The flower of Candlemas leads the way into a new season, stirring life with waiting to be born
Welcome to my garden. I’m Peggy Fiedler, and I’m a compassion advocate, cancer thriver and storyteller. Today I’d like to talk about the snowdrop.
Halfway between Winter Solstice and Vernal Equinox, we can expect to see something magical happen. Delicate bell-shaped flowers poke their heads through the snow. I welcome the snowdrops.
Snowdrops are the first flower to bloom at the end of winter and carry us into spring. How can it be that these tiny ones arrive first? Their secret weapon is their hardened leaf tips, which can push through frozen soil and a mantle of snow.
Snowdrops give us the first sign that something precious is in bloom. They can summon in us a sense of elation because now we know the warm days will come, and suddenly we can look at the world with hope and wonder. This delicate flower is brave enough to be the first.
The snowdrop is powerful in its softness and in its grace.
How striking that the most dainty of flowers leads the way as the season moves into lively spring blossoms and vibrant summer blooms.
The snowdrop is strongly associated with the feminine, as rituals on February 2 celebrate the Virgin Mary at Candlemas and St. Brigid, with the Irish festival of Imbolc.
Snowdrop is the flower of Candlemas. In the Middle Ages, villagers would plant snowdrops near churches, and the people would bring their candles to be blessed. This ritual with its white flowers and glowing candles may have been the only brightness of the winter. If you are ever touring medieval Europe, you may see snowdrops clustered around ruined abbeys, churches and places of rest.
Both Candlemas and Imbolc are associated with a stirring of life and rebirth.
The snowdrop is the first to signal the fertility of life waiting to be born.
THE SNOWDROP AFFIRMATION
I look to the quickening of new life with a brave heart and with renewed hope.
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