St Brigid’s Day 2024
Join Irish Network Minnesota (INMN) on the eve of St Brigid’s day for our 2nd Annual gathering and presentation to celebrate and share a bit of history, tradition, stories, St Brigid Cross making demonstrations and song as we commemorate the 1500th anniversary of this 5th century woman, her life and legacy. Free no charge event.
January 31, 2024
IN MN Lá Fhéile Bríde – St Brigid’s Day – 2024
Dubliner Pub, St Paul, MN from 6 -9 PM in the cafe space.
Celebrating all Mná (women), the Celtic goddess, Saint Brigid of Kildare and Imbolc (the festival of spring)!
Thank you to Carrie Finigan for your incredible and amazing artwork for our event!
Follow Carrie on Instagram @cfinnigan_art
Excerpt below from:
https://www.irishcentral.com/culture/brigid-1500-festival-kildare
St. Brigid – A Woman, A Life, A Legacy
St. Brigid is one of Ireland’s best-known Irish saints. She was born around 453 A.D. and died in 524. There are many stories and legends relating to her birth and early years. Although one story suggests Faughart, Co. Louth, as her place of birth, there is a strong tradition in Kildare that she was born in Ummeras, about 5 miles northwest of Kildare town.
Much of what we are told about Brigid comes from an oral tradition as records only began at the beginning of the 7th century. Brigid likely became a Christian in her early teens. She became famous for her charity and is widely regarded for her feminine strength and leadership.
Tradition holds that St. Brigid established a double monastery for women and men on the low hill of Kildare around 480 A.D. the sole example of its kind ever to be established in Ireland.
The monks and scholars leaving Ireland from the 6th century onwards carried the story of Brigid’s life and devotion to England, Scotland Wales, and continental Europe. St. Brigid was far better known in Europe than St. Patrick in the Middle Ages. From the 18th and 19th centuries onwards missionaries, migrants, and scholars carried St. Brigid’s name and spirit to the Americas, Australia, New Zealand, Africa, and the wider world.
Brigid’s Feast day marks the traditional beginning of Spring in Ireland. According to the Celtic calendar, February 1st was originally celebrated as a pagan festival called Imbolc, marking the midpoint between the winter equinox and spring solstice, and the arrival of longer, warmer days.
There are many customs and traditions associated with St. Brigid that continue to keep her memory alive. It was traditional to make St. Brigid’s crosses out of rushes on her feast day. It was believed that the crosses would protect their thatched homes from fire.
The “Brat Bhride” or “Brigid’s Blanket” was placed outside at sunset on the eve of St. Brigid’s Day, February 1st, and brought back inside before sunrise. It was understood that the dew that fell that night imbued the fabric with healing and protective powers for the entire year.
From Clondalkin Parish, Dublin:
From Folk Life – Journal of Ethnological Studies Volume 59, 2021, Issue 2:
