Once upon a time on a freezing and windy night a very special child was born in Ireland. Little Brigid, a child of hope, was born in a wooden hut outside the vast forest. The wind groaned and swirled that night, like he wanted to tear off the roof of the poor hut. But when the little Brigid gave her first cry, the wind shushed to a whisper. Her mother wrapped her lovingly in soft and warm cloth while all the people of the village came out of their houses and looked at the cloudless sky. From that night and every night after, the wind would pass by Brigid’s house and sing the sweetest songs to her.

When Brigid grew older, every time she sang, the wind would tease her and tickle her hair, blowing it wildly from side to side. She spent everyday outside amid nature. She loved every living thing, plants and animals. Her mother made for her a soft and warm cloak, so wherever she went she was always safe, wrapped in this loving warmth. Each spring she walked through the land and welcomed every little flower and bud she found. Each summer she spent her days dancing in the meadow, singing with the birds. In autumn she played hide and seek with the squirrels in the forest. Even on the cold winter days, Brigid would put her cloak on and go out to play on the hills.

One year the winter was long and bitter. Everyday Brigid put her cloak on and went out to the fields to look for signs of spring. But she couldn’t see anything. ‘The days are too dark’ said Brigid. ‘My dear flower friends, they lie asleep. How will they know, the spring is here? They need the sunlight to grow’. But the sun was shy and weak. He would come out only for a short time, hide behind the clouds and quickly go back to sleep.

Brigid did not know what to do. She stopped, closed her eyes and listened. Just then the wind blew through the fields and tickled her hair. And as he blew in his quiet whispers she could hear a song:

Sing a song to Brigid, for Brigid brings the spring

Awakens all the fields and the flowers and calls the birds to sing.

Brigid smiled and joined in cheerful singing. Just like that she knew. ‘I will wake them’ she said as she hopped and danced through piles of snow. With every step she made, with every verse she sang, a little green shoot would pop out from underneath her soft warm cloak. Slowly growing and growing until the whole field was covered with white flowers and later followed by yellow ones. Brigid’s singing brought to people a message of joy and hope, telling of the return of life.

And so, till this day snowdrops and daffodils show up their little green heads on the first days of early spring and people hang a cloth - Brat Bríde outside their houses to welcome Brigid and thank her for winter days are over.

———-

Written by Urszula Sawicka Gamarra, 2022.

The story is inspired by ancient Irish Stories of Bríd, ‘Brigit’s Cloak’ retold by Bryce Milligan and ‘The girl with then golden hair’ by Ojibawa.

The song ‘We sing a song to Brigid’ was written by Clare Maloney and set to music by Patricia Hegarty.