Simple ways to celebrate Imbolc

While the world around me is still covered in snow, tomorrow marks Imbolc – a Celtic celebration of life emerging after the winter. It’s the perfect time to celebrate the world reawakening, when the kiddos and I go for walks outside we can see flowers beginning to appear from the earth, and new buds growing on the trees. It’s wonderful to celebrate this at a time when we are still in mid-winter and it feels like spring will never come.

Imbolc is also the time to reflect on what we’ve been thinking about over the winter, a time to bring forth new ideas and projects. I always plan a little celebration with the kiddos, I think it’s important for them to be connected to the earth – to listen to the seasons and

* Spring Clean – I like to have a symbolic spring clean of the house. Even if it’s just popping the hoover around, wiping down surfaces and opening up the windows to fill the house with fresh air. It’s a good way of getting rid of the old, stagnant energy and welcoming in new positive energy. It’s also a great excuse for a bit of a clear out and declutter.

* Light some candles – once the house has had a good clean, I like to light some candles to fill your house with warmth and light. I often walk around the house with one candle burning, blessing the house as I go.

* Have a fire – a fire is always a good way to celebrate any festival. For Imbolc, a fire celebrates the Fire Goddess Brigid as well as the returning sun. Weather permitting, we like to build a fire in the fire pit, and prepare food we can cook on the fire – often just some veggie sausages we can grill over the flames, with marshmallows to toast afterwards. sitting around a fire is a great way for us all to connect with each other as well.

* Let go of the old ~ we always tie in letting go of things that we want to let go of. Writing things down on a piece of paper, and burning them in the fire is a great way to release old habits, hurts, problems, or worries.

* Making a Brighid’s Cross – this is a great craft that we love to do! Traditionally made with straw, I’ve made it in the past with pipe cleaners with my little ones. This video does a great job of guiding you through making one

* Create a family vision board – Imbolc is a great time to set some goals or intentions for the year. We often use this time to come together as a family, figure out what we want to achieve this year and create a new vision board.

If you want a great resource to introduce or celebrate Imbolc with your kiddos – the Pukka Pages Imbolc issue is out now – it’s a fantastic online magazine for kids full of stories, crafts, recipes and much more.