Come and learn how to make a St. Brigids Cross.
Wednesday 1st February 2012 at 8.00pm at The Irish World Heritage Centre
The history of St Brigid
Published details on the life of St Brigid are vague. She was an early Irish nun who may have been born in Co. Kildare, c. 457. She was the founder of several monasteries of Christian nuns, including the Monastery of Kildare. Her feast day is 1st February, and is celebrated as St Brigids Day (or Imbolc in Irish). St Brigid’s day was one of the four quarter days of the pagan year, which marked the beginning of spring and lambing. She is one of the few saints who stand on the boundary between pagan mythology, Druidism and Christian spirituality.
St Brigids Cross
St Brigids Cross was not recorded before the seventeenth century, but is now a well known Irish and Christian symbol. It possibly derives from the pagan sun wheel. It is usually made from rushes or, less often, straw. It comprises a woven square in the centre and four radials tied at the ends.
St. Brigid and her cross are linked together by a story about her weaving the cross at the death bed of either her father or a pagan lord. The pagan chieftain from the neighbourhood of Kildare was dying. Christians in his household sent for Brigid to talk to him about Christ.
When she arrived, the chieftain was raving. As it was impossible to instruct this delirious man, hopes for his conversion seemed doubtful. Brigid sat down at his bedside and began consoling him. As was customary, the dirt floor was strewn with rushes both for warmth and cleanliness. Brigid stooped down and started to weave them into a cross, fastening the points together. The sick man asked what she was doing. She began to explain the cross, and as she talked, his delirium quieted and he questioned her with growing interest. Through her weaving, he converted and was baptized at the point of death. Since then, the cross of rushes has existed in Ireland.
Many rituals are associated with the making of the crosses. It was traditionally believed that a Brigid's Cross protects the house from fire and evil. It is hung in many Irish kitchens for this purpose.
Join us on the evening of St Brigids day to learn a little more about this story and how to make a St Brigids Cross all of your own. Feel free to take your cross home and hang it in your kitchen!
For more information, contact Margot Power on 0161 202 1200 or e-mail: margot[at]iwhc.com
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