The Isia, ancient Egypt (Oct 28 - Nov 3)

Seventh and final day, known in one form to the Romans as the Hilaria

The Rebirth of Osiris via the milk of Isis, representing resurrection; the Time of the Receding Waters of the Nile

According to one legend, Isis, mother and consort of God, Lady of Heaven (Heq) collected the dismembered parts of her husband's body and united the fragments by magic powers. On this last day of the Isia, after an enactment of the story of the death of Osiris at the hands of his brother Set (Seth), the people followed the mourning cortege of Isis, to her temple.

It was a public occasion, marked in the Roman calendar with the name Hilaria – "Osiris has been found", the crowd shouted for joy. At the end of the festival, when the above words had been shouted, the priests would fashion a small image in the shape of the crescent moon. Images of Osiris were made of paste and grain; these were watered until the barley sprouted and then floated down the Nile with candles as part of the planting ceremonies. The crowd departed from the temple and made its way down to the sea on the final night. The Hilaria was given over to unrestrained rejoicing, because the god, now risen to immortality, would assess all who had become divine by drinking the milk of Isis ...

Deities of many cultures in the Wilson's Almanac Book of Days

Categories: ancient-egypt, mythology, calendar-customs