Imbolg 2024

It was Imbolg (more commonly known as Imbolc) the other week (Friday 2nd February). I celebrate on the 2nd but some people celebrate on 1st Feb, or from sundown on the 1st to sundown on the 2nd. Others may do it on 31st January. My usual celebration is making pancakes which are a good fit for this sabbat. This year I made oatmeal pancakes again, using this recipe from Don't Waste the Crumbs:  https://dontwastethecrumbs.com/oatmeal-pancakes/

I've made them a few times before (others years I make English pancakes, also known as crepes). As I've done other years, I didn't use oat flour, just plain flour. They were quite nice. I had them with butter and golden syrup. They would also be good for Pancake Day (see bottom of post). Here's a pic: 

I'd planned to have some lemonade with them but forgot to buy any. Never mind, lol.

The night before Imbolg (or the start of it, if you're celebrating from sundown), I lit a Yankee candle from a set I got for Hallowe'en/Samhain, Toasted Marshmallow. Something you can do for this sabbat is use up candles from the previous season.

And then I lit a white candle on the evening of the 2nd, to celebrate the increasing light. Here's a photo:

 

I also made some hot chocolate the next night (I didn't feel that well on the evening of Imbolg). I tried a new recipe for Polar Express hot chocolate, that I found on Pinterest. Here's the recipe: https://www.crunchycrispy.com/polar-express-hot-chocolate/

It was quite nice. The condensed milk makes it richer than the hot chocolate I make most often. This one is similar to the Christmas Eve hot chocolate I've made for the past few years. Some years I make spicy hot milk for Imbolg but in recent years I've had hot chocolate instead.

I had been planning to go to the park for sunset on or around Imbolg, but it was rainy and dull and there really wasn't a proper sunset till about a week later (this past weekend)! I didn't get to the park on Imbolg itself last year either, but went a few days later. 

So this was the first sabbat of the calendar year (and the 2nd or 3rd on the Wheel of the Year depending on your viewpoint). It marks the shift towards spring. The weather has been varied, we had snow last month and then it warmed up a bit. Some parts of the country had snow again recently but we haven't had any more in Sussex. The temperature is about 10C (49F) during the day and 5C (41F) at night at the moment. I've seen daffodils starting to come up. I'm glad the days are starting to get longer (continuing from the shortest day on Yule/the Winter Solstice).

I'm looking forward to spring. The next festival will be Oestara/Ostara aka the Spring Equinox, which is on 20th March this year (or the 19th depending on your timezone). It will be the "official" start of spring. I will do a post about my celebrations. It was actually 10 years this past December since I started writing more in-depth about the sabbats on here. My first post was about Yule in December 2013. (In October  and November 2013 I did a couple of brief posts about Hallowe'en/Samhain.) The rest of the original posts were written in 2014. It seems weird that it's been that long! 

In January last year I decided to stop writing posts with celebration ideas for the sabbats because I felt that I'd covered them all now (with each having several posts). My last celebration ideas/inspiration one was for Oestara 2023. So I may not be blogging on here quite as much now but I still like sharing my celebrations and doing seasonal updates, long with the occasional other post. I will write the first quarterly update of 2024 in April. 

It was recently Chinese New Year/Lunar New Year, so Happy New Year to those celebrating! :) 

Hope you had a good Imbolg/Imbolc! :) (Or Lammas if you're in the Southern Hemisphere).

 

P.S. For some mid-late winter inspiration, check out these links (or if it's summer for you, click here for some summer themed links):

Autumn 2023 + Winter Links:  https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2023/12/autumn-2023-photos-winter-links.html

Guide for combatting thw winter blues (Lydia Millen): https://lydiaelisemillen.com/combatting-the-winter-blues-head-on/

15 Tips for a Brighter Mood This Winter: https://www.ourheritageofhealth.com/tips-for-a-brighter-mood-this-winter/

 

Plus, it's Pancake Day, also known as Shrove Tuesday tomorrow (Tuesday 13th Feb), so if you'd like some inspiration, check out these links:

In my Imbolg 2020 post I shared links to my winter themed posts, plus inspiration for Pancake Day (scroll to the bottom): https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2020/02/imbolg-2020.html

Pancake Recipe for La Chandeleur aka Candlemas (held on 2nd Feb, same as Imbolg but also suitable for Pancake Day: https://www.lavenderandlovage.com/2021/01/pancakes-for-la-chandeleur.html

American pancake recipe (The Lazy Genius Collective): https://www.thelazygeniuscollective.com/blog/pancakes