St Brigid's Day
Our Cuimhne Coordinator writes:
Many people have heard of St Patrick's Day which is celebrated every March. Fewer people outside of the Irish community have heard of St Brigid's Day.
St Brigid is considered the female patron saint of Ireland. St Brigid's Day is celebrated on 1 February by people within the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Anglican Communion. St Brigid is connected with agriculture, fertility, farming and the spring and there are many holy wells dedicated to her in Ireland.
Brigid, a Celtic goddess before Christianity appeared in Ireland, is also associated with Saint Brigid and the two share stories and attributes.
Public holiday
St. Brigid's Day has become a popular event in Ireland and in Irish communities abroad in recent times. Last year, the government in Ireland decided to create a new national public holiday for St Brigid’s Day In Ireland. This 1 February 2023 will be the very first national public holiday in Ireland named after a woman.
People celebrate St Brigid's Eve on 31 January, often by making crosses from fresh rushes or straw and placing these crosses on the doors of their homes.
You can read more about St Brigid and see a video about how to make a St Brigid's cross here.
Traditionally, people would come together for a festive family meal on 1 February celebrating the beginning of the spring and the birth of farm animals. The meal might traditionally be a supper of potatoes with freshly churned butter. Colcannon might be made by adding chopped cabbage. Apple cakes or barm brack (Irish fruit loaf) might be served followed with tea.
Of course, not everyone in the Irish community chooses to celebrate St Brigid's Day. Our community is made up of people from different backgrounds and people hold different beliefs. However, for some in the community St Brigid's Day will be important and it offers an opportunity for the community to celebrate the lives and contributions of women.
St Brigid's Day events
Some Irish cultural and community groups are choosing to celebrate St Brigid’s Day this year. For instance, Luton Irish Forum will hold an event on Saturday 28 January 2023 to celebrate Irish women in the NHS. People are invited to learn about the challenges faced by Irish Nurses and Health Professionals and the contributions they have made to the UK Health Service and enjoy afternoon tea together. (This event is sold out, but they have a wait list)
The Irish Cultural Centre in Hammersmith is hosting accordion player Sharon Shannon in early February as part of its St Brigid’s Day celebration.
The Irish Embassy in London also marks St Brigid’s Day. Last year for instance the Embassy hosted trailblazing women from Britain and Ireland, making their mark in diverse fields including music, media, sport, food, science, and literature as guest speakers and performers.
Panel discussions were also held on Women and Climate, Women and Sport and Women and James Joyce.
At Irish in Britain, we would be pleased to hear if are planning to celebrate St Brigid's Day.
Reminiscence conversations
With your permission, we are able to post pictures of activities in the Cuimhne resources section of our website where they may be of support to carers seeking to engage people in reminiscence conversations.
We would be especially interested to hear older people’s memories of celebrating the day when they were growing up and would be glad to share any creative ideas groups may have for adapting activities to be dementia friendly and inclusive.
For people living with dementia, activities in connection with St Brigid's Day traditions may help people to access memories to happy times of family celebration. Sensory-rich activities such as mixing ingredients for recipes can help awaken memories and support conversations between people of different generations.
There are lots of good recipes for foods like barmbrack available on the internet.
We would be pleased to hear and share any tried and tested recipes and tips you may have for making Colcannon and Boxty cakes and St Brigid's oaten bread and for making fresh butter with whipped cream!