#st brigid of ireland

[catholic-saint-tournament]

About St Brigid of Ireland

About St George

Losers' Bracket Round 3

[modark]

The Bardic Tradition

I made a long thread explaining in detail all the symbolism in this piece when I first posted it. That's lost to time now, thanks Elon. I'll try to rewrite it to the best of my ability in an abridged form.

The basic gist is that its a visual representation of the ancient Gaelic bardic tradition. Seated in the center is St. Colmcille, composing an old Irish hymn to St. Brigid, "Brigit bé bithmaith". He is holding hazel nuts, symbols of knowledge / inspiration in Irish legend. On the two pillars on either side of him are King David (left) and Orpheus (right), two famous poets from antiquity. Two legendary poets from Irish legend, Oisín and Amergin, are situated above each pillar respectively. The two fish are seen swimming "upstream" (as in the legend of the Salmon of Knowledge) toward a sheela na gig, a architectural feature / grotesque of early Irish churches which some consider to be symbols of femininity, meant to ward off evil. At the top of the image, hands from a cloud (representing God) release a white dove (representing the Holy Spirit) down to St. Brigid. She owes her angelic appearance to her being considered both a pagan goddess and Christian saint. She is guarding a flame, which symbolises poetic inspiration, and which can be seen floating above the heads of all the other figures.

[mildred-meadowlark]

Happy Brigid's Day, my loves.

A day to celebrate the Celtic goddess Brigid, later St Brigid, and Imbolc. Brigid is the goddess of female empowerment, fertility, and creativity.

Imbolc celebrates the end of the darkness of winter and the arrival of the lighter days that come with spring (aka 'the grand stretch', as it's known in Ireland).

Artwork by @fionab_art

[feckineejit]

Today is St Brigid's day. Imbolc, the start of the celtic spring. As is traditional, I made some St Brigid's crosses out of rushes.

[stairnaheireann]

Spring Equinox in the Ancient Irish Calendar

Equinox is the date (or moment) some astronomical alignments in Ireland mark as being auspicious. Not many, mind you, but some, like the cairn on Loughcrew or the two passages of Knowth, a sort of super-alignment with quadruple significance. Though the actual alignment of Knowth is disputed, it might be a lunar alignment or not an alignment at all. The equinox is far less obvious an astronomical…

[cellabella-illuminates]

Happy feast day, St. Brigid!

[uristmctungle]

is this anything

[trilliansthoughts]

Imbolc

Imbolc is celebrated from February 1st until sundown on February 2nd and signifies the beginning of spring in the Celtic calendar. Imbolc marks the halfway point between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox and is one of several Pagan festivals that highlight some aspect of winter and sunlight to herald the change of seasons.

The celebration of Imbolc dates to pre-Christian times and the earliest mentions in Irish literature are found in the 10th century. Poetry from that time connects the holiday to ewe’s milk, with the implication of purification. As this ritual stems from the breeding cycle of sheep and the beginning of lactation, Imbolc traditionally aligned with the first day of spring and the idea of rebirth. The most common explanation for the etymology of Imbolc is from the Old Irish i mbolc meaning 'in the belly' and refers to pregnant ewes at this time of year.

In Neolithic times, Imbolc celebrations honoured the Pagan goddess Brigid, who was invoked in fertility rites and was also the goddess of poetry, crafts, and healing. Brigid was worshipped by the Filidh, the Celtic poets and historians of ancient Ireland. Brigid is one of the most powerful Celtic gods and is the daughter of the Dagda, the oldest god in the Celtic pantheon of the Tuatha Dé Danann. Modern-day Pagans set up an Imbolc altar to celebrate Brigid with a corn husk doll, white flowers, a bowl of milk, and candles. A group gathering casts a circle and recites invocations to receive a blessing from Brigid.

Brigid was said to visit homes on the eve of the Imbolc festival. To receive her blessings, an effigy of the goddess was crafted from rushes and oats, clad in pieces of cloth and flowers, and put in a basket overnight, with gifts of food and drink. Brigid was evoked to protect homes and livestock and items of clothing were left outside for her to bless. On Imbolc, the effigy of Brigid, known as a Brídeóg or Biddy, was paraded around the community by girls and young women. Sometimes, a young girl took on the role of Brigid and went from house to house wearing a crown, and carrying a shield, both made from rushes.

Over the centuries, Brigid was adopted by Christianity as Saint Brigid to become one of Ireland’s three patron saints along with Saint Patrick and Saint Colmcille. Saint Brigid is said to have lived in the 6th century and founded the important monastery of Kildare. While there are many stories about her, there are few historical facts. In the 12th century, legend holds that the nuns in Kildare attended to a fire built in Saint Brigid’s honour. The fire had burned for 500 years and produced no ash, and only women were allowed in proximity of the fire.

Imbolc rituals still include burning lamps and lighting bonfires in tribute to Brigid, who is associated with both milk and fire. Although there is some debate that Saint Brigid was a separate historical figure who shares the same name as the Celtic goddess, many scholars maintain that they are the same person with the later saint based on the earlier Pagan deity. As with many Pagan traditions and festivals, the names and dates were often adopted by Christianity to make the new faith more acceptable.

