St. Brigid of Ireland (born c. 450, according to tradition, Fochart - now Faughart - near Dundalk, County Louth, Ireland—died c. 525, Kildare, Ireland; feast day February 1) was an abbess who founded an important monastic community at Kildare in the 5th century and is revered as one of the three patron saints of Ireland, along with St. Patrick and St. Columba.
Brigid’s feast day is observed as far away from Ireland as Australia and New Zealand. In early times she was celebrated in parts of Scotland and England that had been converted by Celtic Christian missionaries. In modern Ireland her feast day is celebrated with many folk customs and traditions, notably the weaving of crosses out of rushes, reeds, or straw.
The so-called St. Brigid’s cross features four arms (though some feature only two or three) tied at the ends and a patterned square at the center. The crosses are typically made on the evening before her feast day, blessed with holy water, and hung in houses or at the threshold of homes as a sign of welcome to Brigid.
Even after her feast day, the crosses remain hanging in many Irish homes, offering the saint’s protection throughout the year. In another tradition, mainly in western Ireland, girls honor Brigid’s feast day by weaving small dolls known as brídeogs out of rushes or straw.
Numerous wells are dedicated to Brigid throughout Ireland, including near Kildare and at her traditional birthplace, Faughart, and near Liscannor, a small village in County Clare in western Ireland. These wells and others dedicated to saints are known as “holy wells.” Many of them likely originated as sites of worship associated with pre-Christian deities and were appropriated to venerate Christian saints who had links to the nearby communities. These wells are visited year-round by pilgrims, who typically leave rosaries, photographs, pieces of cloth, and other personal mementos as votive offerings. In addition, special masses are celebrated in churches and at other pilgrimage sites on Brigid’s feast day.
Feast Day: 01 FEB