Imbolc Research Paper

There is a halfway point between the Winter's darkness and the light of Spring which has been celebrated for thousands of years. It's the time when the Goddess is recovering from giving birth to the God. The days have begun to get longer and she awakens from the increasing periods of daylight. The warmth from the Sun starts fertilizing the Earth( the Goddess), the seeds start to germinate and begin sprouting. This is a time of purification after being cooped up inside for the winter months, through the renewing power of the Sun's warming light.

Imbolc was considered by the ancient Celts to be the beginning of Spring. It's known as one of the four main Celtic festivals, the other three being Beltane, Lughnasadh and Samhain. Imbolc's etymology

The celebration of Imbolc and and similar celebrations have been held by many cultures around the world for thousands of years. While the Celts celebrated the beginnings of Spring, they also celebrated the Celtic Goddess Brighid, the Goddess of healing, inspiration and smithcraft with associations to fire, hearth and poetry. During the fifth century, Ireland was Christianized they also converted this day into a Christian holiday called Saint Brigid's day. Brigid's cross is one of the classic symbols of Ireland, it's thought by many to be a Christian symbol, but many Pagans associate it as a symbol of the Goddess Brighid. Her cross was traditionally on kitchen walls because it was believed that it would protect the home from fire and evil, Brighid's cross is still found today in lots of Irish homes. The ancient Egyptians also had a celebration on February 2, it was called the Feast of Nut. This is a celebration of the Goddess Nut's birthday. Nut was a mother-figure to Ra, God of the Sun, she is usually portrayed as a nude woman covered in stars, and often pictured above her husband Geb, God of the Earth. In America there's a holiday on February 2, known as Groundhog's day. This was started by the Pennsylvania Dutch and is considered to be a superstition. As the superstition goes, the groundhog climbs out of its burrow and if it's a clear day he sees his shadow and goes back to bed because Winter will last for six more weeks. If he doesn't see his shadow because of it being a cloudy day, Spring is right around the corner. The most famous groundhog is known as Puxatony Phil, and the town( Puxatony) in the US state of Pennsylvania, has a huge celebration where everyone comes out early in the morning on February 2, to see Phil's