Brighid's Cross/Brat Imbolc Exchange?

[Aster Breo]

Happy New Year!

I'm sorry I haven't been around as much as usual lately. I'm really hoping that will change with the new year. So, I apologize if this is a question that has already been discussed (I checked but didn't find anything in the list of recent threads).

Is anyone interested in doing a Brighid's cross and/or brat exchange for this coming Imbolc?

If we're going to do an exchange, we should get it set up as soon as possible. Anyone interested can start on their crosses and/or brats right away, of course, while we get the list of participants and send out addresses. I'd be happy to coordinate the exchange again this year, but also happy to have someone else do it.

So... Anybody interested in an exchange?

~ Aster

[Juni]

I am! I was just thinking about this yesterday, but I've had limited brain the past few days so I didn't post.

[Finn]

I am! I was actually thinking that if we didn't have an "official exchange" I'd probably whip up a couple crocheted items and send them along to the cill members whose addresses I have. I need to do some serious yarn stashbusting and what better way than a couple of bhrats?

[Fagan_the_Pagan]

Is anyone interested in doing a Brighid's cross and/or brat exchange for this coming Imbolc?

I am interested. Not sure I can commit to something at this exact moment, but I am definitely interested.

[MadHouseWitch]

Happy New Year!

I'm sorry I haven't been around as much as usual lately. I'm really hoping that will change with the new year. So, I apologize if this is a question that has already been discussed (I checked but didn't find anything in the list of recent threads).

Is anyone interested in doing a Brighid's cross and/or brat exchange for this coming Imbolc?

If we're going to do an exchange, we should get it set up as soon as possible. Anyone interested can start on their crosses and/or brats right away, of course, while we get the list of participants and send out addresses. I'd be happy to coordinate the exchange again this year, but also happy to have someone else do it.

So... Anybody interested in an exchange?

~ Aster

This might be a stupid question, since I know what a brat IS but how do you make one? I know knit or crochet is the most common but is it shawl like? maybe hooded scarf? I've watched a few exchanges now and I honestly still have no idea!

I might be interested in an exchange if I could figure that pesky detail out LOL

[Aster Breo]

This might be a stupid question, since I know what a brat IS but how do you make one?

Not a stupid question at all! Especially since we've never really defined it explicitly (that I can recall).

A brat symbolizes Brighid's mantle and is basically any piece of clothing or fabric that is left outside over night on Imbolc Eve (the night of January 31-February1) for Brighid to bless as She visits each family. To be completely clear, this tradition is attested with regard to *Saint* Brigid, not the Goddess Brighid. Which should make sense to anyone who has done any reading on ancient Celtic religion and/or Brighid -- since there is so little extant evidence about the Goddess Brighid or how the Celts worshiped Her or other deities.

However, many of us -- myself included -- have chosen to use information about Saint Brigid to inform our practices honoring the Goddess Brighid. The way I feel about it is that the saint was likely a means to an end; a way for the Irish laypeople (as opposed to priests or monks or nuns) to retain an important and beloved goddess as they moved toward Christianity. That idea can be easily challenged, of course, and there are probably just as many people who think the goddess died with paganism in Ireland and the saint is a completely independent entity.

I've read about different ways to carry out the tradition of leaving a brat out for blessing. There are numerous regional variations on the theme. For example, people who lived on the coast would often leave out the coats worn by the men involved in seafaring. In other places, the brat was simply a handkerchief or just a piece of cloth, pieces of which would be cut or torn off and used throughout the year to foster healing (especially for headaches), ease the pain of childbirth, protect the cattle, etc. In some areas, the brat had to be a specific color or had to be put in a particular place (a bush or just outside the door, f'ex) or had to be brought inside before sunrise, etc. (Sean ODuinn's book, The Rites of Brigid: Goddess and Saint, is the best source I've found for Irish Imbolc traditions.)

The way we -- members of the TC Cill -- have done the Imbolc exchange in the past (I don't remember if we've done it twice before or three times) is to give the sender the option of making a Brighid's cross OR a brat OR both. But it's important to note that the exchange is NOT about spending money. It's about creating and sharing a powerful symbol that is special to us, as Cill-mates.

When I have received a brat, it has usually been knitted or crocheted. I have two that are squares -- like the squares my grandmother crocheted and then put together to make a blanket. I also have one that is a knot, which uses two colors of yarn. I don't knit or crochet (although I'd LOVE to learn -- it's on my 2012 To Do List ), but other Cill-mates do and can do a better job of describing this kind of brat.

Since I don't knit or crochet, I've had to rely on other materials. And I've also adopted a pretty loose definition of "brat." For the purpose of the exchange, I've sent strips from the very first brat I put out, many years ago. For my family's personal use, I've put all sorts of things outside to be blessed: scarves, bandanas, hats, pieces of fabric, ribbons, even jewelry. Other people might take a more traditional view of the practice, though, and feel that I'm going too far astray.

So, I guess the basic answer to your question is: You can make a brat any way you want to.

Does that help?

~ Aster

[MadHouseWitch]

Not a stupid question at all! Especially since we've never really defined it explicitly (that I can recall).
*snip*

Does that help?

~ Aster

YES! That helps, and my guess was right on, but I wanted to be sure that if I did the exchange that I was going the right direction.

[SunflowerP]

Is anyone interested in doing a Brighid's cross and/or brat exchange for this coming Imbolc?

Good heavens, it is that time again, isn't it?

I would be very disappointed if our cross/brat exchange didn't occur. But I think I had better say that I'm not taking part this year - my track record for getting things made and mailed in previous exchanges is dismal, and this year I have a lot more on my mind and on my plate.

Or rather, that my participation will be limited to finally actually sending the crosses from the last two exchanges (see? dismal).

Sunflower

[SunflowerP]

I am interested. Not sure I can commit to something at this exact moment, but I am definitely interested.

I personally have no problem with the idea of people who are not technically Cill members, but who have become connected with it on the sidelines so to speak (as you've done, Fagan, with your Month of Poetry and choosing to share it with us), taking part in the exchange if they want to do so. But it's probably something that should be discussed by those who are members.

I think that's one for the private board - I don't have time right now to start a thread there, but I should be able to do so later today, or if one of the other SIG Leaders wants to beat me to it, I'm fine with that.

Sunflower

[Fagan_the_Pagan]

I personally have no problem with the idea of people who are not technically Cill members, but who have become connected with it on the sidelines so to speak (as you've done, Fagan, with your Month of Poetry and choosing to share it with us), taking part in the exchange if they want to do so. But it's probably something that should be discussed by those who are members.

This is a good point, and if you guys did not want me to participate on that basis, I would understand.