In the Roman clendar, today marks the festival of Lychnapsia, the "Lights of Isis," commemorating the search of the goddessIsis for the body of her murdered husbandOsiris. The festival is ts the first of a three day celebration derived from the ancient Egyptian pageant of Isis, Osiris, and Horus. To read more about the legend of Isis and Osiris, try Plutarch's Isis and Osiris.

Today is also the day of the "Old" lammas, a traditional day for hand-fasting in Scotland.