Happy St. Brigid's and Happy Candlemas!

St. Brigid and the King's Wolf...

There are some wonderful legends of St. Brigid and some amazing traditions tied into this Patron Saint of Ireland, including St. Brigid's cross.

If you look online, you will see a wealth of interesting sites and links to this beloved Patron Saint of Ireland. I found this one quite extensive.

I also loved this post which ties St. Brigid into the hearth and Candlemas. The prayer for the hearth is very moving.

We have been telling two different stories of St. Brigid this past week. One of them is the same story told slightly differently in two different books. It is found in "Stories of the Saints" and a more beautifully written version is found in this gem of a book, recommended to me by Jenn over at Our Little Nature Nest. It is called "The Key of the Kingdom" and it is full of lovely stories and poems specifically to speak in rhyme and rhythm to children in the early grades.

The second story, which the girls much preferred is the story of St. Brigid saving the life of a careless man with the help of a wild white wolf. It can be found free online through The Baldwin Project and can be seen here. We used this story to tell the tale with some wooden figures standing in for the characters in the story.

The careless man who shot the King's pet wolf in prison.

St. Brigid bringing the wild white wolf to the King in exchange for the careless man's life...

St. Brigid and the prisoner riding off to safety...

If you are in the mood to make some lovely St. Brigid's Day breads or soups, you can check out this post at Catholic Cuisine here. Or Shower of Roses found here.

My last year's Candlemas post can be found here.

And a tutorial on making beeswax candles from my blog can be found here.

Hope you enjoy this lovely season and preparations for The Year of the Rabbit! There is so much that goes on these three days that I wanted to make sure to get this out before too much time elapsed. I will be back soon with our post on our first Chinese New Year celebration!

Preparing for Spring

As Candlemas approaches, we put away every evidence of the Christmas season and prepare for Spring. The day before Candlemas, we strip our seasonal table and begin again. A pale colored cloth or plain wood underneath is a nice way to start. One lone candle and perhaps a few bare sticks, seedpods or a tray of dirt remind us that soon new life will begin again and the world will become vibrant and abundant once more. Thus the cycle of life continues.

Down with the rosemary, and so
Down with the bays and misletoe ;
Down with the holly, ivy, all,
Wherewith ye dress'd the Christmas Hall :
That so the superstitious find
No one least branch there left behind :
For look, how many leaves there be
Neglected, there (maids, trust to me)
So many goblins you shall see.

~Ceremony Upon Candlemas Eve by Robert Herrick (mid 17th century)