Watch: how to make a St. Brigid's cross
A traditional St Brigid's Cross made from rushes floats in St Brigids' holy well in Co Kildare. People visit to the well to mark St Brigid's Day which is seen by many in Ireland as the first day of Spring. Pic: Niall Carson/PA Wire
Today is the day of Brigid, at once one of Ireland's patron saints - an icon of charity, sacrifice and resilience - and a goddess in Celtic mythology, representative of the beginning of the feast of Imbolg, heralding the spring.
In recent years, calls have grown for February 1 to become a national holiday on par with St. Patrick's Day, as a rallying point for the women of Ireland and their role in ongoing social and cultural change.
This call has been answered, with the addition of a February Bank Holiday from 2023, in recognition of the role of frontline workers in dealing with the Covid-19 crisis.
Historically, tradition has called for creation of a St. Brigid's Cross, to be hung over the doors and in the rafters of homes around the country, as legend has it, to keep fire and evil away from people and families therein.
Usually, though in lesser numbers lately, Cork city would have no shortage of people making and selling St. Brigid's crosses on the street, with Patrick Street and Paul Street still being handy spots to pick up a piece of Irish symbolism.
Wexford man Michael Fortune, of folklore.ie, has put his estimable skill and experience in documenting Irish legend and mythos to good use: providing a visual step-by-step guide to a time-honoured tradition.
There's a fair bit of handicraft involved, from making the initial triskel, to seeing the cross coming together with each layer and tying each leg off to complete it.
But even if you don't have a few bits handy to make one, Fortune's way with explaining the process and its place in tradition in this video and others on his YouTube channel make for perfect piece of relaxing online viewing for the day that's in it.
