General

Samhain is a Gaelic festival marking the end of the harvest season and the beginning of ‘the dark half of the year’.  Celebrants believe that the barriers between the physical world and the spirit world break down during Samhain, allowing more interaction between humans and denizens of the Otherworld.

Rituals surrounding Samhain include bonfires, dancing, feasting, and building altars to honor deceased ancestors.

Mabon is the second of the three harvest festivals (Lammas, Mabon, and Samhain) that encourages pagans to “reap what they sow”, both literally and figuratively.

For more information, please visit https://wicca.com/celtic/akasha/mabon.htm.

Lughnasadh is a Gaelic festival marking the beginning of the harvest festival. It is a time to thank God and Goddess for the food on our tables and to take time to strengthen our link with nature.

For more information, please visit https://wicca.com/celtic/akasha/lammas.htm. 

Litha is a celebration of the summer solstice, which marks the longest day and the shortest night of the year. There are many ways to celebrate Litha, such as light up a bonfire, or gather a drum circle.

For more information, please visit https://wicca.com/celtic/akasha/litha.htm. 

Beltane or Beltain is the Gaelic May Day festival held on 1 May to celebrate the onset of the summer.

For more information, please visit https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/paganism/holydays/beltane_1.shtml.

Ostara is the second of three spring festivals on the Wheel of the year. Coming in between Imbolc and Beltane, it is the official spring in the Northern Hemisphere, which marks the moment when the light and darkness are again in balance, with the light on the rise.

For more information, please visit https://wicca.com/celtic/akasha/ostara.htm.

Imbolc or Imbolg is a polytheistic holiday celebrated from February 1 through sundown February 2 to mark the halfway point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox in Neolithic Ireland and Scotland. It is one of the four Gaelic seasonal festivals along with Beltane, Lughnasadh, and Samhain. For Christians, especially in Ireland, it is the feast day of Saint Brigid.

For more information about Imbolc, please visit https://wicca.com/celtic/akasha/imbolc.htm. 

Observed annually on the second Thursday of October, World Sight Day aims to draw public attention to blindness and visual impairment. It has been integrated into VISION 2020 - a global initiative led by the World Health Organization to eliminate avoidable blindness. 

For more information about VISION 2020 and World Sight Day, please visit http://www.iapb.org/vision-2020/. 

'Road Map to 2030' brings together VIU leaders from across campus, and is hosted by Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Region Research Institute (MABRRI), VIU's Sustainability Advisory Committee, and the Faculty of International Education. The forum is a critical next step in VIU’s achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals across both academic and operational mandates.  RSVO pam.shaw@viu.ca