Christmas has all but left behind echoes of its festive cheer and these first months of the year become a seemingly endless void of gloom and bleakness until the gentle spring sun lifts our sleepy heads to the brightening sky of March. I adore the magic of Christmas, but often wonder why we don't have more such grand celebrations throughout the year. The truth is, we used to… A very, very long time ago. Celtic pagans had many celebratory days that marked the shifting patterns of the weather, and brought the fun to even the darkest of months.
They brought us closer to the earth's natural cycle, as they marked the changing of the seasons. Come along with me to explore these ancient rituals and see how we can bring them back to life, starting with Imbolc, which happens in February.
Imbolc
Imbolc is here, the Celtic Sabbat
So light candles in every habitat
Celebrate the ever dawning light
Days lengthen, all will be right.
Imbolc by tonymusings
As we all start to feel as if the summertime will never return, pagans celebrate a festival called Imbolc which marks the halfway point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. It is a festival of light, acknowledging the coming of spring. It is often linked to the emergence of snowdrops, one of the few wildflowers that can push its way up above the icy ground, and is one of the first signifiers that spring is well and truly on its way.
The story goes that the pagan goddess, Brigid, daughter of Daga (a very powerful god) was pregnant with the seed of the Sun. This was a deeply symbolic metaphor for the plant seeds embedded deep within the land and how they are starting to awaken as the earth gradually warms.
When Christianity rose to prominence, Brigid became known as St. Brigid and was recognized as Ireland's first nun. This is evidence of the lingering memories of paganism that have persisted throughout history.
Before Christianity, people would prepare for a visit from the goddess Brigid by making a sculpture of her from oats and rushes on the Eve of Imbolc. The figure was then put in a dress and left in a basket overnight. On the day of Imbolc, people would burn bonfires and lamps to pay homage to Brigid. Modern pagans view Imbolc as a time to connect with nature with the use of fire rituals.
How you can celebrate Imbolc:
You can do this in more subtle ways to connect with the ancient people and land on your own, or immerse yourself and your friends and family by creating a tradition to look forward to every February.
Go on a walk in the woods or your local park and see if you can spot any signs of emerging life, such as plant shoots peeking out of the ground, winter flowers such as snowdrops, or tree buds beginning to open - I have already noticed a few cherry blossom trees that have started to bloom. Clean up any rubbish you see on your walk, to help tidy up the precious natural spaces that are home to lots of wildlife.
On the Eve of Imbolc, have a spring clean of your home, getting rid of all things that are cluttering up your space. If you want to take it a step further, open up some windows and allow outdoor air to enter your home, refreshing the space for the first time all winter.
There is a strong purifying aspect to Imbolc. To embrace this, you could visit a body of moving water such as a river or stream. Bring a piece of ribbon and dip this into the water and tie it to a nearby tree to signal to fellow wanderers a message of hope. Make sure you always take care when going near to any water and don't do anything reckless.
Invite some friends around on Imbolc Eve, tell wintry stories, read poetry, and listen to music to keep your hearts warm, all whilst being around a campfire to keep your fingers and toes snug!
There are several public festivals that still celebrate Imbolc such a the Winter Warmer Gathering in Norfolk.
Picture source: Liverpool Arts Lab
Walpurgis Night (May Eve)
SWEET smiles the May!
The forest gay
From frost and ice is freed;
No snow is found,
Glad songs resound
Across the verdant mead.
The First Walpurgis-Night by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
This happens the night before Beltane (1st May) on 30th April. This night acknowledges a darker side of the oncoming spring, almost acting as a mirror to Halloween (or Samhain as pagans recall it). This harks back to pagan fertility rites when rituals for protecting livestock were carried out as they were moved to summer pastures.
This night was believed to be the finale of Satan's reign before May Day. Magically, the darkened night transforms into the dawn of spring where light and warmth embrace the world once more. This made Walpurgis Night a celebration that often lasted all night, as people stayed up to see the light return.
Traditionally, the night is haunted by witches, demons, goblins, and ghosts so people lit bonfires to protect themselves from these creatures. In Germany, people dressed up and played pranks, creating noise and chaos to ward off evil. In Finland, people consumed alcohol, especially sparkling wine, on Walpurgis Night and then gathered together to hold picnics amongst blooming flowers and balloons where sima (a homemade low-alcohol) was shared on May Day. In Sweden, even today people congregate to sing spring folk songs and light bonfires.
How you can celebrate Walpurgis Night:
Arrange a party with your friends and family, with the intention of making lots of noise and mischief, with a sneaky prank or two in the cards.
Go camping with your favourite people, drinking sparkling wine or mead around a campfire, and make merry as spring has arrived.
