The cattle calendar
63 cattle fairs, festivals, pasture days, races and shows of the year, with the breeds at the centre of each. Dates are worked out afresh every day; those marked "about" follow the moon or local calendars and can shift by a day.
November 2026
1 Nov 2026Samhain and the coming down of the herdsThe Gaelic first of November: the end of the grazing year, when cattle came home from the hills for the winter.
11 Nov 2026MartinmasSt Martin's Day, the old turn of the farming year in northern Europe, when the cattle went into their winter quarters.
11 Nov 2026MartinmasSt Martin's Day, the old turn of the farming year in northern Europe, when the cattle went into their winter quarters.February 2027
1 Feb 2027Imbolc and St Brigid's DayThe first day of spring in the Irish year, the feast of Brigid, patron of dairy work, cattle and the milking of cows.
about 4 Feb 2027Lichun and the spring oxThe start of spring in the Chinese solar calendar, when a clay or paper ox was once whipped to wake the farming year.