Happy St. Paddy's Day!
Posted by Ercille Christmas at 3/15/2010 11:00 PM 
Categories: Cultural
Tags: St. Patrick's Day;Irish;St.Patrick's Day parades
Categories: Cultural
Tags: St. Patrick's Day;Irish;St.Patrick's Day parades
“Mutt” that I am, I can proudly claim a little Irish blood in the gene pool. But, I have never looked forward to a St. Patrick’s Day, as I am looking forward to this one. My raison d’etre for literally gasping for a little of the Irish, is because for at least one day, I can forget about health care "reform," which conjures up images of Halloween!
I hope that the airwaves, microwaves, sea waves and every other wave, tide or current, undulate with things green, as in St. Patrick’s Day celebration. For this special Day, I am pulling out the Garfield the cat pin that proudly proclaims “Stuck on the Irish!”
Even before I found out that I have a smidgen of Irish blood in my veins, I have always celebrated St. Patrick’s Day since moving to the US. However, I had never really delved into the history of the Saint to whom this day is dedicated. I knew about the story about how he rid Ireland of snakes. Apparently, that story is more legend than fact. Still, it would be great if we were able to call upon him to perform the same function for the US, in ridding us of the worms of health care "reform!" But thoughts of "reform" monstrosity will be set aside as we celebrate a real hero!
So, who was that man who became immortalized as St. Patrick, patron Saint of Ireland, although not even born in Ireland? He was born in Britain, in the fifth century. As a teenager, he was kidnapped and sold into slavery in Ireland. That tells me that he was definitely not of noble blood. While he was working as a shepherd in Ireland, he began studying religion. He was apparently studying the lay of the land also, because he escaped after six years and made his way back to Britain. Any ordinary person would have wiped the dust of Ireland from his feet and never looked back. Not Patrick. He studied to become a priest and returned to Ireland, as a Christian missionary, expressly to make Christian converts of the Irish.
Pious he was and smart also. He began the process of conversion at the top, with the nobility, and worked his way down to the rest of the population. It is a given that he encountered problems with the pagan priests, known as the druids. After all, he was encroaching on their turf. He survived the druids and carried on his ministry for thirty years. He was the guiding force behind the establishment of monasteries and churches. He can also be credited for bringing the skill and practice of the written word to Ireland.
By the 1700s the Irish were immigrating to the new land of America. Naturally, they brought their customs and traditions with them. In 1737 in Boston, they made America famous for being the first country, including Ireland, to hold a St. Patrick's Day Parade. The first official St. Patrick’s Day parade was celebrated in New York City in 1766.
In Ireland, the custom was to celebrate the day of St. Patrick’s death, March 17, as a day of religious commemoration. This is America. What would a day of remembrance be without a party? On March 17, “everybody is Irish,” with parties/parades held in over 100 cities. I have a feeling that I could safely bet that St. Patrick's Day parades are the most held in the US, except maybe for July 4th parades!
Take a look at the following sites for more on Saint Patrick’s Day, including fun stuff for kids:
http://tiny.cc/RTXFu
http://tiny.cc/rwbSc
http://tiny.cc/888Hh
I leave you with this Irish blessing forwarded by J. Johnson, financial advisor :
May your blessings outnumber
The Shamrocks that grow,
And may trouble avoid you
Wherever you go!
Oh yeah! Thank God for heroes! Thank God for Ireland! Thank God for America!
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