Saint Brigid's Cross By Brandy Mearnic

Saint Brigid's Cross by Brandy Mearnic

Saint Brigid was born in 450 AD in Faughart. Faughart is near Dundalk in Co. Louth. Her father, Dubhthach, was a Pagan chieftan who was supposedly converted to Christianity while she made a cross called the Saint Brigid Cross and her mother, Briocsech, was a Christian. Brigid was named after very powerful goddesses of the Pagan religion. At the age of 75, Saint Brigid died in 525 AD. She was buried in a tomb at Abbey Church before a High Altar.

Saint Brigid's Cross is a fairly small cross usually made from rushes (a flowering plant) or, more traditionally, straw. It is made by making a square in the middle of the cross and then four pointed radials that are tied on each end. It is also known as a Sun Cross, a pagan symbol.
She is also know as “Mary of the Gael”. Every February the 1st, the Saint Brigid Cross is made and it is most often associated with Spring because the first day of Spring in Ireland just happens to be February 1st. This is known a The Feast of Saint Brigid's Day. In making the cross, many rituals are involved. Traditionally, the Saint Brigid's Cross protects a home from fire and evil. It is hung the kitchens of Irish homes for this very purpose. New crosses are made each Saint Brigid's Day. The old one is then burned to keep fire away from a