Hello Spring!
Goodbye January! Possibly the most maligned month, bad weather, cold, miserable and seems to be the longest month ever. The sparkle and festivities of Christmas and the New Year feel as in the distant past and its back down to earth with a bump. There seems little to celebrate. However, it is not all gloom and doom, at Hygge and Hearth we are getting busy behind the scenes with new ranges of our luxury home fragrance and new offers that will soon be available for our botanical scented candles and reed diffusers.
It was whilst contemplating the changing of the seasons and the seemingly lack of celebrations during this time of year that a little research uncovered these three festivities pertaining to spring, light, optimism, nature and sweeping away the old to make way for the new. Read on to discover more about these festivities and what is planned at Hygge and Hearth.
February Celebrations
Three celebrations spring to mind in February. Firstly the holiday of Imbolc, an ancient Celtic tradition celebrated on the 1st and 2nd of February as this marks the halfway point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox, marking the beginning of spring. The festival symbolises the first stirrings of spring after a long dark winter. It is associated with purification and the sweeping away of the old in preparation for the coming year, the spring clean traditionally takes place on the last day of January.
Closely related to Imbolc are St Brigid’s Day and Candlemas. St Brigid’s Day is a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland, where she is, after Patrick, the best known and celebrated Irish saint. It is possible that St Brigid is a Christianised form of the earlier Celtic goddess and she certainly seems to share many of her attributes. Brigid means ‘bright’ and she is associated with spring and fire, also the brewing of beer. To learn more about Imbolc and St Brigid read this excellent article by Jennifer Uzzell.
Finally, Candlemas, celebrated on the 2nd February. Again, Candlemas marks the midpoint of winter and the spring equinox and commemorates the ritual purification of Mary forty days after the birth of Jesus. Candlemas was the one day of the year when all the candles going to be used in the church were blessed – a mass of the candles.
Lighter nights and brighter days lie ahead of us.
What’s New?
Mindful of the changing seasons and the traditions that are associated with it, the Hygge and Hearth website is going to have a spring clean in the coming weeks! New features are being planned, which will only be available on the website. This includes Scent of the Month, where a discount will be applied when you enter a code at checkout, on that months collection. We are also expanding our range of botanical diffusers and launching a soy wax candle collection, along with the opportunity to build your own hamper.
So if you are planning on a spring clean and it’s still a little too chilly to throw open the windows, why not select one of our luxury, handcrafted candles or the fuss free option of a botanical diffuser to give constant fragrance? What ever your choice, you will be guaranteed high quality home fragrance that not only smells great, but also looks great and is reusable! Happy Spring!
Ps Did you know you can also find Hygge and Hearth at The British Craft House (online) and on Etsy, where you find our home fragrances and the decoupage range.
Dr Erica @Hygge and Hearth
The home of luxury botanical candles and unique gifts inspired by nature.