Saint Brigid's Day / Imbolc or Imbolg (Irish pronunciation: [ə ˈmˠɔlˠəɡ]), also called Saint Brigid's Day (Irish: Lá Fhéile Bríde; Scottish Gaelic: Là Fhèill Brìghde; Manx: Laa'l Breeshey), is a Gaelic traditional festival on 1 February.

Imbolc falls about halfway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox[2] and is one of the four Gaelic seasonal festivals, along with Bealtaine, Lughnasadh and Samhain.

Historians suggest that Imbolc was originally a pre-Christian (or pagan) festival associated with the lambing season, the coming of spring, and possibly the goddess Brigid, proposing that the saint and her feast day might be Christianizations.

[4] A feast of Saint Brigid was first mentioned in the Middle Ages, but its customs were not recorded in detail until the early modern era.

Although many of its traditions died out in the 20th century, it is still observed by some Christians as a religious holiday and by some non-Christians as a cultural one, and its customs have been revived in some places.

[11] The 12th century Book of Leinster version of the Táin Bó Cúailnge ('Cattle Raid of Cooley') indicates that Imbolc (spelt imolg and imbuilg) is three months after the 1 November festival of Samhain.

[13] Another Old Irish poem about the Táin in the Metrical Dindshenchas says: "iar n-imbulc, ba garb a ngeilt", which Edward Gwynn translates "after Candlemas, rough was their herding".

[15] Peter O'Connell's Irish-English dictionary (1843) identifies Oimelc or Imbulc with Féil Brighde, the Feast of Saint Brigid.

[17][18] It is suggested that Imbolc originally marked the onset of the lambing season,[19][6] the arrival of fresh sheep milk after a period of food shortage,[8] and the beginning of preparations for the spring sowing.

[17] Cogitosus, writing in the late 7th century, is the first to mention a feast day of Saint Brigid being observed in Kildare on 1 February.

However, there are few historical facts about her, and her early hagiographies "are mainly anecdotes and miracle stories, some of which are deeply rooted in Irish pagan folklore".

[18] Like the saint, the goddess is associated with wisdom, poetry, healing, protection, blacksmithing, and domesticated animals, according to Cormac's Glossary and Lebor Gabála Érenn.

The tale Tochmarc Emire, which survives in a 10th-century version, names Imbolc as one of four seasonal festivals, and says it is "when the ewes are milked at spring's beginning".

In late winter/early spring, sheep could survive better than cows on the sparse vegetation, and farmers sought to resume milking as soon as possible due to their dwindling stores.

Translated by Kuno Meyer (1894), it says, "Tasting of each food according to order, this is what is proper at Imbolc: washing the hands, the feet, the head".

[32][33] They are traditionally hung over doors, windows, and stables to welcome Brigid and for protection against fire, lightning, illness, and evil spirits.

[17] In western Connacht, people made a Crios Bríde (Bríd's girdle); a great ring of rushes with a cross woven in the middle.

Similarly, in County Donegal, the family member who was sent to fetch the rushes knelt on the front step and repeated three times, "Go on your knees, open your eyes, and let in St Brigid".

[17][40] If there was no mark, they believed bad fortune would come unless they buried a cockerel at the meeting of three streams as an offering and burned incense on their fire that night.

[17][40] In the Hebrides of Scotland, a bright shell or crystal called the reul-iuil Bríde (guiding star of Brigid) was set on its chest.

When the meal was done, the local young men humbly asked for admission, made obeisance to the Brídeóg, and joined the girls in dancing and merrymaking.

[34] The procession in some places included 'strawboys', who wore conical straw hats, masks and played folk music; much like the wrenboys.

Thig an nathair as an toll Là donn Brìde, Ged robh trì troighean dhen t-sneachd Air leac an làir.

[44] At Imbolc on the Isle of Man, where she is known as Caillagh ny Groamagh, the Cailleach is said to take the form of a gigantic bird carrying sticks in her beak.

Men and women wearing elaborate straw hats and masks visit public houses carrying a Brídeóg to ward off evil spirits and bring good luck for the coming year.

This celebrates Brigid as both saint and goddess and includes the long-standing pilgrimage to Faughart as well as music, poetry, and lectures.

[55] In 2022, Dublin hosted its first "Brigit Festival", celebrating "the contributions of Irish women" past and present through exhibitions, tours, lectures, films, and a concert.

[60][61][62][63] Some Neopagans celebrate the festival at the astronomical midpoint between the winter solstice and spring equinox — in the Northern Hemisphere, this is usually on 3 or 4 February — while others rely on the full moon nearest this point.

[64] Some Neopagans designate Imbolc based on other natural phenomena, such as the emergence of primroses, dandelions, or similar local flora.

In Wicca, Imbolc is commonly associated with the goddess Brigid; as such, it is sometimes seen as a "women's holiday" with specific rites only for female members of a coven.