Editing Imbolc (section)

===Weather lore===
[[File:Snowdrop.JPG|thumb|right|250px|Snowdrops in the snow]]
The festival is traditionally associated with [[weather lore]], and the old tradition of watching to see if serpents or badgers came from their winter dens may be a forerunner of the North American [[Groundhog Day]]. A Scottish Gaelic proverb about the day is:
{{Verse translation|{{lang|gd|Thig an nathair as an toll
Là donn Brìde,
Ged robh trì troighean dhen t-sneachd
Air leac an làir.}}
|The serpent will come from the hole
On the brown Day of Bríde,
Though there should be three feet of snow
On the flat surface of the ground.<ref name="Carmina1">Carmichael, Alexander (1900) ''Carmina Gadelica: Hymns and Incantations, Ortha Nan Gaidheal, Volume I'', p.&nbsp;169 [http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/cg1/cg1074.htm The Sacred Texts Archive]</ref>}}

Imbolc was believed to be when the [[Cailleach]]—the divine [[hag]] of Gaelic tradition—gathers her firewood for the rest of the winter. Legend has it that if she wishes to make the winter last a good while longer, she will make sure the weather on Imbolc is bright and sunny so that she can gather plenty of firewood. Therefore, people would be relieved if Imbolc is a day of foul weather, as it means the Cailleach is asleep and winter is almost over.<ref name="Briggs2">Briggs, Katharine (1976) ''An Encyclopedia of Fairies''. New York, Pantheon Books., pp.&nbsp;57–60</ref> At Imbolc on the Isle of Man, where she is known as ''{{lang|gv|Caillagh ny Groamagh}}'', the Cailleach is said to take the form of a gigantic bird carrying sticks in her beak.<ref name="Briggs2" />