ABSTRACT

This study explores the food traditions of Imbolg or St. Brigid’s Day (1^st February), one of the quarter days of the Irish calendar year, which heralds the awakening of spring. Imbolg is comparable to Christmas eve, in that celebratory potato dishes such as colcannon or ‘poundies’ and boxty are consumed. Throughout the Schools’ Collection (6,000 copybooks filled with folklore collected by over 50,000 children), a rich food history where customs, superstitions, divinations and a mixing of the pagan and Christian traditions is evident. Four main themes: ‘Dishes’, ‘Brigid’s Crosses’, ‘Biddy Boys and Brídeogs’ and ‘Brigid, miracles and religion’ were identified, which share an affinity with the extant folklore literature. However, certain nuances are also highlighted in the Schools’ Folklore Collection (SFC) revealing a rich and oftentimes neglected food culture. This paper aims to address the current lacuna within the Folklore literature concerning foodways, whilst also highlighting opportunities for further research.

摘要

这项研究探讨了Imbol或 St. Brigid 日（2 月1^日）的饮食传统，这是爱尔兰历年的四分之一天，预示着春天的到来。Imbolg与圣诞节前夕相当，因为人们会食用诸如 colcannon 或 'poundies' 和 boxty 之类的庆祝马铃薯菜肴。整个学校的收藏（6,000 多本抄写本由 50,000 多名儿童收集的充满民间传说的书本），是一段丰富的食物历史，其中的习俗、迷信、占卜以及异教和基督教传统的混合显而易见。四个主题：“Dishes”、“Brigid's Crosses”、“ Biddy Boys 和Brídeogs”'和'Brigid，奇迹和宗教'被确定，它们与现存的民俗文学有着密切的关系。然而，学校民俗收藏 (SFC) 中也强调了某些细微差别，揭示了丰富但经常被忽视的饮食文化。本文旨在解决有关饮食方式的民俗文献中目前存在的空白，同时也强调了进一步研究的机会。