We often think of Winter as "Jack Frost," but the ancient Celts had a much more formidable figure: The Cailleach. ​Her name means "The Veiled One" or "The Old Woman." She is the blue-faced hag of winter who battles against Brighid (the goddess of Spring). It is a seasonal war. The Cailleach freezes the ground with her staff to hold back the spring, but eventually, she must throw her staff under a holly bush (or turn to stone) on May 1st to let the sun return. It’s a beautiful, cyclic myth about