Arcanes of History: Imbolc and Candlemas: origins and continuation

The month of February begins on 2 important cultural festivals: Imbolc and Candlemas.

I. Definitions

Imbolc was a pre-christian pagan festival celebrated by the Celts early in February (the date was moveable according to the lunar phases). Today, Imbolc is still celebrated by neo-pagans and celtic reconstructionists, but most people chose the fixed date of February 1st.

Candlemas is also called Presentation at the temple, and for Christians it marks the Purification of Mary after Jesus' birth. The Jewish tradition had it that new mothers were to be purified at the temple 40 days after the birth of their child. It is celebrated on February 2nd.

II. Relation between the 2 festivals

It is not new that early Christianity appropriated various dates and themes of pagan festivals, as well as worship places, in order to facilitate the establishment of the new religion.
If the presentation at the temple was not "invented" to replace Imbolc (this presentation was an old Jewish ritual as said above), it's interesting to notice that both festivals share common themes. Again, contrary to what I read too often, in this case the main theme in question (purification) is intrinsic to the Christian festival and was not "stolen" from the pagan festival, but rather the festival swallowed up folk rituals (details below).

The name Candlemas refers to candle being blessed and then taken home as protection by Christians. According to Pope Innocent XII (17th century) the pagans "at the beginning of the month, walked about the city with lighted candles. Because the holy fathers could not extirpate the custom, they ordained that Christians should carry about candles in honor of the Blessed Virgin; and thus what was done before in the honor of Ceres is now done in honor of the Blessed Virgin."
He considered that the association of candles with the Presentation at the temple (hence becoming known as Candlemas) was an appropriation of a Roman (Ceres being a Roman Goddess of agriculture and fertility - of the land and by extension of people) pagan ritual.

III. More about the pagan festival

Imbolc is the Celtic celebration we know the less about, according to specialist Christian Guyonvarc'h. But we can assume it had to do with purification before the arrival of spring, as well as with fertility of the land and animals.

Imbolc could come from Old Irish imbolg meaning "in the belly", a clear reference to fertility, and also to nature that is about to be born again, to spring out indeed. However, others have suggested a link with the verb folcaim "to wash", which of course would also fit the festival's themes.
The festival before Imbolc is the winter solstice, called Yule by most celtic neo-pagans even though this name specifically refers to the per-christian german celebration and not the celtic one. It marks the rebirth of the sun.
The festival after Imbolc is the spring equinox, celebrating the return of life in nature.

In this context, Imbolc represents the preparation and purification of the land before the return of life in it, as well as encouragement to its fertility.

The Gauls called this festival Ambivollos, but I'm still looking for a decent etymology of the name. Amb- is found several times on the calendar of Coligny, and may be linked to ambi- (around/on both sides/very), but its meaning is not well understood. Ivo or ivos, which can refer the a yew (an evergreen tree important in Gallic folklore), is also a typical calendar inscription.

The Celts were not the only ones to have a pre-spring purification festival. The Romans had the Lupercalia, held mid-February. According to Plutarch, the Greek historian (1st century), this was an ancient festival at first celebrated by sheperds (therefore an agrarian festival that probably emphasized fertility of land and animals) that was then extended to the entire society. Some men ran in town nude, only "dressed" with the skins of sacrified goats, and lashed women who were (voluntarily) on their way, as it was believed to ensure them fertility and end sterility.

The Lupercalia had a pre-Roman and possibly very old origin, maybe a proto-indo-european (PIE) root.
The name February comes from Februa, which was the previous Roman feast later absorbed by the Lupercalia, but whose name remained as the name of the month (from latin februum: purgation). As its name indicates, this was already a festival of purification in the form of washing and cleaning. Ovid (Roman poet, 1st century B.C) linked the name to an Etruscan word meaning "to purge", though februum is thought to come from the Sabine language (the Sabines and Etruscans, respectively IE and non IE people, lived in Italy and were incorporated in the Roman nation, and later Empire). The name could also be linked to latin febris meaning fever, again with the idea of purging (through sweating).
As I mentioned above, the Romans also held in February a festival in honor of the agriculture goddess Ceres, that consisted mainly in torchlight processions.

It is interesting to mention that in the past centuries (this was done it seems until the early 20th century), the farmers of Normandie (north-western France) had the habit to light torches and walk through their fields in order to purify them, prepare them for spring, and ward off evil spirits. This was done in early January, but I guess a link can be assumed.

IV. Continuation of Imbolc nowadays in mainstream culture

In Ireland, the day of Imbolc is known as Saint Brigid's day. Saint Brigid (or Brigit) was a Christian abbess who lived in the 5th century, patron of Ireland, but in Irish folklore she became associated with the celtic goddess Brigid, a goddess of healing and poetry. Her celebration focuses on feminity (making of a corn dolly for instance), light and protection for the year to come.
These themes are probably derived from the original Celtic Imbolc, which specialists assume was about purification and fertility.

Nowadays in France, where Celtic culture once flourished, Candlemas is called Chandeleur (from the name chandelier: candlestick), and for everyone it means one thing: crêpes. A crêpe as I'm sure you know is a French dessert (though it can be eaten as main meal), a thin and large pancake. On Candlemas it is the custom to eat crêpes.
Some say the round and golden dessert could symbolize the sun, a central element for this festical annoucing spring. In that case the tradition of eating crêpes on that day should be very old and still connected with the Gallic heritage of France. I'm looking into it but haven't traced the origin of this tradition yet.

There is also the tradition to toss the first crêpe of Candlemas while holding a gold coin in your other hand: it was said to bring prosperity for the year. This can be an extension of the notion of fertility surrounding the celtic feast. Another ancient custom much less practiced today is to toss the first crêpes on the top of a wardrobe and to keep it there till next year celebration. It was said again to bring money to the home.

I also came to think that the popular grand nettoyage de printemps ("big spring cleaning"), that exists in other countries (as in Iran during Norouz where it is done on the first day of spring which also marks the new year), could refer to the purification/cleaning aspect of Imbolc or any pre-spring festival, and be a reminiscence of the old pagan tradition.

There are many examples of the continuation of this festival nowadays, but I will give just one more example: Armenian folklore has it that on Candlemas day, yound married woman have to jump over a fire to purify themselves before getting pregnant. The theme of fertility (remember the Irish "in the belly") and purification is obvious. Which makes me think again that there may be a common PIE root between celtic Imbolc, Februa, the torchlight processions of Rome and Normandie, the Iranian spring cleaning and this example of old Armenian folklore. They all revolve around the same main themes and basic rituals. It's an idea to develop...