Imbolc
Imbolc is the Celtic festival of light which celebrates the coming to an end of dark winter months and the beginning of Spring. It coincides with La Féile Bride, St. Brigid's Day, a Christian festival based on the ancient pagan celebration of the goddess Brigid, just as Candlemas, or Candelora in Italian, is based con Imbolc. Brigid is the Celtic goddess of poetry and wisdom, fertility, protection and crafts and is often associated with the Roman goddess Minerva. It was heartening to stumble across the Irish president's message from Uachtaran citing Brigid as an inspiration for Irish women: she had to summon up extraordinary courage in order to ensure her voice was heard in a male-dominated world. In her dedication to the realm of education she had to transcend obstacles in order to survive and put a "new version of things in place". Of course, any Irish person will know that there is good reason for the invocation of Brigid at this juncture in Irish governmen