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I was scanning this forum for the first time in a long time, and came across this old post. And it reminded me of something which may interest some of you who posted in it.
Both of my parents were of Irish descent, though neither had more than a fragment of family history knowledge, and no interest in the country or its customs, etc. I, on the other hand, became obsessed with it in my high school years...though I no longer remember exactly how it began. Finally, in 1966 - in my late twenties, I made my first trip outside the U.S., and, of course, it was to Ireland.
I went alone, rented a car and spent most of my time in very non-touristy places, visiting ruins, archeological sites and "holy" wells and other folk pilgrimage sites. Compared to the U.S., the rural countryside had very thin traffic, and I did see older people walking long distances (many miles) on errands. If I had stopped somewhere, and one of these people came along, they were always very happy to take a break and talk.
An older woman I met, in her sixties perhaps, chatted with me one time. I cannot remember where, but I must have mentioned St. Brigid or Imbolc and connected it with spring flowers and vegetation. She was very quick to correct me. It was the birth of lambs that signified the change of seasons, not flowers and the like.
A few years later I was repeating this anecdote to my mother, and she interrupted and said, "That's what Marietta used to say." This was her step-mother, a Canadian of Cornish descent. Marietta's grandparents had been immigrants, and her father was a preacher on church circuits of the Bible Christian sect in Ontario and parts of the northern U.S. Midwest. This group had found major support among the Cornish, and they clumped into tightly bound communities in the New World. In the late winter on my grandfather's farm in western NY state, Marietta would take some blankets and go out and sleep in the (unheated, of course) barn to midwife the ewes. Ewes are notorious for having birthing difficulties. When this time came, my mother said Marietta would remark that spring was beginning (snow, cold and all!)
What I discovered later is that the Cornish are a Celtic group, like the Welsh, Irish, Bretons, etc. Thus, customs are similar.
Going back to the first woman, the one is Ireland. She had something else to say, which was far more surprising than her comment about lambing and spring. The traditional year does not begin with spring and Imbolc, but rather with Samhain or winter. The old Halloween associations of ghosts, the dead, etc. had its roots in Samhain. On the first day, at the end of October, all the dead are able to return, as well as the sometimes malevolent daoine sà or aos sà roam in the night - they are often said to live under the ancient stone age burial mounds. (In English they are called "fairies," a misleading term as they are not cutsie little creatures fluttering gossamer wings. They will steal a human baby and leave one of their own in its place, called a changling, and these of often peculiar in some way. The misnomer may be intentional as they are often called "the good people" as a way of keeping in their favour.) Samhain, and winter, are about the dead but also about the non-productive or dead time of the earth. This woman baited me a bit with the question of why this season and not spring/and Imbolc would be the beginning of the year.
She just went on with the answer, and it really took me aback for a woman who was wearing a crucifix and was undoubtedly a church-going Catholic. Ignoring anything Christian, however, she said that death, sleep and darkness were all mixed together, and everything ended in darkness but everything also began in it. And clearly quite satisfied with her logic, she declared that this is why the year began with Samhain because everything that came in spring comes out of its darkness.
At the time, my surprise aside, I took her explanation of from Samhain to Imbolc as something a bit "poetically" worked over. However, much older now, at the very least it is a wonderful metaphor. It reminds me of the basic Buddhist (and perhaps Hindu) idea that things get resolved, but then usually resume in some fashion or other. Reincarnation is a fairly unusual incident in Irish mythology, but it is not, on the other hand, pointed out in the myths themselves as being unusual. Sometimes the re-incarnation comes from eating the seed of a plant even. As the pre-Christian Irish did not record their myths in writing, and they were only written down by Christian monks it is unlikely we will ever know whether a belief in reincarnation was more prevalent in the culture that it seems in the version of the myths that we have. The ancient burial customs across the millennia are very mixed, thus there are no good pointers there.
In any case, the above about lambs etc. may interest those who participated in the thread earlier.
I was scanning this forum for the first time in a long time, and came across this old post. And it reminded me of something which may interest some of you who posted in it.
Both of my parents were of Irish descent, though neither had more than a fragment of family history knowledge, and no interest in the country or its customs, etc. I, on the other hand, became obsessed with it in my high school years...though I no longer remember exactly how it began. Finally, in 1966 - in my late twenties, I made my first trip outside the U.S., and, of course, it was to Ireland.
I went alone, rented a car and spent most of my time in very non-touristy places, visiting ruins, archeological sites and "holy" wells and other folk pilgrimage sites. Compared to the U.S., the rural countryside had very thin traffic, and I did see older people walking long distances (many miles) on errands. If I had stopped somewhere, and one of these people came along, they were always very happy to take a break and talk.
An older woman I met, in her sixties perhaps, chatted with me one time. I cannot remember where, but I must have mentioned St. Brigid or Imbolc and connected it with spring flowers and vegetation. She was very quick to correct me. It was the birth of lambs that signified the change of seasons, not flowers and the like.
A few years later I was repeating this anecdote to my mother, and she interrupted and said, "That's what Marietta used to say." This was her step-mother, a Canadian of Cornish descent. Marietta's grandparents had been immigrants, and her father was a preacher on church circuits of the Bible Christian sect in Ontario and parts of the northern U.S. Midwest. This group had found major support among the Cornish, and they clumped into tightly bound communities in the New World. In the late winter on my grandfather's farm in western NY state, Marietta would take some blankets and go out and sleep in the (unheated, of course) barn to midwife the ewes. Ewes are notorious for having birthing difficulties. When this time came, my mother said Marietta would remark that spring was beginning (snow, cold and all!)
