The Origional Valentines Day

Long before the 5 priests named Valentine were martyred, there was a holiday honoring love and birth. To the ancient Celts and those who still honor their religious ways that day falls on February 2, coincidentally also Ground Hog Day. Many of the traditions we celebrate on Valentines day originated with this unique holiday.

Imbolc or Imbolg is also referred to as Brides Day to the Celts both ancient and present. It is a day all about knowledge and creativity. Most often the Celts honor Brigit on this day, she is the goddess of the forge, fire, healing, hearth (home) and mental workings (psychism). She is also one of the fertility goddesses, as the daughter of Dagda. Therefore, Imbolc is the first fertility festival of the year - not so much of the act of procreation like Beltane, but the honor the results, the births. Imbolc quite literally means "in the belly" and is representative of the birth that are occurring at this time after all the animals and people have been stuck inside throughout the colder months. (Also, since Imbolc is exactly nine months after Beltaine the great procreation festival, wink-wink, nudge-nudge).

This day was also considered a passing of the torch from the Crone goddess, that wizened figure who ruled the winter, to the virgin goddess, whose loss of innocence leads to the fertility and abundance of spring. Therefore, there is a certain amount of time set aside on this day for honoring our elders, meditating on all we've learned and experienced this past year. Winter is the dark part of the year. To the ancients, it was a time of reflection, where you could learn much about where your heart and soul were taking you. This time is coming to an end with Imbolc, so planning, organizing how you'll achieve that vision is also important. For most Druids, like myself, Imbolc is a time of meditation, calling upon Totems and Spiritual Guides, learning to sharpen mental acuity. Looking back on mistakes of the previous year and planning what I wish to achieve for the coming one.

In a mystical sense, the God of the ancient Celts, was reborn in his solar aspect at Yule, and will be reborn in animal or green man (ruler of the wilds) at Imbolc. This is evident in the sprouts that are just beginning to form in the fields beneath the snow. While the sun is not yet warmer, we can now notice the lengthening of the days. So, we take time at sunset on Imbolc to celebrate Light, thanking the sun god for gaining in strength, lasting longer and longer each day, and praying for His warmth as well (as that is not evident as of yet, usually). We do this through the lighting of many candles.

Fire is a common focus at festivals both ancient and present. It is seen as a measure of purification at Beltane, burning away the dark and disease of the past winter. At Imbolc the fires are more basic. They are in honor of Brigits Fire = the fires of her forge and creativity, the fires of healing in creating medicines, the fires of inspiration, the fires of passion and love that make procreation possible.

Many will now take the corn dolly's made at Mabon, the final harvest festival form the previous fall, the last of the seeds and stalks, and mix them with winter greenery - this is symbolic of how the end of winter means the start of spring. So, we disassemble the Mabon doll and combine the seeds and stalks with the greenery to make a new doll depicting the symbiotic nature of the harvest and planting, the symbiotic nature of the fires of passion and birth, the fertility of the land, etc. Once we have the new doll formed, we generally burn it (again in the fire of the day) or scatter it to the winds depicting the sacrifice of one leads to the existence of the next. You can't have a Spring without a Winter, you can't have edible food without harvesting the lushness of the planting season, etc.

The concept of Spring Cleaning also originated with Imbolc. Brigit was very much a goddess of the Hearth and Home. At this point of the ancient winters the people were anxious to leave their homes. Imbolc was used as a time for getting the family and home ready for the time when they would no longer be housebound and they would likely see guests. The day before and after Imbolc was spend cleaning the home. This included new home religious blessings. Food stores would have been running low by this point of the winter, so foods would have had to been more creatively made to be palatable. Now a days, we perform our spring cleanings, clearing the house of clutter, organizing papers (and taxes), donating extra clothes and food to the needy. And utilizing pantry items to make foods such as bulky beef stew.

Finally a few wonderful ways to celebrate the day:
*A Tea Light Labyrinth. A labyrinth or spiral is a wonderful means of reflection. Lighting up to 50 tea lights and walking the spiral with the family is a great way to break-up the boredom of another chilly night.
*Spring Cleaning/Organization
*Making goals for the coming year
*Hiking int he woods, looking at the changing beauty of nature
*Making bird houses and window boxes and preparing seeds for planting at Beltane (May 1)
*Making cards and gifts for family and loved ones, honoring them for being there for you and your family through the past year.

Finally, this is all done leading up to a family dinner. We set out our meal at either the dinner table or on a picnic blanket. The children help set the table and we pray to invite the Sun God and Virgin Goddess and Brigit in to enjoy our meal (some even make a small separate plate of food and drink to leave outside as an offering to the gods). Then each child reads a prayer / blessing for the food. We also all write one wish for the coming year. We place the wishes in a cast iron pot and burn them to ash, then scatter the ash in the winds, praying the Gods hear our plea. As a family we enjoy dinner, play games to enjoy time as a family with no modern interruptions, then we all clean the next day, again as a family, counting our blessings.

Symbols: Candles, The Bride, Burrowing Animals, Grain Dolls, Sun Wheels, Fire, Love
Deities: children/young Gods & Goddesses, All Virgin Goddess', Brigit/Brigid (pronounced Breed)
Stones: Turquoise, Amethyst
Oils: Jasmine, apricot, carnation, sweet pea, neroli & olive
Foods: Foods appropriate to eat were those that included dairy products, since Imbolc marks the calving festival. Spicy and full bodied foods in honor of the sun are equally eaten. Also peppers, onions, leeks, shallots, garlic and chives. Spiced wines and dishes containing raisins, and any other foods symbolic to the sun were traditional.