Thoughts on Sabbat Ritual Timing

I may be alone in this, but I've been pulled to align my sabbat circles to different times of the day, depending on the holiday.

 

• Evening for Imbolc, since for me, one main theme of Imbolc is a burgeoning spark of spring, inherent in the seeds of life. To me, this awakening takes place deep under the soil, and so, to me, it makes sense that this circle is during the dark time of the day. Any sort of night / early morning.
• Then the flowers burst from the soil, and it’s Spring! To me, Ostara sounds a bit like a brunchy sort of sabbat, with the best time for a gathering being late morning.
• Beltane seems an early afternoon holiday to me- definitely something during the day.
• Litha feels like a mid-afternoon gathering would be best… as that tends to be when it’s the warmest, and it’s a holiday celebrating the sun.
• Lughnasadh rituals might take place in the late afternoon, as it’s the first harvest, and after a long morning and afternoon of harvesting, it seems right to revel in the harvest, while it’s still light out, before the sun begins his descent.
• Mabon is an early evening ritual for me. It’s a little cooler (usually), and it just seems right to toast the balance of equal night and day as the sun sets.
• Samhain is a ritual that, to me, requires full dark, as it’s a time of reflection, and communion with ancestors. The darkness erases the distractions that light might bring, and allows us to focus more deeply into the mysteries.
• Yule is the celebration of light, warmer times to come. To me, this would be a great holiday to have an all night candle vigil, culminating with some sort of ritual at sunrise.

 

I haven’t always followed this, and usually my energy is directed toward the coven circles, which are usually at night, but I’m going to make an effort this year to DO something during the time of day that I feel is correlated the best to each sabbat. Anyone else felt the same… or different?