I love it when many different rituals converge on one celebratory day.  Suddenly the original cloth becomes beautifully clear. The seemingly disparate threads of tradition are woven back together.  Such is the case with February 2. Known as Mid-Winter in many Anglo-Saxon countries; individual yarns have names such as Imbolc, the Feast of Saint Brigid, Candlemas, and even Groundhog Day.

Imbolc

The Mid-Winter tapestry originates with the ancient Celts who worshiped Brigid (or Bride), a Celtic Goddess who was responsible for bringing back the light of Spring.  Her festival day is known as Imbolc. Imbolc is the mid-way point between Winter and Spring.  Her name derived from an older Sanskrit goddess ‘Bhairavi’. Brigid loosely means ‘fiery arrow’ or ‘Goddess of Fire’.  She was a mother-goddess, a life-protector, a poet, a seer, the Goddess of regeneration and abundance.  Imbolc itself means the flow of milk from the ewes, when signs of Spring begin their song of rebirth.

St Brigid

As Christianity took hold of Europe, Goddess Brigid transformed into Saint Brigid who was said to be the daughter of a Druid. She had the ability to invoke miracles, and provide abundance.  Brigid is often depicted as radiant sunlight, a bright, shining woman who is both a healer and weaver.  By legend, she lived in an all-female sanctuary attended by priestesses who kept the flame of life alive. The cross of Saint Brigid is her well-known symbol, a fiery sun-wheel turning inside a cross.  On her Feast Day, festivites occur throughout Great Britain. Feasting, offerings, dancing, singing, and the procession of Brigid’s cross, or circle-cross, often made from braided straw rope.

Images: Mossy green candles from Areaware, “CANDLEMAS” by Yvette Vetjens via celtic lady. Irish coffee (a perfect cocktail for these cold days). How to make a Birgid’s Cross from grasses and other garden cuttings. Groundhog dday is Chunk, the instagram famous woodchuck’s big day. Beautiful handmade candles. A modern concrete bonfire site. “Fair Maids of February, Candlemas Bells, or White Ladies. Snowdrops have a number of endearing names and are often associated with signs of hope, the beginning of spring and the new year”. – via @sandringham1870, Photography by @tarareeson. And finally – I went down the rabbit hole of Irish coffee and found two instagram accounts worth following. @donuthunting reviews donuts all over the world – (an absolute must follow). They discovered the divine Irish coffee donut at The Goods Donuts in Carlsbad, CA.

Original image for this post:

Candlemas

The Mid-Winter festival was to undergo one more transformation. When Catholicism took root, it converted this day (actually one day later, February 2) to the Feast of St. Mary. In Jerusalem, 40 days after giving birth to the Christ child, Mary entered a temple in Jerusalem where Christ was recognized as the Heavenly light, come to remove the darkness.  Renamed Candlemas, candles were – and are to this day – lit in church to remember the return of the light in the form of Christ.

Groundhog Day

Which brings us to Groundhog Day.  It too marks the day of Mid-Winter; if the groundhog sees his shadow, we have 6 more weeks of Winter ahead; if not, Spring is on its way.  Not as glamorous as Imbolc or Candlemas, no lighting of candles or feasting or processions with flames and crosses, but a noting of the turn of the seasons nonetheless.  And this year, as seems to always be the case, he didn’t see his shadow.  Alas, despite little snow, we’ve got a while before those crocuses peek their sleepy heads above ground.

So on February 2, 2012, the biggest question of the day was…where does one actually go to celebrate Imbolc/Feast of St. Brigid/Candlemas/Groundhog Day? I thought surely, living just outside Boston, with the heavy Irish and Catholic influences, there would be some wonderful ritual awaiting. Alas, a quick search on Google meant we’d have to drive to New York City or catch a flight to Dublin.  Or wait a few days for the weekend.  But we were ready to celebrate, and it was HER day after all.  So we piled into the minivan and did what we do best on a cold early February day…sat ourselves at a fabulous local Irish pub, complete with a genuine Irish-speaking bartender, ordered some mussels and cockels and an Irish whiskey, and toasted to the light that was already promising its return.  Slainte!

images from Simmons Buntin, National Geographic,”CANDLEMAS” by Yvette Vetjens via celtic lady, and The Anglican Cathedral of Second Life, acbals moon.

Persephone Period

Additional Note: Here in New England, The end of the persephone period (also know as persephone days) is also right inline with all these other holidays. The persephone period gets its name from greek mythology and is an important time to note on the gardening calendar. Once the daylight hours return to more than 10 per day, plants will begin to grow again. During the darkness (while daylight hours are less than 10 and we are considered to be in the Persephone period) all plants will essentially stop growing.