Happy St. Brigid's Day to one and all

Our Lady and Saint Non's chapel

Today is the festival of St. Brigid, the beginning of the old Celtic season of Imbolc, or Imbolg (pronounced i-MOLK or i-MOLG ), also called (Saint) Brigid's Day, a Gaelic festival marking the beginning of spring.

Christians, especially in Ireland, observe February 1 as the feast day of Saint Brigid (of Kildare), one of the patron saints of Ireland.

St. Brigid's Blessing
"Go down on your knees, do homage, and let blessed Brigid enter the house"

May Brigid bless the house wherein you dwell.
Bless every fireside, every wall and door.
Bless every heart that beats beneath its roof.
Bless every hand that toils to bring it joy.
Bless every foot that walks its portals through.
May Brigid bless the house that shelters you.

Brigid is also referred to as the "triple goddess of Smithcraft (with Celtic warriors invoking her protection before battle), Healing, and Poetry and the Arts. In folklore St. Brigid became the principal focus of the feast of Imbolc.

 Imbolc - the coming of Spring - the great wheel of the year turns again on February 1st, with the ancient sacred day of the Celtic goddess Brigid - Mother Goddess of Ireland - also called Brigit, Bride, Brighid, and Brigantia. The root of her name means 'bright' or 'exalted', and possibly 'firebrand'." ~Hamish Burgess Celtic Artist

Reference to this holiday is found in some of the earliest Old Irish literature, from the 10th century. It was a festival of the hearth and home, and a celebration of the lengthening days and the early signs of spring. Celebrations often involved hearthfires, special foods, candles or a bonfire if the weather permitted. Fire and purification were an important part of the festival. The lighting of candles and fires represented the return of warmth and the increasing power of the Sun over the coming months.

St.Brigit's Cross

The wickerwork cross,  known as St.Brigit's Cross, has been a popular talisman of St. Brigid since the 17th century and it is widely believed to be a Christian symbol. But its origins lie in much older traditions and folklore. It is thought to have origins in the ancient symbol for the sun.

Many rituals are associated with the making of the crosses. It was traditionally believed that a Brigid's Cross protects the house from fire and evil. It is hung in many Irish kitchens for this purpose.

The cross is usually woven out of rushes and sometimes straw. It consists of a central square surrounded by four arms at right angles and adorns the doors and rafters of Irish homes, usually in the kitchen, warding off fire and evil. Traditionally, before being placed the crosses "would sometimes be blessed with holy water, a ritual with connotations simultaneously Christian and Pagan."

This video will show you how to make your own St. Brigit's Cross:

How will you celebrate?

Happy Saint David's Day For My Welsh Friends
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Images:
*Our Lady and Saint Non's chapel ( St Davids, Wales ). Stained glass window ( 1934 ) showing Saint Bride ( Brigid of Kildare )
Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported
*Saint Brigid's cross, made from rushes from County Down by Culnacreann
Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license

Edited 2/1/16

Bowie & Elvis Share The Same Birthday

Bowie and Elvis share January 8 as a birthday, both Capricorn according to western astrology. They, also, are both born in the Year of the Pig in Chinese Astrology.

Chinese Astrology Years of the Pig
1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007

David Bowie (born David Robert Jones January 8, 1947)



Elvis Presley (January 8, 1935 - August 16, 1977)

According to the popular Chinese myth the animal ruling the year in which a person is born tremendously influences his or her behavior and traits.

Pig people are said to possess considerable determination and if they set their minds on something will pursue it and attain it. Good careers for people born in the year of the pig are in music, food, writing, and looking after others.

They are often imbued with the energy of wealth and the support of others. The person born in the Year of the Pig accepts the existing richness of life.

They are said to be tolerant, generous, and peaceful. They are well liked for their honesty and warm nature, which was true of Elvis and I think it is true of Bowie.

Are you a fan of one or both of these men? Do you think these attributes fit them?

Want to read more about Elvis? Check out Elvis The Martial Artist

Today is Toss Your Fruitcake Day

One of my favorite holiday traditions as a kid was enjoying my grandmother's fruitcake. Have you ever tasted a really good fruitcake? My grandmother made the most awesome fruitcake in the world! Assumption Abbey Bakery in Southwest Missouri makes an awesome fruitcake almost as good as my grandmother's! The Abby is located near Ava, Mo., nestled in the foothills of the Missouri Ozarks.

Jasper Mirabile, Jr. recently interviewed Assumption Abbey’s Father Cyprian on his ‘Live! From Jasper’s Kitchen’ radio show and wrote an article about the interview on kansascity.com.

He writes that "only eight monks, tirelessly and lovingly work at producing these cakes each day" and that "the task begins early each morning when one of the monks begins cracking 265 eggs."

What makes the cakes so good? Mirabile writes that the fruit is first soaked in burgundy wine, added to the batter then baked. Then the monks inject each cake "with over 1 ounce of rum and then soak them in corn syrup." After each cake if finished, the monks gather and pray over each cake.

This is a quote from the Abby's website:

"O GOD, CREATOR OF ALL THINGS
BLESS NOW THESE CREATIONS OF OUR HANDS.
THAT THESE CAKES MAY BE RECEIVED
AS TOKENS OF YOUR LOVE
AND SHARED WITH FRIENDS AS HINTS
OF YOUR EUCHARISTIC FEAST...."

If you're not a fruitcake lover, this dark, rich, traditional style fruitcake will make you one! Each cake is made with raisins, pineapple, currants, citron, walnuts, and wine and laced with rum.

The monks of Assumption Abbey produce 125 fruitcakes a day! That's almost 25,000 cakes per year. You can order you cake here:  Assumption Abbey Bakery  It comes in a decorative, re-useable tin and weighs about 2 lbs.

A good fruitcake is aged. If it contains alcohol and is wrapped in alcohol-soaked linen before storing, it could remain edible for many years. 

Tell me about your fruitcake experience in the comments!

Evaluate Your Life Day

Today is Evaluate Your Life Day. This is a good time to read The Optimist's Creed.

Read The Optimist's Creed daily. Use it as a powerful tool to become the most brilliant magnet for magnificence and joy in your life.

Inspirational writer CHRISTIAN DAA LARSON (b. 1874) is the author of the well-known Optimist Creed. He wrote "Our destiny is not mapped out for us by some exterior power; we map it out for ourselves. What we think and do in the present determines what shall happen to us in the future."

To Read The Optimist's Creed Click Here

Come Little Children - Hocus Pocus

In the fall some people start thinking of celebrating the traditions of Hallowe'en or "All Hollows Eve". 

There are a few movies that come to mind. Hocus Pocus is one of them. 

Here is a video to celebrate the season. 



Fantasies Ghost "The song 'Come Little Children' from Hocus Pocus was created using the first verse of the Poem 'Come Little Children' by Edgar Allen Poe."
 

~*Lyrics*~

Come little children,
I'll take thee away,
into a land of Enchantment.

Come little children,
The time's come to play,
Here in my garden of Shadows.

Song/Poem: Come Little Children
Poet: Edgar Allen Poe
Cover Artist: Kate Covington (katethegreat19)