Pagan Holidays in January 2026

When it comes to ancient festivals and pagan holidays, January includes a mix of civic holidays, religious festivals, and lunar observances. For the purposes of this calendar, I’ve drawn from Greek, Roman, Egyptian (Kemetic), Norse, and modern pagan traditions.

Because these cultures used different calendar systems—solar, lunar, and civic—January contains both fixed-date observances and moveable festivals tied to lunar cycles. Some observances, including Hellenic lunar days like Hekate’s Deipnon, shift month to month when mapped onto the modern Gregorian calendar.

In several cases, especially for Egyptian and Norse traditions, dates reflect modern scholarly and practitioner reconstructions that align ancient calendars with seasonal or lunar markers. While exact historical dates can vary by region and period, these reconstructions are widely used to contextualize ancient observances within the modern year so people can celebrate the pagan holidays.

Some January holidays, even ancient ones, honored the transition into the New Year, while others focused on household protection or purification. What follows is an overview of some of the major pagan and ancient religious observances occurring in January 2026.

For a full guide to all the pagan holidays of the year, here is our pagan holiday calendar for 2026.

January 2026 At-a-Glance Pagan Holidays Calendar

Date	Holiday / Event	Tradition
Jan 1	New Year’s Day + Kalends	Roman
Jan 3	Full Moon (Wolf Moon) in Cancer	Astrological
Jan 3	Feast of Sokar	Kemetic
Jan 3–5	Compitalia	Roman
Jan 9	Agonalia	Roman
Jan 10–15	The Great Burning	Kemetic
Jan 13	Ides of January	Roman
Jan 18	Day of Danu	Neopagan
Jan 18	New Moon in Capricorn	Astrological
Jan 19	Hekate’s Deipnon	Hellenic
Jan 23	Þorri Begins	Norse / Heathen
Jan 26	Neptune enters Aries	Astrological
Jan 31	Lenaia Begins	Hellenic

Major January Festivals and Observances

New Year’s Day (January 1)

A popular time for cleansing, resetting, and intention-setting rituals. Though some like to use the Winter Solstice or the beginning of Aries season for this, it works as a time to set your intentions for the year ahead.

Kalends of January (January 1) – Roman

The Roman New Year honored Janus, god of beginnings, doorways, and transitions. It was a day of public vows for the well-being of the republic, gift-giving, only speaking auspicious words, and sacrifices to deities including Jupiter, Juno, Minvera, and Salus.

Yule / Jól (Late December – Early January) – Norse / Heathen

Yule is a multi-day midwinter festival that honors the return of the Sun. It includes the important Jólablót feast and the taking of oaths for the year. Historical sources indicate significant regional variation in timing. While many modern pagans celebrate on the Winter Solstice, reconstructionist Heathen traditions often tie the feast of Jól to the full moon. In 2026, the first Full Moon after the Solstice is on January 3.

Compitalia (January 3-5) – Roman

A neighborhood-based honoring the Lares, the protective household and crossroads spirits. They Ancient Romans would make offerings at neighborhood shrines to protect the home and community.

Heb Wer “Great Festival” (January 5) – Kemetic

The Heb Wer is a renewal festival tied to stability, kingship, and the restoration of cosmic order (Ma’at). In modern practice, it’s a powerful time to reaffirm personal vows and renew commitments to the Netjeru (gods).

The Great Burning (January 10-15) – Kemetic

Also known as Rekeh-Wer, this is a purification festival associated with fire, renewal, and the controlled release of destructive forces. It was traditionally linked with Heru (Horus) and is a good time to clear out the last year’s baggage.

Lenaia (January 31 – February 3) – Hellenic

Lenaia is a wild winter festival in honor of Dionysus. It was celebrated with wine, communal parties, and theatrical competitions.

Full Moon in Cancer (January 3, 5:03 AM EST) – Wolf Moon

The Wolf Moon carries themes of endurance, protection, instinct, and community. This moon is about survival and caring for one another during winter’s hardest stretch. When this Full Moon is in Cancer in 2026, those instincts connect to emotional safety, nurturing, home, and healing. It’s a time to work with your intuition, tend to your emotional foundations, and reinforcing the bonds (or boundaries) that help you feel safe, and supported. Find rituals and more to work with this full moon in our Wolf Moon guide.

