St. Brigid's Eve

 Who was Saint Brigid – did she really exist?

St Brigid has long been one of Ireland’s most revered and iconic saints, celebrated for her charity, peacekeeping, social advocacy and pioneering role in the early Irish Church. However, in recent years, Brigid has become the subject of intense debate, with some recasting her as a pagan goddess and questioning her very existence. We take a deep dive into St Brigid!

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https://irishheritagenews.ie/who-was-saint-brigid-did.../

Happy St Brigid’s Day! Beannacht na Féile Bríde oraibh go léir!

Here’s a tradition that is done right around the country on St.  Brigid’s Eve - leaving out something for St. Brigid to bless. 

I know some people leave out a white cloth, more a red one and more a blue one. Some people call it a “Bratach” and many more don’t. No right or wrong - just different practices.

Over the years, I’ve found the scarf to be the most popular item and I found examples of it being used from Donegal to Wexford and Offaly to Tipperary. 

The general thinking is that Brigid blesses the scarf as she is passing with the belief that this blessed scarf added an extra layer of protection for your throat against colds in coming months. In the past red flannel was also used with the idea it’d protected the chest. There is a lot of crossover with St Blaise's day too in this practice which is centered around the blessing of the throat.,

Coats and jumpers are/were also left out - again with the same belief of protection against colds - especially for children. People also believed this they work for headaches too and I know a woman from Waterford who leaves out one of her husband's ties and she uses it during the year to tie on her head when she gets headaches. She told me she “looks like the Karate kid going around the kitchen” but she doesn’t care less as it does the job and “Brigid blest it”. 

So there you have it, a tradition done by some, and all different. By the way the tradition was brought over to Newfoundland by us and I’ll share a few accounts of it in the coming days. 

Text: Michael Fortune