St. Brigid’s Day (Gaelic: Lá Fhéile Bríde) is celebrated on February 1st but the public holiday in Ireland takes place on the first Monday in February each year.
St. Brigid is one of the three Patron Saints of Ireland, the other two are St. Columba and of course, St.Patrick. Brigid is a Catholic and Orthodox saint. She was a pupil of St. Patrick and became famous for her kindness, mercy, and her miracles. In addition, Brigid founded Ireland’s most famous mixed (male and female) monastery in County Kildare.
In The Life of Brigid, her biographer, Cogitosus, recorded that Brigid formed an alliance with the hermit Conleth and, together, they created a double monastery from the Early Christian tradition. She was abbess and he was bishop. Within 100 years of her death, there was a thriving, egalitarian monastery of men and women, living and practicing their spirituality equally, side by side.
When Brigid was refused by the King of Leinster the land to build a convent, she asked if she could have as much land as her cloak would cover. The King allowed this, but was surprised to see Brigid’s cloak grow and grow, as four of her friends took a corner each and walked pulled the cloak to cover many acres. The King then granted St. Brigid the land, and any other supplies she required, before converting to Christianity soon after.
At the same time, the legends about Saint Brigid echo the myths and legends about the three-faced Celtic fertility goddess Brigid – the goddess of war, poetry, crafts, and healing. It is worth noting that before the arrival of Christianity in Ireland, the feast of the goddess Brigid was also celebrated on February 1st, the first day of Spring in the Celtic calendar.
Brigid’s cross is typically woven on February 1st, her feast day, as well as the festival of Imbolc in pre-Christian Ireland. Hanging Brigid’s cross from the rafters of a house was believed to bring the blessing and protection of the saint for the remainder of the year.
The healthy people among us…
Hot peppers…
Today is the birthday, in 1947, of American singer-songwriter Melanie Safka. She scored the 1971 US No.1 & 1972 UK No.4 single ‘Brand New Key’, and had hits with her 1970 version of the Rolling Stones’ ‘Ruby Tuesday’, her composition ‘What Have They Done to My Song Ma’ and her 1970 international breakthrough hit ‘Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)’, which was inspired by her experience of performing at the 1969 Woodstock Festival. In 2007, Melanie was invited by Jarvis Cocker to perform at the Meltdown Festival at the Royal Festival Hall in London. She died on 23 January 2024, at the age of 76. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCTMTflcuug
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