Pagan Practice for Families with Children

Child Outdoors in Sunny Forest
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Looking for rituals and ceremonies that work well for your young Pagans in training? Try some of these popular kid- and family-themed rituals and celebrations, including Sabbat celebrations and around-the-house craft projects.

Celebrating Samhain with Kids

Kid Witches
Celebrate Samhain with your kids!. mediaphotos / E+ / Getty Images

Samhain falls on October 31, if you live in the northern hemisphere, and it's the season when the crops are dying, the nights are growing cool and crisp and dark, and for many of us, it's a time to honor our ancestors. If you're one of our readers below the equator, Samhain takes place at the beginning of May. It's a time to celebrate life and death, and to interact with the world beyond the veil. If you’ve got kids at home, try celebrating Samhain with some of these family-friendly and kid-appropriate ideas.

Try These Great Ways to Celebrate Yule with Kids

Dad and Son Making Crafts
Make your own Yule decor as part of a family project. mediaphotos / Vetta / Getty Images

If you're celebrating Yule, the winter solstice, it's one of the easiest Pagan sabbats to include your children in. Check out some of these ideas for celebrating the season with your kids.

Yule: Hold a Family Yule Log Ritual

Yule Log in Fireplace
Yule has been celebrated through the ages by many cultures. Rick Gottschalk / Stockbyte / Getty Images

If your family enjoys ritual, you can welcome back the sun at Yule with this simple winter ceremony. The first thing you'll need is a Yule Log. If you make it a week or two in advance, you can enjoy it as a centerpiece prior to burning it in the ceremony. You'll also need a fire, so if you can do this ritual outside, that's even better. As the Yule Log burns, all members of the family should surround it, forming a circle.

Celebrating Imbolc with Kids

Child and snow
Diana Kraleva / Getty Images

If you're raising kids in a Pagan tradition, there are a ton of ways you can get them involved and make them more mindful of what it is your family believes and does. Here are five easy ways you can celebrate Imbolc with your children this year!

Celebrate Ostara

Kids Playing Outside in Flowers
Zigy Kaluzn / Photolibrary / Getty Images

 This the time when spring begins anew, and much like Mabon, the autumn equinox, it's a season of balance, in which we see equal amounts of darkness and light. However, unlike the fall harvest celebrations, it's the time when instead of dying, the earth is springing back to life. Celebrate Ostara with your little Pagans this year!

Celebrate Ostara with a Chocolate Rabbit Ritual

Chocolate Rabbits
Celebrate your spring candy collection with our completely ridiculous chocolate rabbit ritual. Martin Poole / Digital Vision / Getty Images

Ostara is a time to celebrate spirituality and the turning of the earth, but there's no reason we can't have a good time with it as well. If you've got kids–or even if you don't–this simple rite is a great way to welcome the season using some things that are readily available in the discount stores at this time of year! Bear in mind, this is meant to be fun and a little bit silly. If you think the Universe has no sense of humor, skip this completely.

Celebrating Beltane with Kids

Kids Dancing Around Maypole
Want to celebrate Beltane with kids? You can!. Cecelia Cartner / Cultura / Getty Images

You can still celebrate the fertility of Beltane with young kids. The trick is to remember that fertility doesn’t just apply to people, but also to the earth and the soil and nature all around us. That means things like flowers, baby animals, plants, seedlings, and all kinds of other things that you probably haven’t even though of in the context of fertility. Beltane is a time for great celebration, so there’s no need to exclude your kiddos.

5 Fun Ways to Celebrate Litha with Kids

Kids on Playground Blowing Bubbles
Summer is a great time to be a kid!. Echo / Cultura / Getty Images

Litha falls around June 21 in the northern hemisphere, and around December 21 below the equator. This is the season of the summer solstice, and for many families, the kids are on break from school, which means it’s a perfect time to celebrate the sabbat with them. It’s the longest day of the year, many of us are playing outside and enjoying the warmer weather, and you might even be lucky enough to go swimming as you celebrate the sun. If you’ve got kids at home, try celebrating Litha with some of these family-friendly and kid-appropriate ideas.

5 Fun Ways to Celebrate Mabon with Kids

Kids Playing in Autumn Leaves
Cet your family outdoors to celebrate Mabon!. Patrick Wittman / Cultura / Getty Images

Mabon is the time of the autumn equinox, it's a time to celebrate the season of the second harvest. It’s a time of balance, of equal hours of light and dark, and a reminder that the cold weather isn't far away at all. If you’ve got kids at home, try celebrating Mabon with some of these family-friendly and kid-appropriate ideas.

Books for Pagan Kids

Kids Reading Outdoors
There are plenty of Pagan-friendly books for kids!. AZarubaika / E+ / Getty Images

There are a lot of children's books that support Pagan principles and values. Things like stewardship of the earth, respect for nature, reverence of the ancestors, tolerance for diversity, a hope towards peace–all things that many Wiccan and Pagan parents would like to see instilled in their kids. Here's a list of books that are great reading for your little Pagans.

Pagan Bedtime Prayers

Child and Mom at Bedtime
Help your little one say goodnight with a simple bedtime prayer. CLM Images / Moment / Getty Images

Does your young one say prayer before bedtime? If you'd like to incorporate a prayer with a Pagan flair into your nightly routine, try one of these simple Pagan bedtime prayers for kids.

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Your Citation
Wigington, Patti. "Pagan Practice for Families with Children." Learn Religions, Apr. 5, 2023, learnreligions.com/pagan-rituals-for-families-with-children-2561825. Wigington, Patti. (2023, April 5). Pagan Practice for Families with Children. Retrieved from https://www.learnreligions.com/pagan-rituals-for-families-with-children-2561825 Wigington, Patti. "Pagan Practice for Families with Children." Learn Religions. https://www.learnreligions.com/pagan-rituals-for-families-with-children-2561825 (accessed March 28, 2024).