What/When the Hell is Imbolc?

Forget what Punxsutawney Phil indicated on Monday—Spring is coming. If the balmy, near-70-degree weather isn’t enough to convince you that springtime is upon us, consider that the perceived predictions of an amateur rodent meteorologist is hardly a source of credible information. You could get better data on what season it is by strolling the greeting card aisle of a drugstore. 

Also, most of us can’t differentiate between what’s technically the first day of Spring and the Vernal Equinox, which kicks in precisely at 7:46 am, Friday, March 20, this year (set your reminders). Kary Hess, Weeklys contributor (and incidentally my wife) recently wrote about “Imbolc,” a Gaelic celebration of the first day of spring that dates back to the neolithic era, which is about as old school as you can get and still be recognizably human. Sure our species was around before that but we weren’t farming, refining our tools, dwelling in permanent housing, weaving, and making pottery. So, basically, Sebastop…