In the pagan calendar, 1 February (which falls halfway between the winter solstice and spring equinox) was known as Imbolc. It marked the beginning of spring and the festival of Brigid, Celtic goddess of fire, fertility and early spring.
Imbolc was seen as a time of great significance, when the worst of winter was over and the days were noticeably longer. Celebrations would start at sunset on the last day of January and continue until the same time on the following day. Whilst there are few reliable records of exactly what the original Imbolc celebrations would have entailed, fires and candlelight undoubtedly played an important role, representing the return of new light and warmth to the world around. It was a time for decluttering, cleaning and ritual bathing to create space and allow newly planted seeds (actual and spiritual) to take root.
As with so many of the old pagan festivals, a Christian feast cropped up to ensure that the converted could still have a good party, and so it is also now celebrated as the Feast of St Brigid.
There’s another event that follows immediately after Imbolc. The second of February (Candlemas in the Christian calendar) is Groundhog Day. Most of us know the day from the 1993 Bill Murray film but it’s a real event that actually started in Europe... with a badger.
Tradition has it that if the badger/groundhog sees his shadow when he emerges from his burrow in February, winter will last for six more weeks. If it’s a cloudy day, spring will come early.
There is an interesting seasonal theory about the tradition’s origins. The suggestion is that the day originally developed to allow for a compromise between the two conflicting views of when spring actually begins. More modern Western societies held that spring started on the vernal equinox (in mid-March), whereas the older cultures favoured Imbolc. By allowing the badger to choose between the two possibilities, the date could vary from year to year.
If Candlemas be fair and bright,
Winter will have another flight.
If Candlemas brings clouds and rain,
Winter will not come again.
(Traditional)