House Septentrio · The Aerie

Septentrio

North · Winter · Air · Night

Mascot: Alaric the gyrfalcon · Head of House: Professor Thistleloom Webblethorn

Wisdom · Perspective · Independence · Clarity

Our season, month by month: festivals and holidays around the world, the turning of the year, and what to look for in the night sky — north and south, because our scholars live under both.

When it is our season
While winter belongs to Septentrio, this house hosts. Any scholar of the house can help plan an event around any date on this calendar: a festival, a meteor shower, a turning of the year. The plans and the rules live here in The Aerie; when the event is ready, it is announced in the Quadrivium, with Septentrio credited as its planners.

December(in the south: high summer)

Around the world

Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights (movable, late Nov–Dec) — Jewish communities worldwide
St. Lucia's Day, Dec 13 — candlelit processions in Sweden and Norway
Yule, at the solstice (Dec 21) — the old Germanic midwinter feast; the word "Yuletide" still carries its name
Christmas, Dec 25 — celebrated across the world, in church and at table
Boxing Day, Dec 26 — Britain and the Commonwealth
Kwanzaa, Dec 26 – Jan 1 — African-American celebration of heritage and harvest
Hogmanay, Dec 31 — Scotland's New Year, with first-footing after midnight

In the sky

December solstice, Dec 21 — the year's shortest day in the north, longest in the south
Geminid meteor shower, peak Dec 13–14 — the richest shower of the year; both hemispheres, best from the north
Ursid meteors, peak Dec 22–23 — a small shower for northern watchers
Northern lights: deep season in the far north (darkest skies of the year)

Look for

North: Orion climbing the evening sky, Taurus and the Pleiades high
South: Canopus blazing high, the Magellanic Clouds well placed, Orion overhead at midnight

January(in the south: high summer)

Around the world

New Year's Day, Jan 1 — the world's most widely shared holiday
Twelfth Night and Epiphany, Jan 5–6 — the traditional close of the Christmas season across much of Europe
Orthodox Christmas, Jan 7 — kept by many Orthodox churches on the older calendar
Timkat, Jan 19 — Ethiopia's Epiphany festival, when replicas of the Ark are carried in procession under embroidered umbrellas
Pongal and Makar Sankranti, mid-January — harvest and sun festivals in India
Lunar New Year (movable, late Jan–Feb) — across East and Southeast Asia
Burns Night, Jan 25 — Scotland honors its poet with supper and verse
Australia Day, Jan 26

In the sky

Quadrantid meteor shower, peak Jan 3–4 — brief and sharp; northern hemisphere
Northern lights: prime season continues under long northern nights

Look for

North: Orion at his best, flanked by Taurus and Gemini; Sirius, the brightest star, low in the south
South: Canopus and the False Cross; the Southern Cross low, rising later in the night

February(in the south: late summer)

Around the world

Lunar New Year (movable — in years when it falls here) — lanterns, red envelopes, family tables
Imbolc, Feb 1 — the old Celtic festival at winter's midpoint, later St. Brigid's Day in Ireland
Candlemas, Feb 2 — candles blessed against the dark; America's Groundhog Day descends from this midpoint-of-winter lore
Setsubun, Feb 3 — Japan scatters beans to chase out winter's ill luck
Carnival season (movable, the weeks before Lent) — Rio, Venice, New Orleans and more
Valentine's Day, Feb 14 — kept in many countries
Ramadan begins (movable, lunar calendar — in 2027 it falls in February) — the fasting month begins for Muslims worldwide

In the sky

No major meteor showers — February is the quiet month between the Quadrantids and the Lyrids
Northern lights: still prime season in the far north; the far south's season opens late in the month

Look for

North: Orion westering, Leo rising in the east — spring's herald
South: the Southern Cross climbing higher each night, Centaurus behind it

Dates marked (movable) follow lunar or church calendars and shift each year — check the year before planning an event around one. Solstice and equinox days can shift by one day across time zones.

Plan An Event