The 1st of February . The day we kick Winter out the gap and say hello to Spring. Here in Ireland it also doubles up as St Bridget’s day and therefore schools around the country are turned into factory sweat shops as the small nimble hands are set to work on making St Bridget Crosses.
Legend tells how she picked up rushes from the floor and began to weave them into a cross while she sat at the deathbed of a pagan chieftain. When he asked what she was doing, she told him about Jesus and his death on the cross. Before he died, the chieftain asked to be baptised.
In case you’d forgotten here’s our handy guide and something to keep you busy if you’ve decided to stay off the booze after January!
Directions:
1. Hold one reed vertically, and fold another in half around the mid-point of the first.
2. Take a third reed and fold it around the second one, parallel to the first. You should now have a T-shaped piece, with one arm having one strand, another having two and the third having three.
3. Fold a fourth reed around the third one to form a cross.
4. Fold a fifth one around the fourth, parallel to the single strand. As you work, snug the reeds against the centre and hold it tight.
5. Continue folding reeds around the previous one (and the ones beside it) working in a circular fashion until you have created enough of a woven centre.
6. When the centre is as big as you like, hold the reeds together carefully and tie the ends of each arm tightly with reeds, string or some type of natural fibre. Trim the ends with scissors.
Here's some serious reed bending skills from Scoil Bhríde NS, Portlaoise.
It's worth it for the music alone.
TADAHHH!
Now get to eBay immediately and sell it for profit!
