Here are some ideas for celebrating Là Fhèill Brìghde, based on Scottish customs: - On the day before the festival (i.e. January 31) clean and tidy your house, ready for Bride’s visit.
- Decorate the place with flowers that are appropriate for the time of year - such as primroses, snowdrops, daisies or dandelions (and remember folks, don't pick wild flowers...). Light lots of candles in the evening.
- Celebrate the feast of Bride on the eve of the festival with a slap up meal of your choice. Dairy-based foods are especially appropriate, in particular mashed potato served with a well of melted butter in the middle for dipping the mash into as it’s eaten. Invite people around to join in with the festivities. You can set a place at the table for Bride as well, and leave some of the food and drink as an offering to her. Milk, porridge, mash are particularly appropriate.
- After dinner, try making a leaba Bride (the bed of Bride - an oblong cradle usually made of straw) and dealbh Bride (icon of Bride), dressing and decorating them as elaborately and brightly as you like. These can be made of rushes and straw, or you can cheat and use modern materials or ready made items.
Once the doll is made, go to the door and softly invite Bride in. This was traditionally done with several women present, one to take to doll to the door and one to invite her in. Assuming you’re on your own, you could adapt the traditional invitation to something like "Bride’s bed is ready. Let Bride come in, Bride is welcome. Come in and bring blessings upon this house." Then place the dealbh Bride in the cradle along with the slatag Bride - a wand of white wood such as birch or willow, with a few heartfelt words to Her. - If you have a hearth, spread the ashes smoothly and carefully over it before you go to bed and leave it overnight to see if Bride leaves any sign of having visited. Marks from her wand are considered lucky, but a footprint is considered to be an especial blessing.
- Leave offerings outside to Bride, if possible, or take them outside as soon as possible.
- Make the bonnach Bride, serving with lots of butter, cheese and/or jam/jelly. Don’t forget to leave some as an offering, with milk or water as a libation (for example); any left over can be had for breakfast the next day.
- Juniper can be burnt at the hearth or altar in the evening (just before bed) if no ‘positive signs’ have been received of a visit overnight, to purify the house and propitiate her.
And for Irish customs:
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