St Brigid’s Day is celebrated on 1st February each year and this is also the first day of Spring in the Irish calendar. She is one of the patron saints of Ireland, along with St Patrick. In Irish it is Lá ‘le Bríde or Lá Fhéile Bríde.
St Brigid lived around the same time as St Patrick, the most well known patron saint of Ireland. She was a nun who looked after the sick and the poor. She wanted to build a church but had no land to build it on. She asked the king to give her some land to build the church but the king refused.
That night she prayed to God to change the king’s mind.
The next time she asked the king for some land, she said she “Please give me as much land as my cloak will cover.” When the king saw her small cloak he laughed and said he would give her the land.
However, when she put her cloak on the ground it grew and grew until it covered a huge area, enough to allow her to build a church and monastery.
The King was amazed and he realised that Brigid was truly blessed by God. He gave her the land and some food and money to help her work with the poor and the sick.
St Brigid also wove crosses out of rushes to explain about Jesus dying on the cross. We often weave St Brigid’s Day crosses today to remember St Brigid. Many Irish homes will have a rush St Brigid’s cross somewhere in the house. Have a look around your house to see if you have one somewhere. Or maybe ask your grandparents if they have one.
Happy Lá le Bríde
