A week ago, I attended a cross-making event but on by the campus chapel that my program directors had encouraged us to go participate in. Our initial reaction was that it sounded pretty lame, but upon being bribed with the promise of pizza after the event, we quickly changed our minds. So my roommates and I trekked to campus and found our way to the chapel, where there were some girls around our age breaking apart what reminded me of the palms I usually get on Palm Sunday. They explained to us that we were going to use the rushes to make Saint Brigit crosses, a Christian tradition that is done in homes throughout Ireland every January 31st in hopes that February, which marks the beginning of the Spring season, will be warm and dry. Ironically, it has been cold and raining everyday since February 1st. Anyway, we were going to make the crosses, one for ourselves and extras that were to be sold at mass to support an upcoming trip that our hosts were going on. They are nurses at the university and are doing a service trip to Tanzania this summer, but the transportation is expensive and they are trying to cut costs through donations and sales of Saint Brigit crosses. So the girls showed us how to make four and three sided crosses using a method that reminded me of creating gimp bracelets when I was younger. It took a few tries and a lot of laughs, but I finally got it right...kind of.
My Three-Sided Saint Brigit Cross
Beyond potentially promising good weather, Saint Brigit's crosses are supposed to be hung up in the home to guard it from fire and evil. With stove tops occasionally left on and a tempermental (evil) washing machine, hanging the cross won't do any harm.
Love and early Springs,
Haley
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