Feast of Sokar (January 3) – Kemetic

An intersection when the Tepy-Semdet (Full Moon) meets the funerary god Sokar. A day for ancestor work and honoring the transformative aspects of the divine.

Raising the Djed Pillar for Wesir (January 7) – Kemetic

This day symbolizing the resurrection of Wesir (Osiris) and the restoration of stability after chaos.

Carmentalia (January 11 and 15) – Roman

Honors Carmenta, a goddess of childbirth, prophecy, and fate. The festival was observed on two days, with rites focused on prophecy and the protection of mothers and infants.

Day of Danu (January 18) – Neopagan

A modern observance for Danu, a Celtic goddess associated with the Tuatha Dé Danann. She is associated with creation and abundance.

New Moon in Capricorn (January 18, 2:52 PM EST)

A powerful New Moon for commitment, structure, and discipline. Capricorn energy supports financial planning, boundaries, and intentions that require patience and consistency rather than quick results.

Feast of Bast in Bubastis (January 19) – Kemetic

This joyous festival honors the Egyptian cat-headed goddess of protection, music, and dance. It is a day for celebration, social gathering, and honoring your cats.

Festival of the Victory (January 22) – Kemetic

A massive start to a series of feasts honoring Heru-Shu, Amun, and Ptah. These festivals celebrate the triumph of Ma’at (Order) over Isfet (Chaos). It’s a good time to focus on craftsmanship and manifesting physical goals.

Þorri Begins (January 23) – Norse / Heathen

Midwinter feasting and honoring Thor’s protection during the coldest months. Þorrablót is a midwinter blót held during the month of Þorri.

Sementivae / Paganalia (January 24-26) – Roman

A festival of sowing that honors Tellus (Earth) and Ceres (Grain) to protect the seeds and grasses and ensure a fruitful harvest.

Neptune in Aries (January 26)

Neptune moves from the sign of Pisces to Aries on this day and stays there (with a few retrogrades), until 2038. Astrologically, this represents an initial move towards from dreaming to spiritual courage and action-oriented vision.

Monthly Observances

Several January observances recur monthly because of the civic or lunar calendar These are listed below and are explained more fully in our Ancient Festivals guide. Also, if you are following Hellenic calendars, it’s important to know their observances began the night before the listed date.

• Nones (Jan 5) and Ides (Jan 13): Roman civic markers sacred to Jupiter that were used to structure public, legal, and religious life throughout the month.
• Pesdjentiu (Jan 18): Kemetic New Moon observance
• Deipnon of Hekate (Jan 19): A monthly purification rite held on the dark moon to honor Hekate (also spelled Hecate), the goddess of the crossroads.
• Noumenia (Jan 20): Noumenia is the first day of the month and a time for honoring household gods such as Hestia. This month it is first day of the month Gamelion.
• Agathos Daimon (Jan 21): A monthly observance honoring the protective household spirit associated with prosperity and health.
• Athena’s Sacred Day (Jan 22): A monthly observance honoring Athena, the goddess of wisdom, strategy, crafts, and civic order.
• Aphrodite, Herakles, Hermes, and Eros’s Sacred Day (Jan 23): A monthly observance honoring deities connected to love, strength, communication, and desire.
• Artemis’s Sacred Day (Jan 25): A monthly observance honoring Artemis, the goddess of nature, childbirth, and independence.
• Apollo’s Sacred Day (Jan 26): A monthly observance honoring Apollo, god of healing, music, and prophecy.
• Poseidon and Theseus’s Sacred Day (Jan 27): A day honoring Poseidon, god of the sea, and Theseus, a hero associated with civic identity and protection.
• Helios, the Muses, and Rhea’s Sacred Day (Jan 28): A monthly observance honoring these beings.

Sources and Further Reading

Ovid’s Fasti
Calendar of the Roman Republic by Agnes Kirsopp Michels
The Roman Festivals of the Period of the Republic by William Warde Fowler
Hellenion
Numachi
Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson
The Troth
Ronpet: Ancient Egyptian Festival Calendar