Imbolc – 1st February

Imbolc (or Imbolg) is also called St. Brigid’s Day and is celebrated on 1st February each year and is one of the four traditional Gaelic seasonal festivals, marking the beginning of Spring. It is approximately halfway between the Winter Solstice (21st December) and the Spring Equinox (21st March). Imbolc is also associated with the onset of the lambing season and the blossoming of blackthorn. Time to celebrate the lengthening days and the early signs of spring – the snowdrops are up 🙂

Saint Brigid, who died in 525 AD, was a Christianization of the goddess of fertility, Brigid.  Born Brigit, there is much debate over her birthparents, but it is widely believed her mother was Brocca, a Christian baptized by Saint Patrick, and her father was Dubthach, a Leinster chieftain. Brocca was a slave, therefore Brigid was born into slavery.
St. Brigid was also invoked to protect homes and livestock. The holiday was a festival of the hearth and home. It is time to ‘spring clean’.

To receive the blessings of St. Brigid:

• people would make a bed for her
• leave her food and drink.
• Items of clothing would be left outside for her to bless.
• The lighting of candles and fires represents the return of warmth and the increasing power of the Sun over the coming months.

Brigid of Ireland, also known as Saint Brigid of Kildare, is the patroness Saint of Ireland, and one of its three national Saints along with Patrick and Columba. For Christians, particularly in Ireland, it is a time to feast!  Although many of its customs died out in the 20th century, it is still observed and in some places it has been revived as a cultural event.

Photo credit: Annie Collins Photography

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