Imbolc

The pagan festival of Imbolc occurs in a couple of days on February 2. This festival has always been a difficult one for me to grasp. It celebrates not so much Spring itself, but the promise of Spring. Now this is all well and good in Europe where winters are milder and shorter than here. Maybe in Europe on February 2 the snow is starting to melt and lambs are being born and ewes' milk is being produced, but here in Canada we still have freezing cold, tons of snow and a stiff Arctic breeze blowing up our collective wazoo. It's very hard to relate to Imbolc imagery here. (More bitching on this topic tomorrow!)