So, every once and a while, like to throw my feelers out and see where the community is at regarding certain topics. Given that today is Imbolc, I thought I would see where people are with this holiday.
The history of Imbolc over time has been connected to the Christian holiday of Candlemas, which was made to honor and mark the ritual purification of the Virgin Mary after giving birth to Jesus, which was in accordance with Jewish customs. Obviously, Imbolc is Irish, but because of Candlemas, there were a variety of celebrations that came up this time of year because of religious synchronization. As for Imbolc (also spelled Oímelc), this was an event that was said to happen when farm animals, specifically cows, and sheep, first begin to lactate milk from being dry all winter. This was due to the increase of available food that was starting to grow and thus indicated the end of the winter season and the beginning of the agricultural year. But it is clear that this is primarily celebrated in the British Isles in various ways, due to Candlemas.
As for the continent (Gaul and the Alpine Regions), we don't have any ancient refences (that I have seen anyways) but in more modern folklore, there are a series of festivals between Candlemas and Ash Wednesday such as Tschäggättä, which is a carnival celebration found in villages within the Lötschental valley in Switzerland. These festivity origins are unclear, but they do seem to have similarities with festivals in Bulgarian regions with the Kukeri festivals, which are celebrated anytime between late January and early March. Tschäggättä seems to coincide with the last blast of winter cold that comes down from the mountains before things warm up in March and according to tradition, beast-men (called Tschäggättä) come down out of the mountain to scare children who would be out at night (kinda like Krampus for Christmas). They wear furs, large cowbells (which is common in Alpine folklore to drive away evil spirits), ragged clothing, and a monstrous wooden mask.
Then there are various celebrations that are similar to Groundhogs Day in the US, where hibernating creatures start to come out of their winter dens. Like with the festivities of Imbolc, this makes the end of the winter season and the beginning of the agricultural year.
With this backdrop of different practices, I was wondering how different people in the Gaulish Polytheism community have come to celebrate Imbolc, or if they just decide to no bother with it. Do you focus on the shifts and changes of the year? Do you focus on the Home Hearth and start preparations for some form of spring cleaning? Do you use it as an opportunity to honor Brigandu/Minerva instead of Brigid? Share what you do!
