Ten years ago, I wished everyone a Happy Imbolc for the first time. In 2023, I reused that post to wish you all Happy Imbolc Again. I’m doing it once more, and this time, it’s for real.

In 2024’s Happy Imbolc (Again/Exact/Maybe) post, I wrote about Imbolc being the instant that marks the halfway point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox, but in the end admitted that it was almost certainly originally seen as a day, and that that is pretty much how it is seen today. Furthermore, almost all Imbolc celebrants have surrendered to the arbitrariness of man-made calendars and tied the holiday to February 1, regardless of the sun’s position. Ask the internet when Imbolc 2026 is, and the most common answer you get will be February 1, although the actual solstice-equinox midpoint occurs on the third. Defining the holiday as sundown on the first until sundown on the second seems quite popular.

The last time February 1 fell on a Sunday was 2015, which was a year before I knew Imbolc existed. With that one year of ignorance as an excuse, I can say with sincerity that this is the first time in my personally recorded history that the widely recognized day of Imbolc coincides with the weekly publication of this blog. Happy Imbolc and Groundhog Day Eve to all.

ADDENDUM Feb 1, 2016: Almost as soon as this was posted, I realized that “actual” was the wrong word to use in the title. February 1 is more accurately called official Imbolc. Actual Imbolc is February 3.