Post by JoannaL on Feb 1, 2022 18:00:08 GMT -5
St. Brigid's Day: Celebration of Fertility and the Beginning of Spring
In Ireland, spring traditionally begins on St. Brigid’s Day (February 1st). St. Brigid is the second patron saint of Ireland – St. Patrick is the first – and she is also the patron saint of babies, blacksmiths, boatmen, cattle, chicken farmers, dairy workers, fugitives, illegitimate children, mariners, midwives, milkmaids, printing presses, poets, sailors and scholars.
Said to have been born on the first day of February in 450 AD, little is known of her life, but according to legend, she was the daughter of a noble father and slave mother and both she and her mother were sold to a Druid, whom she later converted to Christianity. After she was set free, she returned to her father, who offered her in marriage to the king of Ulster. Brigid objected to the match and impressed by her piety, the king granted her emancipation and she founded Ireland’s first nunnery at Kildare. She went on to found other nunneries and was active in the spread of Christianity until February 1, 525, when she died on her 75th birthday.
Fanciful enough, but in actually, Brigid was an ancient Celtic goddess and her celebration is rooted in pre-Christian times. As was the custom in many ancient cultures, female deities represented spring, the eternal return, and life itself. According to Celtic mythology, the goddess could assume different forms and shape-shift into birds and mythical creatures. In human form, she could be a hag standing at the crossroads; Morrigan, the triple goddesses in the tale of the Tain; or even the Banshee, which eventually came to foretell death in important families.
The Celtic goddess was worshiped, with both reverence and fear, for thousands of years prior to the advent of Christianity. People were understandably reluctant to banish her entirely, thus, in the 5th century AD, she morphed into St. Brigid and her feast day signaled the end of darkness and the return of light, hope, fertility and abundance.
St. Brigid’s Day was one of the quarter days and although observances varied, usually featured a supper that included freshly churned butter, cabbage, apple cakes or barmbrack (a quick bread containing raisins and/or currants). Later, potatoes – which weren’t introduced to Ireland until the 16th century – were added to the feast.
Throughout Ireland, it was believed St. Brigid crossed the land on the eve of her feast day, blessing and protecting homes and farms, and families made and hung St. Brigid’s crosses on the walls and over their doors in her honor. Many householders kept the crosses in the under-thatch of their homes and years later, one could ascertain how long the family had occupied the abode by the number of crosses in the roof. It also was common for newlyweds to receive a St. Brigid’s cross as a gift for their new home.
Leftover materials from the crosses, as well as crosses from the previous year, provided they weren’t placed in the under-thatch, were often sprinkled on the land or added to the straw on which animals bedded to ensure the blessing of the goddess saint.
In some households, a small piece of cloth or ribbon, called a Brate Bríde or Ribín Bríde, would be left on a windowsill in the belief that St. Brigid’s touch would endow it with curative properties and throughout the year, it was used to aid in the healing of both family members and their livestock. Oftentimes, a piece of the cloth or ribbon was sewn into items of clothing to protect the wearer.
Bands of boys or men dressed in straw who went from house to house carrying an effigy of St. Brigid (“Biddy”) were known as Biddy Boys. As they made their way through the village or countryside, they recited the following rhyme:
Here is Brigid dressed in white.
Give here a penny for this dark night.
She is deaf, she is dumb.
For God’s sake, give her some.
In western Ireland, the Biddy Boys would carry a large straw belt called a Crios Bríde or St. Brigid’s Girdle, through which people would step while saying a prayer to the saint in hopes of gaining her protection against illness in the coming year.
Additionally, there are many holy wells in Ireland dedicated to St. Brigid that people visited on the eve of her feast day, or the feast day itself, leaving a ribbon or votive candle. It was believed that water collected from the well at this time was especially blessed.
Sources: Susan Bryon, Irish Central, February 1, 2022; The Museum of Ireland; and It Must Be Irish.
