Candlemas

The holiday of Candlemas, also known as Imbolc, falls on February 2nd. The ancient Celtic goddess Brigid was honored on this day, and even after she was absorbed into the Church as St. Brigid, celebrations for her changed very little from their Pagan roots.

The name "Imbolc" has it’s name derived from the Gaelic “oimele” which means “ewes milk.” This major Sabbat lies opposite Lammas, and represents the very beginning of spring. This festival is for the Maiden, her renewal and has strong roots with the festivals for the Irish goddess Brigid. The name “Candlemas” is from the adaptations of rites for the Virgin Mary that the European churches held at the same time of year.

The plough is an integral part of Imbolc ritual, this being the earliest time of year in Europe to begin ground breaking or preparations for spring planting. Some cultural groups decorated ploughs or held processions around the fields. Seedlings for early spring planting can be started indoors at this time.

Imbolc is when the first spring cleaning can be done. Having hunkered down for the winter, what can go to make room for the growth of spring? Brigid has many associations with healing. Spend some time with activities for yourself and your own health, either to warm the chill of winter or to ready yourself for the coming spring.

Celebrations around this holiday can include a healthy amount of candle burning, offerings for deities and guests of fresh baked breads and cheeses, and a roaring hearth fire. Groups crafts projects can include making corn maidens, or priapic wands using acorns.Corn dollies and Brigid’s Crosses are woven from wheat stalks to honor her. Traditional altars featured corn dollies placed in a Bride’s Bed, with candles and other offerings placed around to welcome and celebrate the new Bride.

Like other cross-quarter days, Imbolc is associated with divination, being perceived as a time when the veils between worlds are thinner. One of the more common winter/spring divination rituals is Ground Hog Day. On February 2nd, it is said that a ground hog that comes out of his burrow and sees his shadow foretells six more weeks of winter weather. No shadow on this day and spring is right around the corner. Most Americans are only familiar with the media glare cast on "Punxsutawney Phil" and a small Pennsylvania town each year, not realizing the more complex European roots of this rite. This practice came with German settlers, the Pennsylvania Dutch, who adapted their own hedgehog observations to a close American native.