I've always loved folklore tradition and the UK is rich with it, with a long heritage and diverse cultural and religious celebrations. Our travels have always encompassed getting to know more about history, heritage and the folk that live there and even though we travel a lot less at the moment (hello pandemic + parent life), my interests are satisfied by reading books and inviting these traditions into my home.
A lot of people start the new year with resolutions or goals in January, but nature shows us that winter is a time of rest and hibernation, so not the best time to plan new regimes and harsh goals.
In many traditions, February marks the start of awakening and the oncoming of spring. So I'll be observing the Celtic tradition of Imbolc this year, which is all about hope and new beginnings. The increasing light and warmth in our days feels a more fitting time to come out of our hibernation.
It's an excellent time to use seasonal root vegetables to make soups and I'll be putting them in my favourite mugs and carrying them outside to the kitchen garden, whilst I get to grips with some early seed planting.
We'll be using up our store of potatoes and purple sprouting broccoli from the allotment, making way for planning this year's kitchen garden. We learned a lot last year about what works, and the late frosts scuppered some of our plans, so this year we're taking on board those lessons. It just shows that we don't need perfection or to have it all figured out at the start, we can just get started and learn as we go, just as generations before us did.
Access to constant information and the need to juggle many things can often have us in pursuit of the ideal but when we let go of that and just live authentically for ourselves, we can get back to trial and error. There's never a better time than now to get started.
I also plan to light a lot of candles and use essential oils to fill my home with the scent of lime, lemon and citrus fruits, as the pine and Christmas scents seem too heavy for spring. My oil diffuser is permanently on and instantly lifts my mood when I come in from a cold, frosty walk.
The aim with Imbolc is to have a slow, gentle awakening, and to move with the seasons. It's a gentle leg stretch, not jumping straight into a marathon. Take your time, wiggle your fingers and toes, do what feels good and take the pressure off.
How will you be celebrating Imbolc and preparing to come out of hibernation?
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