The Wheel of the Year consists of eight festivals. All the festivals are solar in nature, marking the passing of the year with natural milestones. The festivals are broken down into major and minor, the major Sabbats being Samhain, Imbolc, Beltane, and Lughnasadh. The minor Sabbats are Yule (Winter Solstice), Eostra (Spring Equinox), Litha (Summer Solstice) and Mabon (Autumn Equinox). It is through these festivals that nature followers through out the world mark the passing of the year with celebration and reverence for the deities and events that each represents. These holidays are used in the Northern Hemisphere. People in the Southern Hemisphere (all you Australian and New Zealand folks out there) reverse the festivals due to the opposite seasons.
