The yearly celebrations which are observed within traditional Witchcraft are known by many names: Festivals, Tides, Holy Days, and Sabbats (although the term Sabbat is something which is less frequently used). These celebrations are scattered throughout the year and mark specific times within the harvest year. The number of yearly celebrations observed differs between traditions. Some of the most common of these celebrations are found on the solstices and equinoxes, and then on the days which resides directly between the closest solstice and equinox. Other traditions calculate these cross-quarter days, and place them on the full or new moon of the respective month, and still others have their own mean of calculating the date of observance.

Historically, the solstices and equinoxes were celebrated on the twenty-fourth day of the respective month, with the celebration beginning on the previous evening. In the old reckoning, days were counted from sunset to sunset. Whereas the solstices and equinoxes are determined by solar phenomena, the cross-quarter days are a lunar celestial phenomena.