On a brighter note today is St Bride's day, it was after her that we named our daughter ( Bridget) . St Brigid or Bride of Kildare is said to have helped the Virgin give birth to Jesus - whence she is the protector of pregnant women and midwives - and to have kept Mary's cows, whence her title of 'Christs Milkmaid'.
The saint's pagan namesake and predecessor, the Celtic goddess Brigit, was also associated with fertility, childbirth, and cattle. On her feast day - which is also the Gaelic spring festival of Imbolc or Imbolg - Highland girls made the 'Last Sheaf' of the previous harvest into images of her, which were laid in a decorated cradle called 'Bride's Bed'.
This is the day of Bride
The Queen will come from the Mound
This is the day of Bride
The serpent will come from the hole.
On this mystic day adders were beleved to abandon their winter lairs: and the oyster-catcher birds - called in Gaelic Gille Brighde, ' the servants of Bride' - made their appearance, bringing Spring with them.
So on this day Imbolc blessings. Ok daughter. From now on Spring awakes.New hope new light. Things moving onwards in the outer world and in our hearts, starting afresh with renewed purpose and fresh possibillities. Take it easy now. Unless that is your part of a revolution that happens to be occuring , then salute.Onwards and upwards.
I knew that St. Brigid or Bride was Irish. But it was amazing some time ago to find in a 300 y.o. document that on the mountain overlooking my town there is a place called "St. Breda's woodland". Breda is the same as Bride. Charming to find a Celtic saint just here . Cheers . Franca Panizza
ReplyDeletefascinating... isn't it.... warm regards.
ReplyDeleteActually Celtic tribes lived here around many centuries ago, but before St. Bride's birth. We have valleys and villages in the mountains where some people have light or red hair and might look Irish or British. Warm regards from me too from chilly northern Italy!
ReplyDeletethanks again.
ReplyDeletethat bollocks abou marys cows by the way
ReplyDelete