We have been endured a long, dark and cold winter but longer, brighter evenings are finally on the way as today – February 1 – marks the first day of spring, and is also known as Lá Fhéile Bhríde, Saint Brigid’s Feast Day.
Here are a few facts you may not know about St. Brigid’s Day and the saint herself:
When is St. Brigid’s Day?
St. Brigid’s Day, on February 1st, officially marks the start the pagan festival of spring. It is also known as ‘Imbolc’, or the Feast of Brigid, It celebrates the arrival of longer, warmer days and the early signs of spring.
What are the origins of ‘imbolc’?
‘Imbolc’ literally means “in the belly” in the old Irish Neolithic language.
What is its connection to Irish mythology?
It is one of the four major “fire” festivals, referred to in Irish mythology. The other three festivals are Bealtaine, Lughnasadh, and Samhain.
Who was St Brigid?
Brigid is one of Ireland’s patron saints and was known also as a fertility goddess in Celtic mythology.
What did she do?
She is often referred to as ‘Brigit of Kildare’, and was said to be the founder of several monasteries of nuns, including that of Kildare. She is also associated with perpetual, sacred flames, and there is also a shrine dedicated to her in Kildare.
Where was she from?
According to tradition, Saint Brigid was born at Fochart (or Fothairt), near Dundalk in Co Louth.
What are the traditions for the day?
One of the most common traditions of the day is to make a St Brigid’s Cross.
These crosses are relatively simple to make, and traditionally, Brigid’s crosses are made on Brigid’s Eve, January 31st. They are usually made from fresh rushes, but you can also use straws if you don’t have them. They are made in a cross shape with a square shape in the middle and then four arms coming along each side.
Some believe that the crosses have the power to protect the owner’s home from harm.
St Brigid had her first Bank Holiday last year in 2023.
(Source – Irish Independent – Home / Entertainment / Festivals – Staff Reporter – 30/01/2024)
Fun-loving Saint Brigid shows us how to give spring a warm welcome
Is it just me, or was this the longest, dreariest winter in decades? Whatever the case, the imminent arrival of spring in the form of St Brigid’s Day can’t come soon enough for a nation punch-drunk from darkness and storms.
An elderly, rain-soaked gent in a Cork off-licence put it best: “At this rate, we’ll be at the Zs of the storm-naming alphabet long before St Patrick’s Day.”
For the nation’s collective health, celebrating “the Biddy” on February 1 is a feel-good party where everybody is invited.
Met Éireann might prefer March 1 as the official end of winter, but the ancient Gaelic calendar marks the festival of Imbolc on February 1 as the end of our climatic purgatory.
The Biddy tradition was revived by a new generation keen to restore a tradition deemed too precious to lose
About halfway between the winter solstice and spring equinox, Imbolc joins the other seasonal “quarter days” of Bealtaine, Lughnasa and Samhain.
For some Kerry folk, it’s a date to welcome spring with a dash of cross-dressing thrown in for good measure. Among the traditionalist townlands of Kilgobnet, Glencar and Killorglin, ‘the Biddy’ marks a more optimistic seasonal chapter, honoured with all-white outfits, gaily coloured ribbons and crazy hats Philip Treacy would covet.
Often mistakenly lumped in with the Wren Boys of St Stephen’s Day, the Biddy’s roots entwine deep in the ancient Celtic fertility tradition, where Imbolc – “in the belly” – referenced the promise of lambs soon to be born.
Our ancestors saw February’s first day as straddling a boundary when spirits of the “otherworld” were at their closest to ours.
The Biddy Day celebrations hark back to when paganism and Christianity joined to honour the female’s eternal role as goddess of learning, healing and fertility. And right it is that women are prominent among Biddy groups, adorned with those intricate and elaborate straw hats, leading the house in a merry dance.
I would make Heaven a cheerful place/Because the happy heart is true
Announcing their arrival with burning turf sods atop pikes, the Biddies brought music and dance – under the gaze of the Brídeóg effigy to scatter evil spirits. In the old days, money donated in thanks for the night’s entertainment was pooled for a Biddy Ball later in the month, a night of raucous Rabelaisian fun often condemned from the pulpit.
Even at the height of Covid’s enforced isolation, the Biddy tradition was revived by a new generation keen to restore a tradition deemed too precious to lose.
On this island of saints and scholars, how could we not cherish Brigid in her position as patron saint of poets, midwives and newborns – in addition to her legendary prowess as a brewer of ale? I‘ll drink to that.
Unlike other saintly deities, Brigid was no party pooper – rather, a woman clearly inclined to wring happy smiles from our temporary lives. In this time of dwindling congregations, the sentiments expressed in this poem attributed to Brigid would surely help to fill the pews: “I would make Heaven a cheerful place/Because the happy heart is true/We would drink good health forever/And make every drop a prayer.”
No doubt about it, she was a heavenly woman.
(Source – Irish Independent – Home / Opinion – John Daly – 29/01/2024)