In the doldrums of the winter, a longing for light is only natural.

People living in the Northern Hemisphere have known that longing for millennia.

It reaches its peak in February, when the winter solstice is a distant memory. Ancient people couldn’t be certain the sun would continue to rise every day, but they wanted to help it out however they could.

Sundown Feb. 1 to sundown Feb. 2 – midway between winter solstice and spring equinox – has long been celebrated as Imbolc (pronounced em-bolg) in the pagan Celtic tradition, as Candlemas in the Christian faith, and, more recently in the secular world, as Groundhog Day.

For Celts, Imbolc marked the time to prepare the fields for the first planting. Celts held rituals to celebrate the pregnancy of their farm animals and to give thanks to Brigid, the powerful fire and fertility goddess.

Some Mainers are returning to the traditional roots of this holiday.

“The days are starting to get longer, and the light is seen to be growing in strength,” said Lisa LeBel, owner of Silo Seven bookstore in Bangor. “I think that’s why it’s considered a festival of lights. … It represents that early part of spring when things were coming alive but didn’t really look it yet.”

LeBel, a self-described pagan, will hold a ritual at her book and gift store on Feb. 2, a Wednesday.

“We like to be outside and we cast a circle,” she said. “I try to do that especially because so many of us have lost our connection with the earth. We’ve lost that really delicate balance.”

LeBel said she encourages ceremony participants to bring drums, which can encourage the earth to awaken, seeds to sprout and positive energy for a fruitful harvest.

Another Maine spiritual group, the Temple of the Feminine Divine, also will hold an Imbolc ritual.

“The intention of this ritual is to nourish our spirits by nourishing others,” said Joyce Elaine of Bangor, an ordained priestess in the temple.

The Temple of the Feminine Divine was founded in Bangor in 2001, in part to honor Mother Nature and to encourage balance and harmony in the relationship between humans and nature, women and men, and human and divine, Elaine said.

Rituals held on each cross-quarter day of the sun calendar give the priestesses and others a chance to give proof of their faith.

“This is also known as Brigid’s Day,” Elaine said. “She’s actually the goddess of fire, information and smithcraft, poetry, healing and divination. … She’s also the goddess of home and hearth and hospitality – really wonderful things.”

When Christianity moved across Europe in the fourth century, many days that had been sacred to pagan gods and goddesses were adopted to fit the new religion. Imbolc was such a day. Brigid, the fire and fertility goddess of the Celts, became St. Brigid. Her feast day is celebrated by the Roman Catholic Church on Feb. 1.

Traditions associated with Brigid began to be associated with Candlemas, a Catholic holy day that has a somewhat obscure history.

Candlemas is officially called the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, according to the Rev. Richard McLaughlin of St. John’s Parish in Bangor.

“This feast commemorates the moment when St. Joseph and the Blessed Mother took the child Jesus to the temple, according to Jewish custom,” he said. That custom dictated that babies be officially presented to God 40 days after their birth. At that time, new mothers would be purified after giving birth.

Candles play a large role in Candlemas, as well as in Imbolc.

“This is the day when candles used in the liturgy of the church, especially in Mass, are blessed by the parish priest,” McLaughlin said.

Members of a congregation can bring their own candles in for blessing at Candlemas.

“In some parishes, people will bring their candles and bless their candles for people who are homebound,” said the Rev. Paul Kearns of St. Ann’s Parish on Indian Island. “I bless candles regularly for people. They use them in their homes for meditation and prayer.”

McLaughlin agreed that candles are important to the Christian faith.

“The candle also represents prayer and sacrifice,” he said. “The light and smoke from the candle reaches up to the heavens like our prayer, and the wax is consumed, representing the sacrifice of self to God in faith.”

A more secular and lighthearted holiday that is connected to Imbolc is Groundhog Day, when the prediction of winter weather is left up to a groundhog’s shadow.

The people who promote the famous Punxsutawney Phil groundhog sighting in Pennsylvania link Candlemas and the folk traditions about the groundhog. “If Candlemas be fair and bright, come, Winter, have another flight; if Candlemas brings clouds and rain, go Winter, and come not again” is the way an old English song explained the tradition, In other words, a shadow means a longer winter, clouds mean an early spring. If you don’t believe it, there’s a Web site to explain it all: www.groundhog.org.