Celebrating the Seasonal Holy-Days Waverly Fitzgerald 1 Copyright © 1991 by Waverly Fitzgerald Published by Priestess of Swords Press Contact: [email protected] Priestess of Swords Press 1463 E Republican #187 Seattle WA 98112 2 3 Celebrating Candlemas February 2 is one of the great cross-quarter days which make up the wheel of the year. It falls midway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox and in many traditions is considered the beginning of spring. Awakening the Ground In Western Europe, this was the time for preparing the fields for the first planting. Even in Seattle, you can begin turning over and enriching the soil in anticipation of the first sowing in March. Pamela Berger has written a book, The Goddess Obscured: Transformation of the Grain Protectress from Goddess to Saint about the rituals celebrated at this time of year, when the ground is first awakened and the seed placed in the belly of the earth. This is a significant moment in a community which depends on the earth for sustenance. The fields were purified and offerings were made to the goddess. This medieval Anglo-Saxon plowing charm, recorded by Berger, was said by the farmer while cutting the first furrow: Whole be thou Earth Mother of men. In the lap of God, Be thou as-growing. Be filled with fodder For fare-need of men. The farmer then took a loaf of bread, kneaded it with milk and holy water and laid it under the first furrow, saying: Acre full fed, Bring forth fodder for men! Blossoming brightly, Blessed become; And the God who wrought the ground, Grant us the gifts of growing, That the corn, all the corn, May come unto our need. The promises of the return of the light and the renewal of life which were made at the winter solstice are now becoming manifest. It’s the dawn of the year. It’s the time when a woman who is pregnant begins showing. It’s time to creep out of the hibernation of winter, cautiously, like the Groundhog who 4 supposedly emerges on this day to check his shadow. It’s the time of germination. This is a traditional time for new beginnings. Covens of witches usually initiate new members at this time. St Brigid, the Grain Goddess In Ireland, this holy day is called Imbolc and begins at sunset on February 1 continuing through sunset February 2nd. There are several different derivations offered for the name Imbolc: from Ol-melc (ewe’s milk) because the ewes are lactating at this time, from Im-bolg (around the belly) in honor of the swelling belly of the earth goddess, and from folcaim (I wash) because of the rites of purification which took place at this time. All of these explanations capture the themes of this festival. February 1st is the feast day of St. Brigid, who began her life as a pagan goddess and ended up a Christian saint. She was a fire and fertility goddess. In her temple at Kildare, vestal virgins tended an eternal fire. On her feast day, her statue was washed in the sea (purification) and then carried in a cart through the fields surrounded by candles. The legends about the goddess, Brigid, gradually became associated with (the somewhat spurious) Saint Brigid who founded the first convent in Ireland (where else?) at Kildare. To celebrate St Brigid’s day, people put out a loaf of bread on the windowsill for the Saint and an ear of com for her white cow, offerings for the grain goddess like the loaf buried in the first furrow. A small quantity of special seeds are mixed with those to be sown. Wheat stalks are woven into X-shaped crosses to serve as charms to protect homes from fire and lightning. In the Highlands, women dress the com doll or last sheaf (from Lammas or the autumn equinox) in a bridal gown and put her in a basket, which is called the Bride’s bed. A wand, candle or other phallic object is laid across her and the Bride is invited to come for her bed is ready. Purification The Catholic Church, as it was wont to do, found an opportunity to superimpose a Christian holiday on this pagan festival. Jewish women went through a purification ceremony 40 days after the birth of a male child (80 days after the birth of a female child). So in the sixth century (according to J.C. Cooper in The Aquarian Dictionary of Festivals), February 2 (which falls 39 days after Christmas) was declared the feast of the Purification of Mary. The theme of purification remained a link between the two holy days. Like many miraculous babies, Jesus is recognized as a future hero from the time of his infancy. One of these recognitions occurs in Luke 2:21 when he is being presented in the temple (at the time of Mary’s purification) and a holy man, Simeon, recognizes him as the Christ, calling him “a light for revelation.” This is the ostensible reason given for the custom of bringing candles to church to be blessed by the priest on February 2nd. They are then taken home where they serve as talismans and protections from all sorts of disasters. This custom is the origin for the name Candle-mass. In Hungary, according to Dorothy Spicer in The Book of Festivals, February 2nd is called Blessing of the Candle of the Happy Woman (Gyertyazsenteio Boidog Asszony). In Poland, it is called Mother of God Who Saves Us From Thunder (Swieto Matki Boskiej Gromnicznej). 5 Actually, this festival has always been associated with fire. In ancient Armenia (writes Spicer), this was the date of the pagan spring festival in honor of Mihr, the God of fire. Originally, fires were built in his honor in open places and a lantern was lit which burned in the temple throughout the year. When Armenia became Christian, the fires were built in church courtyards instead. People danced about the flames, jumped over then and carried home embers to kindle their own fires from the sacred flames. Since Lent can sometimes begin as early as February 4th, some Candlemas customs became associated with Shrove Tuesday (Mardi Gras) and the beginning of Lent, which is a time of purification. St. Blaise The day after Candlemas, February 3rd, is the feast day of St. Blaise. I remember this holiday from my Catholic childhood because of the peculiar ceremony which took place on this day. We went to church and knelt at the communion rail while the priest placed two blessed candles, held in the shape of an X, against our throats. This was supposed to protect us from sore throats. St. Blaise, Bishop of Armenia, is the patron saint of throat diseases since he once saved a child from choking. But why the candles? And why the X? The candle is an emblem of the light. And the X shape is similar to the shape of the Brigid crosses that are used as charms and the X formed by the candle and the last sheaf in the Bride’s bed. In medieval times, St. Blaise was unofficially celebrated as the patron saint of plowmen. On his feast day, women brought a pail of wheat seed to the church to be blessed. Half of the seed was left as an offering to the church; the other half was taken home so the blessed seed could be mixed with the rest of the seed before sowing. This custom is reminiscent of the Armenian custom of carrying home the embers from the sacred flames to light hearth fires. The blessed seed will kindle the earth. Celebrating Candles and Christmas Greens The main element of your decorating scheme for Candlemas is fairly obvious: candles. You can gather all the candles in your home in one room and light them from one central candle. Or place a candle in each window (but watch them carefully). Candlemas is one of the traditional times for taking down Christmas decorations (Twelfth Night, on January 6th, is the other.) If you are very careful (because they are tinder dry), you can burn them. Or, better yet, return them to the earth mother by using them for compost or mulch. Certain foods are traditional for Candlemas, including crepes, pancakes and cakes, all grain-based foods. Pancakes and crepes are considered symbols of the sun because of their round shape and golden color. If you have a fireplace, clean out your hearth and then light a new fire. Sit around the fire and reflect on your hopes for the coming year. What do you hope to accomplish? What are you passionate about? What seeds do you wish to plant? Discuss these ideas with others or write them down in a journal but make them concrete in some way so that on Lammas (August 2nd, the festival of the first harvest), you can look back to see what progress you’ve made. 6 Brigid is the goddess of creative inspiration as well as reproductive fertility. This is a good time for sharing creative work, or, if you don’t think of yourself as especially creative, an idea that worked or a plan that materialized. Thank the Goddess for her inspiration, perhaps by dedicating a future work to her. Making Pledges and Commitments Since Candlemas is a time of new beginnings, this is a good day to ritually celebrate all things new. Plan a ceremony to name a new baby, officially welcome a new person into a family or plight your troth to your beloved.