Interesting St Patrick's Day Facts
Saint Patrick's Day
(March 17th), is an Irish holiday honoring Saint Patrick, the missionary
credited with converting the Irish to Christianity (in the A.D. 400's).
Saint Patrick was not actually Irish.
Historical sources report that he was born around 373 A.D. in either
Scotland (near the town of Dumbarton) or in Roman Britain (the Romans
left Britain in 410 A.D.). His real name is believed to be Maewyn Succat
(he took on Patrick, or Patricus, after he became a priest). He was
kidnapped at the age of 16 by pirates and sold into slavery in Ireland
(I am not making this up). During his 6-year captivity (he worked as a
shepherd), he began to have religious visions, and found strength in his
faith. He finally escaped (after voices in one of his visions told him
where he could find a getaway ship) and went to France, where he became
a priest (and later a bishop).
When he was about 60 years old, St. Patrick
travelled to Ireland to spread the Christian word. It's said that
Patrick had an unusually winning personality, and that helped him win
converts. He used the shamrock, which resembles a three-leafed clover,
as a metaphor to explain the concept of the Trinity (father, son, holy
spirit).
Legend has it that Saint Patrick drove all
the snakes out of Ireland -- that they all went into the sea and
drowned. Poor snakes. I don't know why he would want to do this, except
that the snake was a revered pagan symbol, and perhaps this was a
figurative tale alluding to the fact that he drove paganism out of
Ireland.
In America,
Saint Patrick's Day is a basically a time to wear green and party. The
first American celebration of Saint Patrick's Day was in Boston,
Massachusetts, in 1737. As the saying goes, on this day "everybody
is Irish!" Over 100 U.S. cities now hold Saint Patrick's Day
parades, the largest held in New York City.
Green
is associated with Saint Patrick's Day because it is the color of
spring, Ireland, and the shamrock. Leprechauns are also associated with
this holiday, although I'm not sure why. Leprechauns of legend are
actually mean little creatures, with the exception of the Lucky Charms
guy. They were probably added later on because capitalists needed
something cute to put on greeting cards.
What's good luck on Saint Patrick's Day?:
- Finding a four-leaf clover (that's double the
good luck it usually is).
- Wearing green.
(School children have started a little tradition of their own --
they pinch classmates who don't wear green on this holiday).
- Kissing the blarney stone.
An Irish blessing to take with you today:
May your blessings outnumber the shamrocks that grow
And may trouble avoid you wherever you go.
Glossary O' Terms
Erin Go Braugh
Ireland Forever
Leprechaun
Irish fairy. Looks like a small, old man (about 2 feet tall), often
dressed like a shoemaker,with a cocked hat and a leather apron.
According to legend, leprechauns are aloof and unfriendly, live alone,
and pass the time making shoes...they also possess a hidden pot of gold.
Treasure hunters can often track down a leprechaun by the sound of his
shoemaker's hammer. If caught, he can be forced (with the threat of
bodily violence) to reveal the whereabouts of his treasure, but the
captor must keep their eyes on him every second. If the captor's eyes
leave the leprechaun (and he often tricks them into looking away), he
vanishes and all hopes of finding the treasure are lost.
Blarney stone
The Blarney Stone is a stone set in the wall of the Blarney Castle tower
in the Irish village of Blarney. Kissing the stone is supposed to bring
the kisser the gift of persuasive eloquence (blarney). The castle was
built in 1446 by Cormac Laidhiv McCarthy (Lord of Muskerry) -- its walls
are 18 feet thick (necessary to thwart attacks by Cromwellians and
William III's troops). Thousands of tourists a year still visit the
castle.
The origins of the Blarney Stone's magical
properties aren't clear, but one legend says that an old woman cast a
spell on the stone to reward a king who had saved her from drowning.
Kissing the stone while under the spell gave the king the ability to
speak sweetly and convincingly.
It's tough to reach the stone -- it's between the
main castle wall and the parapet. Kissers have to lie on their back and
bend backward (and downward), holding iron bars for support. Can you
imagine kissing something that has had people's lips all over it for 500
years? Yuck!
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