As we are accustomed to leaving milk and cookies out for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve, people in central Europe have a tradition of leaving out Ankenschnitt to ward off evil dogs and encourage a year of good health, weather and harvest on May Eve. Ankenschnitt is a delicious bread covered in butter and lots of honey. You could make this bread, enjoy it with friends and family, but make sure to leave enough to keep the demon dogs at bay!
Decorate your house with plants that bloom at springtime: flowers, shrubs, and boughs of leafing oak, just as we decorate our houses with tinsel and lights at Christmas. This will ward off any evil spirits lurking nearby and make your house look gorgeous.
You could also decorate a May pole with flowers, plants, and ribbons or plant a broomstick in your garden, which will provide further spiritual protection.
Choose to read a selection of spooky poems along with some springtime poetry in order to appreciate both the light and dark sides of this festival.
Picture source: Open Graves, Open Minds
Beltane
Beltane is May Day, and follows Walpurgis Night on 1st May. It is the first day of the year in which the Devil no longer has his claws on the world and is a time to celebrate lightness and warmth. It is a day with a high chance of seeing fairy folk, likely in hawthorn bushes - but take care, as fairies are known to punish those who get too close. Many places around the UK still celebrate May Day, with traditional maypole dancing, picnics and festivities. King Henry VIII loved to go 'a-maying', holding grand celebrations every 1st May.
How to celebrate Beltane:
Along with the above tips that link Beltane with its darker counterpart, Walpurgis Night, a nice way to celebrate May Day is with hawthorn trees. They are thought to flower around this time and 1st May is the only day is it not unlucky to bring them into your home. Why not have a venture out into the countryside or a local park and see if you can find any blooming hawthorn blossom to decorate your house with?
Picture source: Oak Spirit Sanctuary
Summer Solstice
O time of rapture! time of song!
How swiftly glide thy days along
Adown the current of the years,
Above the rocks of grief and tears!
'Tis wealth enough of joy for me
In summer time to simply be.
In Summer Time by Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872 - 1906).
Probably the most well-known out of the festivals we have spoken about is the summer solstice, which happens around 21st June. It marks the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere when the sun is furthest from the equator and highest in the sky. It is a time to appreciate the warmth given to us by the sun and also a more solemn time to reflect on the fact that it will not last forever - winter will return. As the famous poem goes, "nothing gold can stay". But for now, the world is cloaked in a golden haze, and midsummer is a dreamy, romantic gift that we must hold onto whilst we can. As with the other seasonal celebrations, mysticism and magical forces are more powerful and intense at this time, as it is believed that it is easier for ghosts to enter the mortal realm and fairies to cause mischief.
The oak tree is an important emblem for midsummer festivities. In Celtic, 'oak' is translated to 'duir' which means 'doorway'. The oak is seen as a doorway to the mystical world and also to the upcoming cycle of darkness we are now entering.
Whilst the oak tree is depicted as the King of the Forest, the light green beech tree is the Queen. She symbolises ancient wood to Druids and it was thought that if you wrote a wish on a beech twig and buried it, your wish would come true as the twig decayed in the soil.
How you can celebrate the Summer Solstice:
Stay up on Midsummer's Eve to welcome the sacred sunrise and say hello to the second half of summer. Keep an eye out for mystical beings, especially fairies, at this time.
Read excerpts from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream and if you really want to get into the solstice spirit, dress up in magical, fairylike clothing.
Harness the creative power of midsummer and read fairytale stories and poetry, becoming inspired to write your own.
Have a picnic with your loved ones in a rural area, enjoying lots of fresh fruit, cupcakes and juice from a local store.
Whatever you do, be sure to wear flower crowns in order to protect yourself from the evil spirits that roam the land at this time.
Visit the most famous site for this celebration in the UK - Stonehenge. Many people gather at this location to welcome in the solstice sunrise, as the rocks were believed to mark the movements of the sun.
Picture source: Reddit
Samhain
To some degree, the ancient festival of Samhain is still celebrated in the form of Halloween. You can view my in-depth post all about the pagan tradition of Samhain by clicking here.
Remembering Forgotten Traditions
I hope this post has proven to you that you don't need to wait for Christmas time to feel magic. If we work to remember how our ancestors used to worship the world, we will uncover mysticism and wonder in every season, in every month. Each turn of the year has its hardships, but each definitely also has its own unique delights. Whether it's telling ghost stories in the coldness of February's Imbolc festival or dancing in the midsummer sun on the summer solstice, we should give thanks and appreciation to Mother Nature for how she is always cradling us in her earthly arms.
References
Witch's Forest by Sandra Lawrence
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