March 17: St. Patrick’s Day

St. Patrick’s Day

St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated everywhere on March 17th by both Irish and non-Irish people. Parades, the wearing o’ the green, and an Irish feast are all customary on this day. A typical American favorite “Irish” dinner is corned beef & cabbage. Another favorite meal is one that is all green, food that is naturally green and food that is tinted green with food coloring. This day is celebrated with parties, wearing green, consuming beer, and a whole lot of fun in America.

Cities do it up for St. Patrick’s Day too. In Dublin, the Greening of the City lights up iconic buildings in a green hue. In London, there’s a mile-long parade. New York has the oldest and biggest St. Patrick’s Day parade in the US. Chicago turns the Chicago River Green, using over 40 lbs. of green dye.Boston holds a large parade and the most of the cities plentiful Irish bars have specials.

Some St. Patrick’s Day and Ireland Facts and Trivia:

Who was Saint Patrick?

Saint Patrick was a Christian missionary and the Apostle of Ireland. He was born around 385 BCE near Dumbarton in Scotland, the son of a Roman nobleman. His real name is believed to have been Maewyn Succat; his baptismal name is Patricius. He was just 16 when his village was attacked. He was captured and sold into slavery in Ireland where he worked as a shepherd. After six years of being beaten and treated poorly, he escaped to Gaul (present day France). He later returned to Ireland as a missionary. He is credited for converting the population to Catholicism. St. Patrick is associated with many myths and legends. The most famous is the legend where he drove all of the snakes out of Ireland and into the sea. In fact, there are no snakes in Ireland today. Some people believe that the snakes in this story actually refer to the pagans in Ireland. St. Patrick is the patron saint of engineers, excluded people, fear of snakes, snake bites, against snakes, Ireland, and Nigeria.

Patties’ Day verses Paddies’ Day

Patty is short for Patricia and Paddy is short for Patrick, so St. Paddies’ Day is correct.

Potatoes and Ireland

In 16th century Ireland, Sir Walter Raleigh began cultivating the potato on his property, which rapidly gave way to Ireland’s potato cuisine. In the late 1850s, The Great Potato Famine devastated Ireland. Almost a million people succumbed to starvation and disease. The potatoes were infected with Late Blight, a serious fungal disease.

The Flag

The Irish flag has three vertical stripes: green, white, and orange. The green represents the Gaelic and Anglo-Norman population, orange for the Protestants (supporters of William of Orange), and white for the union and lasting truce between the two.

The Shamrock

St. Patrick’s Day, shamrocks
shamrocks

The shamrock is the national flower of Ireland. The word shamrock comes from the Gaelic word seamrog, which means “trefoil” or “little clover”. The shamrock has the ability to foretell the future: when it is about to rain the leaves turn upwards. The lucky four leafed-clover is difficult to find because it is actually a genetic abnormality that causes the fourth leaf. One legend states that St. Patrick used the shamrock to explain the Trinity (a basic principle of the Catholic faith). According to David Plotz, Slate’s Washington bureau chief, “this is an 18th century fabrication.”

The Blarney Stone

The Blarney Stone is an actual stone set into the wall of the Blarney Castle tower. The castle is located in Blarney Village. One must climb many stairs, then lie backwards and hold onto some bars to reach the stone. Legend holds that anyone who kisses the stone shall receive the gift of gab (persuasion).

The Claddagh Ring

Legend tells of a man from Claddagh, who was captured by pirates a week before he was to be married. While he was enslaved, he learned to be a goldsmith. He created a ring for the bride he longed to see again. The heart in the center symbolized their love, the hands holding the heart symbolized their friendship, and the crown represented their loyalty. He did indeed return to his bride, gave her the ring, and married her. Today, tradition follows that if you are given this ring in friendship the heart points outward. If it is given in love, the heart points inward.

The Leprechaun

A type of faery (fairy), the leprechaun is a rather homely, short creature that prefers solitary and avoids contact with other creatures entirely. When encountered the leprechaun tends to be rather foul and unpleasant. They spend their days making shoes and guarding their treasures from mortals who would steal their gold. If a human were to catch a leprechaun, which is doubtful, and demand his gold–he would give it up.

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