The day of one's birth is a cause for great celebration. However, unlike today's tradition of receiving presents on their birthday, in Celtic society one gave presents on the day of one's birth, especially to the mother and father. This was a sign of thankfulness for one's birth into the world and thankfulness for one's presence in the tribe.
The Celts followed a lunar calendar and the time of the full moon was very important, as that was the time when the previous month ended and the new month began. The seasonal changes held great importance to the Celts. Thus, many of the holidays are celebrated on the full moon or as a result of changes in the seasons of the year. All of the major holidays (not counting solstices or equinoxes) have the basic structure of a ritual followed by a feast and social time.
Major Druidic holidays were celebrated on the full moons. Contrary to most modern practice, there was no "set day" of the year for the holidays (and even if there had been, the lunar calender of the Celts does not correspond exactly to our solar-based calendar and thus would still not fall on the same day of our calendar each year). The full moons were the time of the major holidays as they were the time of greatest power.
