Tuesday February 1st is St Brigid (or St Bridget)'s Day and from next year it will be the newest bank holiday to add to the calendar.
Ireland's only female patron saint, Brigid was born to a Christian slave and a pagan chieftain in Dundalk in 451.
We all learned how to make a St Brigid's cross in primary school. The story of it's origin goes that Brigid was by the sick bed of a dying pagan chieftain, possibly her father, when she picked up rushes from the ground and made a cross. Similar crosses were then hung over the doors of houses to ward off evil.
The 1st of February was celebrated as one of the "quarter days" in the year, marking the start of Spring (the others were Bealtaine on May 1st, the start of summer; Lúnasa on August 1st, the start of the harvest season and Samhain on November 1st, the beginning of the dark season.) Also known as Imbolc, the festival celebrates new life and fertility.
Now that you know all of that about St Brigid, this quiz about her and her fellow saints should be a breeze!
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