Imbolc is also believed to be when the Cailleach, the divine hag of Gaelic tradition, gathers firewood for the rest of winter. If she wishes to make the winter last longer, the weather on Imbolc is bright and sunny, so she can gather plenty of firewood. However, if Imbolc is a day of bad weather, it means the Cailleach is asleep, and winter is almost over.

On February 1st, people display a Brigid’s cross woven from rushes gathered by rivers and ponds. Traditionally, the cross is set over doorways and windows to welcome Brigid and protect the home from any kind of harm. Brigid’s Day parades and “Biddy’s Day” festivals are still held in some towns around Ireland, and it is also traditional to visit a holy well, praying for good health while walking clockwise around the well.  

[divinum-pacis]

Theresa Kilmurray, of the Brigidine Congregational Leadership, center, with Brigidine sister, Louise Cleary, right, carries a revered relic of St. Brigid, draped in red, home to Kildare, Ireland, Sunday, Jan. 28, 2024. Accompanying them are three girls portraying the medieval Irish knights who, tradition says, brought a relic of St. Brigid to a church in Portugal. Pilgrims and locals welcomed the relic back to Brigid's hometown, about a millennium after her body had been moved from Kildare to a secret grave for safety from Viking attacks. The ceremony is part of the 1,500th anniversary commemoration of the death of the woman some call “the matron saint of Ireland.” (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

[nerdyatbest]

[thepastisalreadywritten]

SAINT OF THE DAY (February 1)

On February 1, Catholics in Ireland and elsewhere will honor Saint Brigid of Kildare, a monastic foundress who is – together with Saint Patrick and Saint Columcille – one of the country’s three patron saints.

St. Brigid directly influenced several other future saints of Ireland, and her many religious communities helped to secure the country's conversion from paganism to the Catholic faith.

She is traditionally associated with the Cross of St. Brigid, a form of the cross made from reeds or straw that is placed in homes for blessing and protection.

Some Eastern Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Christians also celebrate her feast.

St. Brigid has been profiled many times by both ancient and modern writers.

However, it is notoriously hard to establish the historical details of her life, and the various accounts make many conflicting claims.

According to one of the more credible biographies of Brigid — Hugh de Blacam's essay in “The Saints of Ireland” — on which the following account is based, most historians place her birth around the year 450, near the end of Saint Patrick's evangelistic mission.

Brigid was born out of wedlock, the daughter of a pagan chieftain named Dubthach and a Christian slave woman named Broicsech.

The chieftain sold the child's pregnant mother to a new master but contracted for Brigid to be returned to him eventually.

According to de Blacam, the child was probably baptized as an infant and raised as a Catholic by her mother.

Thus, she was well-formed in the faith before leaving Broicsech's slave-quarters at around age 10 to live with Dubthach and his wife.

Within the new circumstances of the chieftain's household, Brigid's faith found expression in feats of charity.

From the abundance of her father's food and possessions, she gave generously to the poor.

Dubthach became enraged, threatening to sell Brigid, who was not recognized as a full family member but worked as a household servant to the King of Leinster.

But the Christian king understood Brigid's acts of charity and convinced Dubthach to grant his daughter her freedom.

Released from servitude, Brigid was expected to marry. But she had other plans, which involved serving God in consecrated life.

She even disfigured her own face, marring her beauty in order to dissuade suitors.

Understanding he could not change her mind, Dubthach granted Brigid permission to pursue her plan and material means by which to do so.

Thus did a pagan nobleman, through this gift to his illegitimate daughter, play an unintentional but immense part in God's plan for Ireland.

While consecrated religious life was part of the Irish Church before Brigid's time, it had not yet developed the systematic character seen in other parts of the Christian world by the fifth century.

Among women, vows of celibacy were often lived out in an impromptu manner, in the circumstances of everyday life or with the aid of particular benefactors.

Brigid, with an initial group of seven companions, is credited with organizing communal consecrated religious life for women in Ireland.

Bishop Mel of Ardagh – St. Patrick's nephew, and later “St. Mel” – accepted Brigid's profession as a nun.

According to tradition, the disfigurement she had inflicted on her face disappeared that day, and her beauty returned.

St. Mel went on to serve as a mentor to the group during their time at Ardagh.

Around the time of his death in 488, Brigid's community got an offer to resettle.

Their destination is known today as Kildare (“Church of the Oak”), after the main monastery she founded there.

Brigid's life as a nun was rooted in prayer, but it also involved substantial manual labor: cloth-making, dairy farming, and raising sheep.

In Ireland, as in many other regions of the Christian world, this communal combination of work and prayer attracted vast numbers of people during the sixth century.

Kildare, however, was unique as the only known Irish “double monastery” — it included a separately-housed men's community, led by the bishop Saint Conleth.

From this main monastery, Brigid's movement branched out to encompass a large portion of Ireland.

It is not clear just how large, but it is evident that Brigid traveled widely throughout the island, founding new houses and building up a uniquely Irish form of monasticism.

