Celebrating St. Brigid - Bridging Paganism and Catholicism

[Quintessence]

While this is only the second year that St. Brigid has enjoyed having her own public holiday in Ireland, this year marks the fifteen-hundredth anniversary of her death.

"Whether devotees honor Brigid primarily as a saint, a goddess or some combination of both, they see Brigid as emblematic of feminine spirituality, environmental care and artistic creation.​

​

Brigid’s Day is “an invitation to stop the pointless millennia old war of Christianity versus Paganism” and see “the wisdom and beauty in both lineages,” wrote Melanie Lynch, founder of Herstory, which campaigned in support of the new national holiday."​

​

Who was St. Brigid and why is she inspiring many 1,500 years after her death?

Devotees of St. Brigid are commemorating the 1,500th anniversary of her death on Thursday, the feast day of the so-called matron saint of Ireland.

apnews.com

​

You can read a bit more about this saint in the above article by AP. Is celebration of St. Brigid or the Irish goddess from which she is linked to part of your traditions? Perhaps you honor her emblematic domains in some other way in your life?

 

[JustGeorge]

My 'religious community' consists of one other person; a NeoPagan with no other religious community than me. We observe festivals with each other. One year, we put up a small Bridgid's altar in the library. It remains there. We will tidy it up tomorrow, and observe the day with a white cake. Baking and decorating a white cake on Imbolc is something I did with my oldest until he got 'too cool' for it. (He'll still have a piece, though.)

I feel its worth mentioning that when I put together a multifaith calendar a year or so back, that this 'middle of the winter' pocket had more deities honored than any other time. Gabija(Baltic fire goddess) is honored on the 5th, and Saraswati is honored on Vasant Panchami(which will be on the 14th this year).

I feel these 'winter holidays' are important to me... they help me keep going at a time the weather is (usually) at its worst.

I'm kinda shocked I was sitting on my back deck with no coat... and even getting too hot for my sweater on Imbolc this year.

 

[Tamino]

...or rather...
Brigiding the gap
?

 

[Quintessence]

My 'religious community' consists of one other person; a NeoPagan with no other religious community than me. We observe festivals with each other. One year, we put up a small Bridgid's altar in the library. It remains there. We will tidy it up tomorrow, and observe the day with a white cake. Baking and decorating a white cake on Imbolc is something I did with my oldest until he got 'too cool' for it. (He'll still have a piece, though.)

Any particular kind of white cake? I think about angel food cake that I had sometimes as a kid and that light, feathery texture seems like it'd be especially appropriate somehow.

I'm kinda shocked I was sitting on my back deck with no coat... and even getting too hot for my sweater on Imbolc this year.

Yeah, it's... well, there was a report I read earlier this year that scientists are now trying to determine if climate change is accelerating. Climate science is conservative as a discipline with their statements, but the data over the past decade is pretty damning and I don't imagine it'll be long before the consensus on the question "is climate change accelerating" is "yes."

 

[Rival]

We had a lady come into the Catholic shop I frequent yesterday and she was asking for St. Brigid things. Sadly we had nothing.

Hopefully this time next year we'll be wiser to this and have some prayer cards, statues etc. in and that will be good. A lot of Irish folks here will appreciate it.

Our shop is small though and only has so much money.

 

[JustGeorge]

Any particular kind of white cake? I think about angel food cake that I had sometimes as a kid and that light, feathery texture seems like it'd be especially appropriate somehow.

Usually just basic vanilla. It was more so my son could 'decorate'... white for the snow, and some kind of pastels for the flowers soon to come.

Yeah, it's... well, there was a report I read earlier this year that scientists are now trying to determine if climate change is accelerating. Climate science is conservative as a discipline with their statements, but the data over the past decade is pretty damning and I don't imagine it'll be long before the consensus on the question "is climate change accelerating" is "yes."

I'm sure it is...

Its a frequent practice in mindfulness for me to look out the window... and say "this is what its doing today" rather than "this isn't what it should be doing today". This climate is becoming unfamiliar to me...

 

[Vouthon]

While this is only the second year that St. Brigid has enjoyed having her own public holiday in Ireland, this year marks the fifteen-hundredth anniversary of her death.

"Whether devotees honor Brigid primarily as a saint, a goddess or some combination of both, they see Brigid as emblematic of feminine spirituality, environmental care and artistic creation.​

​

Brigid’s Day is “an invitation to stop the pointless millennia old war of Christianity versus Paganism” and see “the wisdom and beauty in both lineages,” wrote Melanie Lynch, founder of Herstory, which campaigned in support of the new national holiday."​

​

Who was St. Brigid and why is she inspiring many 1,500 years after her death?

Devotees of St. Brigid are commemorating the 1,500th anniversary of her death on Thursday, the feast day of the so-called matron saint of Ireland.

apnews.com

​

You can read a bit more about this saint in the above article by AP. Is celebration of St. Brigid or the Irish goddess from which she is linked to part of your traditions? Perhaps you honor her emblematic domains in some other way in your life?

When I was a "wee" lad, the primary school I attended was called St. Bride's, the Gaelic original of her name. She was our patron saint.

At every school assembly we used to sing a hymn to her, written for the school itself long before I was born.

It went like this (me singing just now from memory, quietly as I have neighbours lol):

"St. Bride is our patron for her guidance now we pray, for her cross and all it's meaning, will give us strength to work and play. From all sin and harm, from all danger and woe, guard me St. Bride wherever I go. Oh Bride be with me, until the rose end and help me to walk through that gate as God's friend"​

Was quite motivational for kids.

If you're on Discord, I can send you a quick audio clip of me singing it (recorded just here) if you're interested to know how it went.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

I'd invite her to our seder.

 

[exchemist]

My first serious love was called Bridget: a beautiful willowy girl with dark wavy hair and blue/grey eyes. There was an Irish connection in the family.

 

[Kathryn]

St. Brigid is the name of the church I will be attending as well as the private school.