“It is the morning of Imbolc, here in Ireland. We celebrate four times in the year; Imbolc, Bealtaine, Lughnasadh, and Samhain. Imbolc is Brigid’s day and we know it by the blooming of the blackthorn that began just last eventide. It was as I dreamed it, for I am the one in my village who dreams, and tells his dreams. Imbolc is the time when the ewes are milked at spring’s beginning, and we all begin to make our preparations for the spring sowing.
But last night our celebration began. In every house the doors and windows are flung open and the spring air let in to flush away the doldrums of winter. Some in the village visit the well to the west, said by some to be specially blessed, and around it they parade sunwise. The water is drawn and carried home to be used to bless the family and fields.
We make the offerings to Brigid, she of the light, as we pour the milk upon the ground and porridge into the water to bring us all out of the dark season. In most households the eldest child is chosen the represent Brigid herself; they are charged with circling the house and knocking at the door. At the third knock, the door is opened and the Brigid welcomed in to a dinner; colcannon and bannocks abound. After the feasting and the dancing, all are to bed, and one bed, made extra that night for Brigid, is left empty. She visits the houses virtuous and blesses those who dwell there. And this very morning, signs of her visit can be seen in the ashes of the fire.
Now, this is the morning we await, and though it marks the spring and the light, we hope for worse weather. When it clouds or rains or storms we know the Cailleach lies asleep, and we thereby know the end of winter has come. It is a day of more happiness and more preparation for spring, buoyed by the last night’s celebrations. And it is a day when I must attend with extra care to what dreams I have had, for everyone will come to ask, to know something about what is to come.
And what a night of dreams I had. A vasty book I saw, and it spoke. There must have been more to it than I could grasp, as it seemed that while the book spoke aloud, it spoke only a sound of satisfaction, as a man might breathe out upon relaxing after a day’s work.
I saw men and women granted their freedom; it was an island somewhere in a warm sea. The sea must have been other than ours, which is cold and sometimes angry with us. And freedom came to another land as well, also far from our shore, and it was proclaimed by the leader and celebrated throughout the land. Perhaps the freedom of the day led to the happiness of four boys I saw singing, and taking the hand of a fair lass. And strangest of all, I saw a man construct a hall as if to house the people of a large village — larger than ours — but let only a few souls inside. He bade them perform, but for himself only. Then later by some magic he conjured their performance again, though they had gone.
Those were the dreams I had on Brigid’s night of divination, and I do not know what they mean, only what I saw. Yet this Imbolc portends a warm and bright spring. The lambs are here and the calves will soon follow, along with the ripening of the fields. Our village will be gladdened by the harvest this year, and if you visit at Bealtaine, Lughnasadh, or Samhain, I will tell you of the events that befell us, and also the dreams I dreamed. For I am the one in my village who dreams, and tells his dreams.
I and my compatriots wish you a blessed Imbolc and a spring of warmth and light.”
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Imbolc is an ancient Gaelic festival held on February first, marking the beginning of spring.
Our narrator is from the Ireland of centuries ago. In his dreams of divination he saw events that were to occur on the February firsts far in his future. Slavery was abolished in the island nation of Mauritius on this day in 1835. Also on February 1, in 1865, Abraham Lincoln signed the Thirteenth Amendment to the US Constitution, abolishing slavery. That’s why today is celebrated in the US as National Freedom Day.
Our dreamer also foresaw the publication of the first volume of the Oxford English Dictionary, on February 1, 1884. It contained only the words from A to Ant. Work continued until 1933, when the First Edition was complete in twelve volumes plus a one-volume supplement. It took a mere 36 years to finish the second edition, published in 1989.
Finally, for some reason I can’t fathom, he saw Thomas Edison finish the world’s first motion picture studio on February 1, 1893. It was called the Black Maria, located in New Jersey. It was basically a barn with a retractable roof (for light), and when Edison gave the first public demonstration of moving pictures, Black Maria is where they’d been filmed.
The Cailleach mentioned by the narrator is the divine hag of Gaelic myth. She’s associated with the creation of the land, with weather, and especially with winter and storms. If she’s sleeping at the beginning of spring, that means good tidings for a warm season and fruitful growing season. So we wish her a long and lovely nap.
