“Long ago, in a galaxy far, far away…” Just kidding! Actually, it was this galaxy, the Milky Way
Galaxy, and if a few thousand years is considered long, long ago, then yeah. Although life may have been
very different for humans three thousand years ago, we are still living on the same planet, Earth, and deep
down, she isn’t that different.

For instance, December 21 is still the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere, and June
21 is the longest. Between those extremes are the days of balance and equality, the spring and fall
equinoxes, but here is where things get tricky. The solstices and equinoxes are based on the movements of the earth in relation to the sun and are scientific facts, but not everyone in the northern hemisphere agrees on when the seasons begin and end. For most people, spring starts on the equinox, March 21. However, those that follow the ways of the ancient Celts observe the start of spring on February 1 – the holiday known to pagans as Imbolc, and to Christians as St. Brigid’s Day.

For me, February 1 is just Brigid and it is one of my favorite holidays. Why? Because it means that
we are in the last stretch of winter. As a farmer, it is when we start the first seeds of the season and hope
for a good year. Brigid is when you look inside yourself and find that spark of hope to make it through the rest of the cold days. Brigid is when you pull out the seed packets that those companies claim will cure climate change and solve world hunger. Brigid is when the consumerist Christmas fatigue wears off
enough for me to actually put in some string lights and plug in some lasers in the high tunnel. This time of year is when we really need the cheer, especially this year when Old Man Winter is back on the scene and is causing a real mess of our wood supply. Brigid is when your driveway is so full of snow and ice that
you can’t make any more excuses about why you haven’t moved the dresser and cleaned up the dust
devils living under there.

Is February 1st the start of spring? Yes and no. There is a big part of me that agrees with the pagan
idea of the seasons because they align more with the weather we experience here in Greenbrier County.
Several species of flowers start blooming at the end of February, such as hellebores, snow drops, crocus,
and daffodils. That is definitely spring like. When June 21 finally gets here, we have been sweating it out
for weeks, cutting the grass, and the days are actually getting shorter from then on, so is that the start of
summer? The seasons and the weather don’t really follow any rules, but that is nature, the eternal mystery.