But the most famous miracle attributed to Saint Brigid, and the one most-often told on Lá Fhéile Bríd, is how she secured the land for which she went on to build a convent. Saint Brigid and her cross are full of intrigue and mystery. So, it comes as no surprise that many people still have a lot of questions about this holy woman and her poignant Christian symbol. When the cross has gotten to your desired size, cut some small sections of pipe cleaner, and twist the ends together. We made this one using the colors of the Irish flag! Brigid of the Tuatha de Danaan, in Irish Celtic mythology, was known as a life-giving goddess, which is why the beginning of Spring with the birth of new lambs and the flowers beginning to bloom again, was associated with her. Unlike other Brigid's crosses, which were typically made of straw, the interlaced cross is often made of rushes. Unlike other forms of the cross which contain a woven shape in the centre, the interlaced cross consists only of rush or straw strands woven into a Christian cross shape. [8] [9] While straw is the more popular weaving material for most variants of Brigid's cross, the interlaced cross is more frequently made from rushes. [1] An even simpler variant is the bare cross, which consists either of two bound plaits of straw or of two planks of wood bound together in the centre by straw. [10] Occasionally, no straw is used at all: the Sheaf-Cross, located in eastern County Galway and County Roscommon, involves two small sheathes of unthreshed corn are bound together by a split thatching branch. [11] Folklore [ edit ]

Many ancient Irish festivals featured divinations of some sort and St Brigid’s was no exception, and people tried to foretell the weather and predict marriage. Any excess rushes were woven into little ladders or wheels, and were placed under pillows so that the single might dream of their future spouses on St Brigid’s night.

You need to soak the straw in warm water for a while, to avoid breaking. 30 minutes should be enough. If you have ever been to Ireland, you will spot them in all sorts of places. Gravestones, people’s homes, doorways and even in Catholic churches. You have heard of the goddess Brigid, but what about Tlachtga, the Morrigan or Airmid? Ancient Ireland was synonymous with goddess culture. In fact our nation is named after the Goddess Ériu.

I think the smaller ones were a little easier to handle because it was easier to keep the pieces of pipe cleaner straight. Once you get the hang of it with pipe cleaners, give the raffia a try! I used about 3 strands of raffia at a time. The directions I found said to soak the raffia in warm water before beginning, but I skipped that step and it seemed to work just fine. Fed up with her, her father had her leave, and she returned to her mother who was in charge of the dairy for the kingdom. When Brigid took over, the dairy miraculously prospered even though she kept sharing it. Because of this, her mother was happily freed. St. Brigid returned once again to Dubhthach, who sought to marry her off. Her physical beauty attracted many suitors, but she turned them down and committed to remaining chaste. In fact, she took drastic measures by asking God to take away her beauty. Once she entered a monastery and made her final vows, her beauty returned. St Brigids Cross OrnamentPeople weave crosses and display them on their doors and some of the older traditions are still observed. Many people believe that placing a St. Brigid’s Cross above the entrance of a home will protect the household from harm. In The Life of Brigid, her biographer Cogitosus reveals St Brigid was a Bishop who co-founded a double monastery with the reclusive monk Conleth in Kildare from the Early Christian tradition. Within 100 years of her death, there was a thriving egalitarian monastery of men and women, living and practicing equally. Kildare Abbey lit up for the Herstory Light Festival. May the blessing of God, Father, Son and Holy Ghost be on this Cross and on the place where it hangs and on everyone who looks on it. O'Dowd, Anne (2015). Straw, Hay & Rushes in Irish Folk Tradition. Dublin, IE: Irish Academic Press. ISBN 978-07165-3310-8.

Brigid’s Cross is a variation of the universal cross symbol that is mounted in all Irish homes every first day of February. This is a tradition that is practiced in honor of Saint Brigid and as protection against fire and evil spirits. Said to ward off evil, fire and hunger; the Cross of St. Brigid is an old Irish symbol of protection. The many stories of Saint Brigid speak of her miraculous activities during her lifetime. Such as when she fell from a horse and hit her head. Her blood mixed with the water on the ground and two sisters, who had no hearing, suddenly regained the ability to hear.At age 40, Brigid founded a monastery in County Kildare called the Church of the Oak. This community began as a holy nunnery but over time it became the first double abbey for both monks and nuns.

If you still have some questions in mind about St Brigid’s Cross, we have you covered! In this section, we answer some of our readers’ most frequently asked questions about the topic, along with some that appear often in online searches. Where do you put a St Brigid’s Cross? On the eve of Saint Brigid's Day, households across Ireland leave some clothing outside of their homes in the hope that it will be blessed by Saint Brigid. Many households would leave a small piece of cloth or ribbon on their windowsill during the night. The superstition was that Brigid would touch the ribbon whilst on her travels thereby imbuing it with magical powers. Families would keep this holy cloth throughout the year to protect them against illness. A Symbol of Protection Another popular variant is the "swastika" cross. Rather than being set parallel to one another like a traditional cross, [4] the arms of the swastika cross are set at right angles from a lozenge or diamond at the centre. These offset angles evoke the image of a wheel in motion and may have originally represented the sun, or "the great wheel in the sky". [5] In certain regions of Ulster, this wheel spinning in a circle imagery is evoked with a three-armed woven cross. [6] This three-armed variant has been compared to the triskelion, a popular motif in Celtic imagery. [7] In rare cases, Brigid's cross may be set fully inside a circle; this is known as a "wheel cross" or "St. Brigid's Bow". [8] [9] Possessing the gift of poetry, she also inspired bards and musicians with her creative energy. Furthermore, Brigid’s association with healing made her a patron of physicians and practitioners of herbal medicine.Saint Brigid’s Cross is an iconic symbol associated with Saint Brigid’s Day that has endured over the centuries. There are many different variations of Brigid’s crosses. The Brigid’s Cross tutorial I’m showing here is the most common. Kennedy, Brian P. (Spring 1992). "The Failure of the Cultural Republic: Ireland 1922–39". Studies: An Irish Quarterly Review. 81 (321): 14–22. JSTOR 30091646. However, much like many other Celtic symbols, this cross has made its way into more modern iterations.