My year is
punctuated by little highlights, occasions to look forward
to and
celebrate. I particularly love St Brigid’s Day, it’s now just
around the
corner, on February 1st, so I’m all set to celebrate and to
share the
story of this feisty woman with my students from all over
the world
and everyone else around me. This is a quintessentially
Irish
celebration, St Brigid’s Day or Lá Féile Bríde also marks the
beginning
of Spring, the season of hope and new life and comes
about half
way between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox,
when days
begin to lengthen. In Pagan times it was referred to as
Imbolc or
Imbolg which translates literally
to ‘in the
belly’. Imbolc is one of the four major fire festivals referred
to in Irish
mythology, the others are Bealtaine, Lughnasa and
Samhain.
Brigid, an icon
for women was born near Faughart just north of
Dundalk in
the 5th Century. She is the goddess of fertility in Celtic
mythology,
patron saint of dairy and founded the first monastery in
Ireland in
Kildare.
Many
legends are associated with Brigid who by all accounts was an
extraordinary
woman – a force to be reckoned with, a feminine role
model, well
before her time. So I’m overjoyed that at last there is a
movement to
elevate St Brigid to here rightful place beside St Patrick
as our
female patron saint.
Last year,
and once again this year, there will be a celebration of Lá
Féile Bríde
at the Irish Embassy in London, a gathering to celebrate
not just St
Brigid but the achievements of Irish women around the
globe.
Just as the
shamrock is associated with St Patrick, the little woven
cross, made
of rushes is associated with St Brigid and was chosen as
the RTE
logo when the station launched in 1961, and it was used
until 1995.
Let’s bring it back and display it proudly as a beautiful
symbol of
our culture.
Last year,
St Brigid’s cross maker extraordinaire, Patricia O’Flaherty,
came over
from Ireland clutching a bag of freshly cut rushes to
demonstrate
how to make the traditional St Brigid’s cross at the Irish
Embassy in
London http://www.naomhpadraighandcrafts.com/ . She
makes many
versions and I was intrigued to learn from her that
originally
all counties in Ireland had different patterns which
sometimes
even varied from parish to parish.
To invoke
Saint Brigid’s blessing we have a little cross made of local
rushes
hanging over the door in our micro dairy to protect our small
Jersey herd
which produces the most delicious rich milk.
My research
into St Brigid, mentioned not only dairy but also honey
and the
tradition of eating a big plate of floury boiled potatoes
slathered
in rich homemade butter on St Brigid’s Day or St Brigid’s
Eve.
So here’s a
recipe for how to make your own home churned butter… It’s super
easy. We use our own cream, but one can of course make
butter with
any good rich cream. Just pop it into a bowl, whisk until it
becomes
stiff, continue until the butter globules separate from from
the
buttermilk. Strain, wash well, salt generously, and pat into little
slabs or
butter balls – easy-peasy. Impressive and delicious, even for
chefs, to
slather over potatoes or a thick slice of warm soda bread or
spotted
dog.
So let’s
all make or buy a little St Brigid’s cross and make St Brigid’s
Day into a
real celebration, sharing a traditional meal around the
kitchen
table with family and friends.
