St. Brigid's Cross | 9.5" x 9.5" x 1" | Made in Ireland | All Handcrafted, All Natural Saint Brigid's Cross | Mounted On Unique Irish Scenic History Card

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At age 40, Brigid founded a monastery in County Kildare called the Church of the Oak. This community began as a holy nunnery but over time it became the first double abbey for both monks and nuns. One of the most notable aspects of Brigid’s character was her nurturing and compassionate nature. She embodied the qualities of hospitality, offering solace to weary travellers and protection to those in need. Brigid became a Christian saint An old pagan chieftan lay delirious on his deathbed in Kildare. In some versions of the story this chieftan is her father. His servants summoned Brigid to his bedside, in the hope this saintly woman might be able to calm his restless spirit. It is believed that her calm words did indeed calm the chieftain’s soul. In fact, the chieftain was so impressed by her explanation that he requested to be baptized as a Christain and shortly passed away later, peacefully. What does St Brigid’s cross mean?

But the whole point about Saint Brigid is that possibly no one has ever combined so successfully the roles of Martha and Mary, for she was a contemplative, too. Face to face with her, we have to learn again how to link qualities falsely dissociated in the industrial age.Brigid's cross is typically woven on 1 February, her feast day, as well as the festival of Imbolc in pre-Christian Ireland. Hanging Brigid's cross from the rafters of one's house was believed to bring the blessing and protection of the saint for the remainder of the year. The practice of crafting Brigid's crosses declined in the 20th century, however, in part due to house renovations that made hanging them difficult. My 5 year old was able to weave a St. Brigid’s cross (with a little help) and she was very proud! I’m going to recommend this craft for everyone ages 5 and up! (Lydia’s is on the left, and mine is on the right. I think it made it easier than we used the same colors as we went so I could say things like “now we need the yellow one to point up.”) Traditionally they are set over doorways and windows to protect the home from any kind of harm. Some final notes on St Brigid’s Cross Here are some common questions and their answers that we see often asked by those interested in the history and symbolism of the cross. Is St. Brigid Still Celebrated In Ireland Today?

When the cross has gotten to your desired size, cut some small sections of pipe cleaner, and twist the ends together. We made this one using the colors of the Irish flag! Saint Brigid is said to have been the one who came up with this distinct cross symbol, and that the design was inspired by the pagan sun wheel. Brighid was the goddess of fire. She is associated with Spring, fertility, new life, and the protection of poets and healers. She has been celebrated on the first day of Spring which falls on the 1st of February for centuries, although the pagan name for this feast day celebration is Imbolc. Well, it is an age-old tale; I will tell it in the way that I understand. There was an old pagan Chieftain who lay delirious on his deathbed in Kildare (some people suggest that it was St Brigid’s father). The servants summoned St Brigid to help calm the chieftain down and to settle his soul.Followers of the ancient Celtic traditions in Ireland believe that the cross was associated with the pagan festival Imbolg, which signaled the end of winter and the beginning of spring. In the past, the cross was believed to offer protection for the household, farm and land. In some areas when a new one was made, the old one from the previous year was burned. Burning a holy object may seem disrespectful to us today, but the act marked concepts of death and rebirth that underpinned many pre-Christian beliefs connected to the natural calendar. The Biddy boys on parade The ancient Irish people held Brigid in high esteem and regarded her as a powerful deity who played a vital role in their daily lives. As the goddess of fire, Brigid brought warmth and illumination to the hearth, ensuring the comfort and well-being of households.

You have heard of the goddess Brigid, but what about Tlachtga, the Morrigan or Airmid? Ancient Ireland was synonymous with goddess culture. In fact our nation is named after the Goddess Ériu. The Christian version of the story has Brigid creating the cross at the deathbed of a local pagan chieftain (some say it was actually her father). Saint Brigid's cheif establishment on the grassy plain of the Curragh in Kildare became a double monastery of monks and nuns under her direction. Its activities included a famous school of metal-work, but mainly the legends show her as busy over tubs of home-brewed aleor making butter in the dairy; she herds cows and sheep, she supervises the reapers in a harvest field. Irish saints were mainly active during the 4 th to 10th centuries. Christianity was introduced to Ireland in the 4 th-century. With that came Celtic Christianity and missionaries whose life purpose was to spread the word of God. Saint Brigid was called one day to the bedside of a dying pagan chieftain. Many members of his family were Christian and they wanted him to be baptised before he died, but when Brigid reached him, he was already beyond speech, and it seemed too late to hope for his conversion.

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Brigid’s Crosses were intricately woven from rushes and sometimes straw, consisting of a central square surrounded by four arms at right angles. The cross would adorn the doors and rafters of Irish homes, usually in the kitchen, warding off fire and evil. Brigid was a life-giving goddess

It is also a popular design for those with Irish heritage or just a love for Irish design to have inked permanently on their skin. Sometimes this cross is tattooed on its own or as an element of a larger tattoo. The crosses, once woven by hand, are hung above doorways and windows. The purpose of this is to protect homes from any evil or harm. You might just be wondering, “Why on earth do Irish people fashion a St. Brigid’s Cross of straw or rushes and place it inside the house over the door.?” Great question. May these crosses be a sign of our sharing in the Paschal Mystery of your Son and a sign of your protection of our lives, our land and its creatures through Brigid’s intercession during the coming year and always. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Another popular variant is the "swastika" cross. Rather than being set parallel to one another like a traditional cross, [4] the arms of the swastika cross are set at right angles from a lozenge or diamond at the centre. These offset angles evoke the image of a wheel in motion and may have originally represented the sun, or "the great wheel in the sky". [5] In certain regions of Ulster, this wheel spinning in a circle imagery is evoked with a three-armed woven cross. [6] This three-armed variant has been compared to the triskelion, a popular motif in Celtic imagery. [7] In rare cases, Brigid's cross may be set fully inside a circle; this is known as a "wheel cross" or "St. Brigid's Bow". [8] [9]Unlike many other symbols, the cross is simple and does not feature any of the knot-like Celtic patterns we are used to. The woven square centerpiece of the cross features four arms that extend outwards in a simple criss-cross pattern.