Imbolc

Imbolc is a Gaelic, Pagan, and Wiccan traditional festival that represents making way for spring and the rebirth of nature.

Why is it important?

Imbolc is a pagan holiday celebrated from February 1 through sundown February 2. Based on a Celtic tradition, Imbolc was meant to mark the halfway point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox in Neolithic Ireland and Scotland.

The holiday is celebrated by Wiccans and other practitioners of neopagan or pagan-influenced religions. Imbolc is just one of several pre-Christian holidays highlighting some aspect of winter and sunlight, and heralding the change of seasons.

History of the Festival

Origins

The celebration of Imbolc dates back to the pre-Christian era in the British Isles. The earliest mentions of Imbolc in Irish literature were found in the 10th century. Poetry from that time relates the holiday to ewe's milk, with the implication of purification.

It's been speculated that this ritual stems from the breeding cycle of sheep and the beginning of lactation. The holiday was traditionally aligned with the first day of spring and the idea of rebirth.

Egyptians and the Feast of Nut

The ancient Egyptians celebrated this time of year as the Feast of Nut, whose birthday falls on February 2 on the Gregorian calendar. According to the Book of the Dead, Nut was seen as a mother-figure to the sun god Ra, who at sunrise was known as Khepera and took the form of a scarab beetle. She is typically portrayed as a nude woman covered in stars, and is positioned above her husband Geb, the earth god. When she comes down to meet him each night, darkness falls.

Christian Conversion

When Ireland converted to Christianity, it was hard to convince people to get rid of their old gods, so the church allowed them to worship the goddess Brigid as a saint–thus the creation of St. Brigid's Day. Today, there are many churches around the world which bear her name. St. Brigid of Kildare is one of Ireland's patron saints, and she is associated with an early Christian nun and abbess, although historians are divided on whether or not she was a real person.

source: history.com

Imbolc and name variations

Imbolc is a holiday with a variety of names, depending on which culture and location you're looking at. In the Irish Gaelic, it's called Oimelc, which translates to "ewe's milk." It's a precursor to the end of winter when the ewes are nursing their newly born lambs. Spring and the planting season are right around the corner.

Brigid the Goddess

Imbolc celebrations took the form of a festival in honor of the pagan goddess Brigid, who was evoked in fertility blessings and oversaw poetry, crafts and prophecy. Brigid was worshipped by the Filid, a class of poets and historians among the Celts of ancient Ireland and Britain.

Brigid was considered one of the most powerful Celtic gods and is credited with the very first keening, a traditional wailing for the dead practiced at funerals by Irish and Scottish women.

Myths about Brigid's birth say she was born with a flame in her head and drank the milk of a mystical cow from the spirit world.

Ancient Imbolc

In pre-Christian times, Imbolc observance began the night before February 1. Celebrants prepared for a visit from Brigid into their homes by crafting an effigy of the goddess from bundles of oats and rushes. The effigy was placed in a dress and put in a basket overnight.

The day of Imbolc was celebrated by rituals including burning lamps and lighting bonfires in tribute to Brigid.

From Brigid to St. Brigid

One of Ireland's three patron saints, the Catholic Church claims St. Brigid was a historical person, with accounts of her life written by monks dating back to the 8th century.

Brigid (or Bridget) is the patron saint of Irish nuns, newborns, midwives, dairy maids and cattle.

Whether or not she existed, these stories contain aspects in common with the details of the pagan goddess and illustrate the transition from pagan to Christian worship.

With no interest in marrying, Brigid's goal was to create a monastery in Kildare, supposedly the former site of a shrine to the Celtic goddess of the same name. Brigid lived her entire life there.

She was renowned for her charity to the poor and stories abound about her healing powers. St. Brigid was a friend of St. Patrick, whose preaching set her on a course at an early age, and she became Ireland's first nun.

St. Brigid is said to have died in 524 A.D. The remains of her skull and hand are claimed to be in the possession of churches in Portugal.

In the 12th century, legend holds that the nuns in Kildare attended to a fire built in St. Brigid's honor. The fire had burned for 500 years and produced no ash, and only women were allowed in proximity of the fire.



The celebration of St. Brigid's Day on February 1 was put in place by the church to replace Imbolc. On her feast day, an effigy of St. Brigid of Kildare is traditionally washed in the ocean and surrounded by candles to dry, and stalks of wheat are transformed into cross talismans known as Brigid crosses.

Celebrations

The modern celebration of Imbolc is considered a low-key, loose and sometimes private affair concerned with reconnecting with nature.

Since it's a climate-specific holiday, some followers of the Wicca religion adjust their celebration of it to correspond with a date more appropriate to the coming of spring where they live. Others embrace the symbolism of the holiday and keep to the February 1 celebration.

Traditions from both the pagan celebration of Imbolc and the Christian celebration of St. Brigid's Day can be found in the modern Imbolc celebration. Celebrants sometimes make a Brigid cross out of reeds as well as a Brigid corn doll or effigy.

Brigit's cross

Brigid's cross or Brigit's cross (Irish: Cros Bríde, Crosóg Bríde or Bogha Bríde) is a small variant of the Christian cross often woven from straw or rushes. It appears in many different shapes, but the most popular designs feature a woven diamond or lozenge in the centre. The cross is named for Brigid of Kildare, who is said to have woven a cross to aid in a pagan chieftain's deathbed conversion.

Brigid's cross is typically woven on 1 February, her feast day, as well as the festival of Imbolc in pre-Christian Ireland. Hanging Brigid's cross from the rafters of one's house was believed to bring the blessing and protection of the saint for the remainder of the year. The practice of crafting Brigid's crosses declined in the 20th century, however, in part due to house renovations that made hanging them difficult.

In addition to the shamrock and Celtic harp, Brigid's cross is a national symbol of Ireland. From 1962 to 1995, it was incorporated into the Raidió Teilifís Éireann logo. A collection of Brigid's crosses collected by the Irish Folklore Commission is on display at the National Museum of Ireland – Country Life.

Did you know?

February 2 is also celebrated as Groundhog Day, which began in the United States in 1887. The idea is that a groundhog exiting its burrow can predict whether winter will stay or go based on whether the groundhog sees its shadow. The day was a stunt by a newspaper in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, that has endured.

Concocted in Pennsylvania Dutch country, Groundhog Day is believed to be an adaptation of a German Candlemas tradition involving a badger. There have been attempts to portray Groundhog Day as a modern offshoot of Imbolc, but the two days are not likely directly related.