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What is Imbolc?
This weekend at the farm we’ll be celebrating the festival of Imbolc, a Gaelic event marking the beginning of spring. Also known as Brigid’s Day, it is most commonly held in early February, half way between the winter solstice and spring equinox. Saturday afternoon will be filled with storytelling, poetry, music and a light feast by firelight; but why did our ancestors celebrate Imbolc? And why do we still honour it today?
The linguistic origin of Imbolc is still debated among etymologists, but the most common explanation comes from the Old Irish i mbolc, meaning ‘in the belly’ and referring to the vernal pregnancy of ewes. Seasonally, it has always been associated with lambing time and the blooming of the blackthorn tree, and in ancient Ireland it was one of four Gaelic festivals, the others known as Samhain, Beltain and Lughnasadh.
On the night before, the Gaelic goddess Brigid was said to visit virtuous households and bless their inhabitants. She represented fertility and the lighter half of the year, so her power to bring people from the dark season into the spring was very important. Families would make a special supper, typically including colcannon (mashed potatoes with kale), sowans (oat husks), dumplings (suet balls), barmbrack (fruited bread) and bannocks (flat bread).
At Butser Ancient Farm, we will be holding our own Imbolc event this Saturday 30th January from 1-4pm. We’ll hear stories from Jonathon Huet of Walk with Trees, poetry and singing around the roundhouse fire, with a light vegetarian meal included. Tickets are £12 and can be bought here. Join us to bid farewell to this grizzly winter weather and welcome in the warmer months!
Elsewhere on the site our Saxon building is almost completed, with just the flooring and doors to finish in time for the warmer weather. Our barn owl is still making full use of the cosy rafters to eat her food, and had kindly left a mountain of pellets for us over the holidays. We are now hoping to invest in a trail camera to catch her on film and see what she’s up to!We will now also be gearing up for our Beltain festival over the next few months, with a huge wicker man to build, catering and music to organise and a whole farm to prepare. The oddly warm weather seems to have forced the wildlife into an early spring, and we’ve been enjoying listening to the song thrush singing in the conifer trees by the car park.We’re looking forward to what the new year will bring, and hope to see many new visitors among the familiar faces we welcome each year.
