - secular name for Christmas coined by Birmingham City Council
• Boxing Day - December 26 - gift-giving day after Christmas.
• Kwanzaa - December 26-January 1 - festival of African-American culture
• Hogmanay - December 31 (Scotland)
• New Year's Day - January 1
• Groundhog Day - February 2