3), and Litha Ncokazi celebrated the nurturing and formative role his maternal grandmother played on his life in Joy (Fig.

21, the longest night of the year when the rebirth of the sun is celebrated; Imbolc, which honors a Celtic goddess, is held in February; Ostara (from where the word ``Easter'' derives) celebrates a Germanic goddess and the spring equinox; Beltane is the layman's Mayday, when crops are planted and the end of winter is celebrated; Litha is observed June 21, the longest day in the year; and Lughnasa commemorates the first harvest with a grain festival where athletic competitions often are held.

To the Druids of the ancient Celts this festival was Alban Heruin ("Light of the Shore"), to the ancient Gauls it was the Feast of Epona, to Wiccans attempting to reconstruct paganism it is Litha.