What I discovered later is that the Cornish are a Celtic group, like the Welsh, Irish, Bretons, etc. Thus, customs are similar.
Going back to the first woman, the one is Ireland. She had something else to say, which was far more surprising than her comment about lambing and spring. The traditional year does not begin with spring and Imbolc, but rather with Samhain or winter. The old Halloween associations of ghosts, the dead, etc. had its roots in Samhain. On the first day, at the end of October, all the dead are able to return, as well as the sometimes malevolent daoine sà or aos sà roam in the night - they are often said to live under the ancient stone age burial mounds. (In English they are called "fairies," a misleading term as they are not cutsie little creatures fluttering gossamer wings. They will steal a human baby and leave one of their own in its place, called a changling, and these of often peculiar in some way. The misnomer may be intentional as they are often called "the good people" as a way of keeping in their favour.) Samhain, and winter, are about the dead but also about the non-productive or dead time of the earth. This woman baited me a bit with the question of why this season and not spring/and Imbolc would be the beginning of the year.
She just went on with the answer, and it really took me aback for a woman who was wearing a crucifix and was undoubtedly a church-going Catholic. Ignoring anything Christian, however, she said that death, sleep and darkness were all mixed together, and everything ended in darkness but everything also began in it. And clearly quite satisfied with her logic, she declared that this is why the year began with Samhain because everything that came in spring comes out of its darkness.
At the time, my surprise aside, I took her explanation of from Samhain to Imbolc as something a bit "poetically" worked over. However, much older now, at the very least it is a wonderful metaphor. It reminds me of the basic Buddhist (and perhaps Hindu) idea that things get resolved, but then usually resume in some fashion or other. Reincarnation is a fairly unusual incident in Irish mythology, but it is not, on the other hand, pointed out in the myths themselves as being unusual. Sometimes the re-incarnation comes from eating the seed of a plant even. As the pre-Christian Irish did not record their myths in writing, and they were only written down by Christian monks it is unlikely we will ever know whether a belief in reincarnation was more prevalent in the culture that it seems in the version of the myths that we have. The ancient burial customs across the millennia are very mixed, thus there are no good pointers there.
In any case, the above about lambs etc. may interest those who participated in the thread earlier.
Very interesting post! I did know that Samhain and this time is the beginning of the year. Death and decay must occur for new birth to happen, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. This year, for a lot of reasons that I won't go into here, the concept is popping up for me everywhere--in several Tarot and Rune readings, in a family relationship, and I'm more acutely aware of the changes in nature this year.
I'm embracing it. I am experiencing this difficult major change in a family relationship right now, but focusing on this has brought peace to the turmoil. It is part of the cycle.
There is something to this crazy Pagan stuff.
Also, re Imbolc, I do remember reading somewhere that the word comes from the concept of "in the belly" or pregnant, and that fits in with your Irish lady's telling about the ewes and lambs.
....Also, re Imbolc, I do remember reading somewhere that the word comes from the concept of "in the belly" or pregnant, and that fits in with your Irish lady's telling about the ewes and lambs.
Good stuff. Thank you for sharing.
I did a quick look in a bilingual Irish dictionary, and I would bet you are right on the above.
"bolg" is the word used for middle of something, abdomen, belly. The g to c change would be based on the similarity of the sounds, especially in Irish; and the shift from Old Irish to Middle Irish involved massive changes in spelling and refinements in pronunciation. I wouldn't be surprised in "bolc" was the older spelling as I was reading something recently in which a person's name was spelled with c's in Old Irish and g's in Middle Irish.
Sorry for posting so late. Life is a bit difficult this year.
The Pagan-to-Christian thread in R&S general reminded me that I hadn't done so. I did observe the day, however, with a lit candle and a visit to the place where I want to be but cannot be right now. The reminder that spring lies beneath deep snow boosted my spirits. As the days get longer, I wish all our Pagan posters a good journey toward the light and hope for new life with the coming of spring.
Lit some candles on the day...tried to light my firebasket in garden few times but weather was too wet, only one of the 2 outdoors incense burners had fire for few minutes.
Snowdrops and mini narcissus just coming up on patio. Indoors mini narcissus and a white hyacinth in bloom less scent on these.
My diy willow wreaths changed the ribbons colors to spring green, pale yellow and light peach. Sprigs of fresh ivy from my garden in small glass bottles so they grow roots.
Did some crafts and mixed some oils. Visit pagan forums to read recent Imbolc posts.
Irish calendars do as much as English and Jewish calendars. They help tradition and religiosity. Seasons are meant for enjoyment for time together. Spiritual enjoyment comes through being alone but also in mental growth and personal ability to better oneself. Seasons are times to move on from the past and are meant to prepare us for the near future.
I haven't the time to devote to a garden (a jar of scallions on the windowsill is about all I can handle), but my tradition is to start fermenting my annual batch of sauerkraut fermenting. Nothing fancy, just sticking a quart-size jar of 'kraut in the back of the refrigerator, but it's a nice reminder that summer cookouts are on their way.
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