Holytides and the Cycle of the Moon
I have given a lot of thought to the cycles of the moon and lunar calendars. We know that the pre-Christian Anglo-Saxons and other Germanic Tribes lived their lives by the cycles of the sun and the moon. We know that the months started and ended on the full moon and not the new moon. Contemporary written evidence shows us that the moon was used determine months in pre-Christan England. The ancient English people […] reckoned their months by the course of eh moon, just as they were named from the moon just as they were named from in Hebrew and Greek. Accordingly, they called the moon móna, the month was called mónaþ. – Bede, De Mensibus Anglorum The archeological and written evidence that exists today shows us that t the sun, moon, and solstices all played a role in the everyday lives of the pre-Christian Anglo-Saxons as well as their religious lives. The religious celebrations or holytides were placed throughout the year not by a calendar date for a lunar, solar, or seasonal cyc...