When she was not traveling, many pilgrims – including prominent clergy and some future saints – made their way to Kildare, seeking the advice of the abbess.

Under Brigid's leadership, Kildare played a major role in the successful Christianization of Ireland.

The abbess' influence was felt in the subsequent era of the Irish Church, a time when the country became known for its many monasteries and their intellectual achievements.

St. Brigid of Kildare died around 525.

She is said to have received the last sacraments from a priest, Saint Ninnidh, whose vocation she had encouraged.

Veneration of Brigid grew in the centuries after her death and spread outside of Ireland through the work of the country's monastic missionaries.

[catholic-saint-tournament]

About St Brigid of Ireland

About St Teresa of Avila

Losers' Bracket Round 2

[prevazilazenje]

ST BRIGID’S CROSS

St Brigid, also known as “Mary of the Gael,” is an abbess and patroness of Ireland. She is furthermore the founder of the first Irish monastery in County Kildare, Ireland. Born in Dundalk in 450 AD, St Brigid is accredited with first creating the unique cross which bears her name.

The distinctive St Brigid’s Cross design, made from woven rushes, is thought to keep evil, fire, disease and hunger from the homes in which it is displayed. The tale of its origin as we know it is as follows....

There was an old pagan Chieftain who lay delirious on his deathbed in Kildare (some believe this was her father) and his servants summoned Brigid to his beside in the hope that the saintly woman may calm his restless spirit. Brigid is said to have sat by his bed, consoling and calming him and it is here that she picked up the rushes from the floor and began weaving them into the distinctive cross pattern. Whilst she weaved, she explained the meaning of the cross to the sick Chieftain and it is thought her calming words brought peace to his soul. He was so enamoured by her words that the old Chieftain requested he be baptized as a Christian just before his passing.

Since that day, and for the centuries that followed, it has been customary on the eve of her Feast Day (February 1st) for the Irish people to fashion a St Brigid's Cross of straw or rushes and place it inside the house over the door.

This rush cross, which became St Brigid’s emblem, has been used in Irish designs throughout history, with many modern stylists using this now popular Irish symbol within the designs of Irish jewelry and Irish gifts.

This cross is normally hand created from rushes however occasionally straw is also used. The rushes were collected from wetlands and cut into pieces, 8-12 inches long. Rushes can be hard to get for city dwellers so ordinary drinking straws are a good substitute. Use rubber bands to tie up the ends.

HOW TO MAKE ST BRIGID’S CROSS

You Will Need

16 Reeds (or Straws)

4 small rubber bands

Scissors

What to Do

Hold one of the reeds vertically. Fold a second reed in half as in the diagram.

Place the first vertical reed in the centre of the folded second reed.

Hold the centre overlap tightly between thumb and forefinger.

Turn the two rushes held together 90 degrees anti-clockwise so that the open ends of the second reed are pointing vertically upwards.

Fold a third reed in half and over both parts of the second reed to lie horizontally from left to right against the first straw. Hold tight.

Holding the centre tightly, turn the three reeds 90 degrees anti-clockwise so that the open ends of the third reed are pointing upwards.

Fold a new reed in half over and across all the rushes pointing upwards.

Repeat the process of rotating all the rushes 90 degrees anti-clockwise, adding a new folded reed each time until all rushes have been used up to make the cross.

Secure the arms of the cross with elastic bands. Trim the ends to make them all the same length. The St Brigid’s Cross is now ready to hang.

[brantheblessed]

Since I think the Tuatha De were real, I say that Brigid of the Tuatha De converted to Christianity and became St. Brigid. Similarities explained.

No you can't change my mind. Seethe.

[stairnaheireann]

The Feast Day of St Brigid | Imbolc – The traditional first day of Spring in Ireland

St Brigid of Kildare or Brigid of Ireland (c. 451-525) is one of Ireland’s patron saints along with Saints Patrick and Colm Cille. Her feast day is 1 February or Imbolc, the traditional first day of spring in Ireland. She is believed to have been an Irish Christian nun, abbess, and founder of several convents. The feast day of of the patron saint will be celebrated with a state holiday starting…

[sophplanetoflove]

Like you know how all the clowns are clowning for Taylor Swift to announce reputation Taylor’s version in Dublin (June 30th)? What if she announces debut? Like I get the evidence for reputation because of the old catholic legend that St Patrick (the patron saint of ireland) banished all the snakes from ireland in like 500 AD (sorry primary school teachers, I forgot when st Patrick was alive). Which doesn’t make a lot of sense for reputation really… mainly because he banished the snakes. But with cáil is feminine reputation so that could work with the ttpd logo. (Irish/Gaelige is one of the languages with fem and masc words like Spanish/Español). But back to my debut theory- Ireland’s nickname is Emerald Isle because of its lucious greenery. This makes sense with debut because debut is all nature vibes. And Éire (Irelands name is Gaelige) is derived from Ériu who is the goddess of the island of ireland according to Celtic legend. Celtic mythology is mostly associated with nature (not that it is all about that).

I don’t mind whether Taylor Swift announces rep or debut but I just really want an announcement for ireland !! <3