Celebrate Ireland’s St. Brigid’s feast day by learning to weave the cross named in her honor.
Brigid’s Crosses are associated with Brigid of Kildare, one of the patron saints of Ireland. The crosses — usually woven from rushes, with four arms tied at the ends and a woven square in the middle — are traditionally made in Ireland on St Brigid’s feast day, 1 February, which was formerly celebrated as a pagan festival (Imbolc) marking the beginning of spring. Many rituals are associated with the making of the crosses. Traditionally they were set over doorways and windows to protect the home from any kind of harm. In Christianity, St Brigid and her cross are linked together by a story about her weaving this form of cross at the death bed of either her father or a pagan lord, who upon hearing what the cross meant, asked to be baptized.
On Wednesday, January 25th, 2023, the Irish Cultural Center’s program committee will be hosting a “Learn to Weave St. Brigid’s Cross” event, at 7 PM in the H.A.R.P. Museum. At this event you will learn a little bit about the life of St. Brigid as well as how to weave one of these simple yet beautiful crosses for your home. This will be a child friendly event, so please feel free to bring along a child or grandchild and we will provide appropriate materials for their use as well.
The cost to attend is $10, which includes materials and instructions on how to weave a cross (children under 16 are free when accompanied by an adult). Those interested in attended are asked to register through Eventbrite at: http://bit.ly/3Xa1zfE. Please indicate in the Eventbrite comments how many children will be attending with you, so we have enough materials for everyone.
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