IMBOLC is one of the eight annual holidays, referred to as 'Sabbats', which are observed as part of the Wiccan Wheel of the Year. There are four Greater Sabbats: Samhain (31st October), Imbolc (2nd February), Beltane (1st May) and Lughnasadh/Lammas (1st August); and four Lesser Sabbats: Yule/Winter Solstice (21st December), Ostara/Spring Equinox (20th March), Litha/Summer Solstice (21st June) and Mabon/Autumn Equinox (22nd September). Solstices occur when the Sun enters Capricorn and Cancer; Equinoxes when the Sun enters Aries and Libra.

Imbolc (pronounced 'Im-molg') means 'In the Belly' in Old Irish, the beginning of life in The Earth's womb. Despite the cold weather, seeds are already stirring in the ground.  Druids called this festival 'Oimelc', the Gaelic word meaning 'ewes milk' or 'in the milk', the festival of the lactating sheep.  Everywhere, cows and ewes have either given birth to their first offspring of the year or their wombs are swollen and the milk of life is flowing into their teats and udders.  This is the time of year that lambs and calves are born. Imbolc is also known as the Feast of Brigid (pronounced 'Breed'), the Celtic Goddess of midwifery, poetry, healing and smithcraft.

Sheep and Her Baby by Petr Kratochvil

http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/view-image.php?image=124&picture=sheep-and-her-baby

This is also a Fire Festival, focusing on the return of light, as the days grow longer with the returning Sun - fire and purification are an important aspect of Imbolc. Brigid (also known as Brighid, Bríde, Brigit, Brìd) is also associated with sacred wells, sacred flames and healing. The lighting of candles and fires represents the return of warmth and the increasing power of the Sun over the coming months.

Imbolc 2007 - Fire-bearers circle figures of The Green Man fighting Jack Frost by Steven Earnshaw
 

This is the time for the blessing of seeds and consecrating agricultural tools. It marks the center point of the dark half of the year. Imbolc is the festival of the Maiden, for from this day to March 21st, it is Her season to prepare for growth and renewal. Brigid's snake emerges from the womb of the Earth Mother to test the weather, and in many places, the first Crocus and Snow Drop flowers began to spring forth from the frozen earth.

Imbolc is the day the Cailleach — the hag of Gaelic tradition — she gathers her firewood for the rest of the winter. Legend has it that if she intends to make the winter last a good while longer, she will make sure the weather on Imbolc is bright and sunny, so she can gather plenty of firewood. Therefore, people are generally relieved if Imbolc is a day of foul weather, as it means the Cailleach is asleep and winter is almost over.  On the Isle of Man, where she is known as Caillagh ny Groamagh, the Cailleach is said to have been seen on Imbolc in the form of a gigantic bird, carrying sticks in her beak.

At Imbolc, The Maiden is honored as the Bride and Straw Brideo'gas (corn dollies) are created from oat or wheat straw and placed in baskets with white flower bedding. Young girls then carry the dollies door to door, where each household bestows a gift on the image. Older women make special acorn wands for the dollies to hold, and in the morning the ashes in the hearth are examined to see if the magic wands left marks as a good omen. Brigid's Crosses are fashioned from wheat stalks and exchanged as symbols of protection and prosperity for the coming year.  Hearth fires are extinguised and re-lit, and a besom is placed by the front door to symbolise sweeping out the old and welcoming the new. To honour the rebirth of the sun, candles are lit and placed in each room of the house.  The Goddess Brigid was later Christianised to become 'St Brigid'. In the modern Irish Calendar, Imbolc is variously known as the Feast of Saint Brigid, Lá Fhéile Bríde, and Lá Feabhra — Christians also call the day 'Candlemas' (the Festival of Lights) or the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin, incorporating the relevance and imagery of The Maiden and the lighting of candles.

The plough is another of Imbolc's symbols, as in many rural areas, the first furrow of the year will be ploughed. A decorated plough was dragged from door to door, followed by children in costume asking for food or drink - the refusing household would find its garden ploughed up!  In other areas, the plough is decorated and consecrated by pouring 'the water of life' (whisky) over it. Pieces of cheese and bread were left by the plough and in the newly turned furrows as offerings to the Nature Spirits. It is most unwise to cut or pick plants during this time!

Imbolc is a festival of the hearth and home, a celebration of the lengthening days and the early signs of Spring. Celebrations often involved hearthfires, special foods (butter, milk, and bannocks - large, flat 'quick-breads' - divination or watching for omens, candles or a bonfire, if the weather permits.  This is also a time of weather prognostication, and the old tradition of watching to see if serpents or badgers came from their winter dens is perhaps a precursor to the North American Groundhog Day. A Scottish Gaelic proverb about the day is:

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

The serpent will come from the hole
On the brown Day of Bride,
Though there should be three feet of snow
On the flat surface of the ground.