Imbolg Round-up

It's almost time for Imbolg (more commonly called Imbolc), the first sabbat of 2022! This year it's on Wednesday 2nd February, or Tuesday 1st Feb if you celebrate on the 1st. (Some people celebrate from sundown on the 1st to sundown on the 2nd.)

 

Note: If you're in the Southern Hemisphere it's nearly Lammas! Check out these posts for inspiration:

Lammas Celebration Ideas: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2017/07/lammas-celebration-ideas.html

Celebrating Lammas: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2018/07/celebrating-lammas.html

July Update + Lammas Inspiration: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2019/07/july-update-lammas-inpiration.html

Baking for Lammas + Extra Ideas!: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2020/07/baking-for-lammas-extra-ideas.html

Lammas Round-up: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2021/07/lammas-round-up.html

 

The past few years I've written celebration idea posts for Imbolg. During 2021 I wrote a series of round-up posts for each sabbat, featuring a mix of past posts on the blog and links for articles on other sites. So, I'll continue that into 2022 with one for Imbolg. :)  

Imbolg is the first sabbat of the calendar year and the second or third on the Wheel of the Year, depending on whether you consider the cycle to start at Samhain (ending and beginning again) or Yule. Although some people think of Imbolg as the New Year.

Christmas Brown Butter Pecan Cake + Autumn-Winter Update

I wanted to do a post about the cake I made for Christmas and since I haven't done my autumn-winter update yet, I decided to make this a double post. (Like last year's.) Scroll further down if you just want to read the update. :)

Christmas Brown Butter Pecan Cake

For this Christmas (or rather Christmas 2021 now!) I baked a brown butter pecan sheet cake. The recipe is from Handle the Heat: https://handletheheat.com/butter-pecan-sheet-cake/

I normally make the cake on Christmas Eve and then ice it on Christmas Day. But in this case the glaze needs to be done when it's warm so I did it all on Christmas Eve. It came out quite nice, except the glaze melted into the cake, so it didn't look quite like the pictures!

I still liked it. I had some with leftover condensed milk (that I had used for Christmas Eve crockpot hot chocolate, see below) and also some evaporated milk another time. Here's a picture:

 

 

Yule 2021

It was Yule/the Winter Solstice last Tuesday (21st December). I normally post on Sunday or Mondays but since Christmas was the weekend this year, I'm posting a bit later. :) 

As I mentioned in my Yule Round-up (also a Christmas baking post), my usual celebration is having a chocolate Yule log. I most often buy one, although occasionally I make them! This year's was from Marks & Spencer. I've had better ones  (the chocolate topping didn't taste that great, though the cake itself was quite nice), but never mind! I put two candles on top to represent the growing light after the shortest day. Here's a pic: 

Yule Round-up + Yule/Christmas Baking

 

Yule/the Winter Solstice, is almost here. This year it's on Tuesday 21st December. The actual (scientific) time of the Winter Solstice (see below for more on that) will be 10.59am EST/15.58pm GMT. Find the time in your country here: https://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/winter-solstice.html

 

Note: If you're in the Southern Hemisphere it's almost time for Litha aka Midsummer/the Summer Solstice. Here are my Litha celebration ideas posts:

Litha/Midsummer Celebration Ideas (also a post about no-yeast dinner rolls): https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2017/06/baking-no-yeast-dinner-rolls-and.html

Celebrating Litha/Summer: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2018/06/celebrating-litha-summer.html

Litha Inspiration: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2019/06/litha-inspiration_17.html

Litha + Summer Inspiration: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2020/06/litha-summer-inspiration.html

Litha Round-up: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2021/06/litha-round-up.html

 

The past few years I've written celebration and inspiration posts for Yule. During 2021 I've written round-up posts for the sabbats, featuring my past posts and articles from other sites. So here is Yule's. I've also included a Yule/Christmas baking section at the end. :)

 Update 14/12/25: Updated/replaced links.  

 

Yule, also known as Midwinter and the Winter Solstice, is the final sabbat of the calendar year. It's either the 1st or 2nd sabbat on the Wheel of the Year, depending on whether you consider Samhain as the end of one year and the start of the new year, or Yule as the beginning of the new cycle. I've written about this before in my Celebrating Yule/Christmas post. Opinion varies on this and some people also celebrate the Pagan New Year at Imbolg/Imbolc in early February (which is the first sabbat of the new calendar year). I consider Samhain the end of one year and the start of the new one, but it's up to you. :) 

Hallowe'en/Samhain 2021

It was Hallowe'en and Samhain last weekend (Sunday 31st October). I celebrated by carving a pumpkin and making some food and drink. I made my usual Demon's Blood drink (ginger beer mixed with apple juice and orange juice, dyed green) and potato salad and baked some gingerbread skeletons.

The Demon's Blood is a recipe from Kate West's book The Real Witches' Kitchen and the potato salad is based on a recipe from The Kitchen Witch by Soraya. I use chives and or/spring onion instead of rosemary. This year I used chives. I had the potato salad with some other snacky/buffet bits.

Here's a picture of my pumpkin:

Samhain/Hallowe'en Round-up

It's nearly time for Samhain (one of the most popular sabbats and my favourite apart from Lammas!). This year's it on a Sunday (31st October). I also celebrate Hallowe'en (thought to have originated from Samhain).

 

Note: If you're in the Southern Hemisphere Beltane is almost here! Check out my Beltane Celebration posts here:

Beltane Celebrations Ideas: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2017/04/beltane-celebration-ideas.html

Celebrating Beltane/May Day: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2018/04/celebrating-beltanemay-day.html

April Update + Beltane Inspiration: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2019/04/april-update-beltane-inspiration.html

More Beltane Inspiration: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2020/04/more-beltane-inspiration.html 

Winter-Spring Update + Beltane Round-up: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2021/04/winter-spring-update-beltane-round-up.html

 

The past few years I've done celebration idea and inspiration posts for Samhain. In 2021 I've written some round-up posts, featuring my past sabbat posts and articles from elsewhere. So here is the one for Samhain! :)

Samhain is the 3rd and final harvest festival on the Wheel of the Year. It comes after Lammas at the end of July/beginning of August and Madron/Mabon (aka the Autumn Equinox) in late September, and is a cross-quarter sabbat and a fire festival. It's considered by many to be the Witches' New Year and one of the two times of year when the veil between the worlds is thin (the other is Beltane in late April/early May). Halloween/Hallowe'en (since the name comes from All Hallow's Even, "Hallowe'en" is an alternative way of spelling it) is the modern-day counterpart. Check out the Celebrating Samhain/Hallowe'en post for more information.

Summer-Autumn Update

It's now October so time for my quarterly update! During 2021 I'm doing quarterly updates, from "season to season". You can see the previous updates here:

Winter-Spring (and a Beltane Round-up): https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2021/04/winter-spring-update-beltane-round-up.html

Spring-Summer Update: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2021/07/spring-summer-update.html

 

In early July I went to the Black Rabbit pub in Arundel with my mum. It was ages since I'd been, so it was good to go back. Due to the pandemic you currently have to book a table. We sat outside by the river, and there's a nice view of the River Arun and Arundel Castle in the distance. It wasn't that warm and a bit cloudy but then the sky cleared. I had chips (fries) and garlic flatbread with a Coke, then some chocolate and cream (I think clotted cream type) ice cream.

Here's a photo of the view by the river: