Erin Go Bragh
Are you wearing your green? March 17 can be a lot of fun with the parades and canals turned green and pinches and green beer. But like most holidays, its origins are much different. Interestingly enough, St. Patrick was not even Irish. He was born in Great Britain but at the age of 16 was captured by Irish raiders. He spent six years as a slave in Ireland, herding livestock. He turned to religion for comfort, eventually escaped and returned home. However, he had a dream one night that convinced him to return to Ireland, which he did after he was ordained bishop. He spent the rest of his life preaching, converting the masses to Christianity and building churches. (We know all this thanks to the book he wrote “Confessio”)
The first St. Patrick’s day parade was not celebrated in Ireland. Though the anniversary of St. Patrick’s death has been celebrated in Ireland for thousands of years as a religious holiday, the incarnation we see now began in 1762 when Irish soldiers serving in the English military marched through New York. The parades grew to be a show of unity and later, a celebration of heritage, for Irish-Americans. It wasn’t until 1995 that Ireland began promoting St. Patrick’s Day with a modern bent in order to drive tourism.
What do YOU do to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day?
Quotes from Irish authors:
“May you live all the days of your life” – Jonathan Swift
“I can resist anything but temptation.” Oscar Wilde, Lady Windermere’s Fan, 1892, Act I
“Happiness is neither virtue nor pleasure nor this thing nor that but simply growth, We are happy when we are growing. ” William Butler Yeats
“The English did many terrible things but one great thing you did was give us this extraordinary language … and it works for us.” John Banville
“We are all born mad. Some remain so.” Samuel Beckett
“I am tomorrow, or some future day, what I establish today. I am today what I established yesterday or some previous day. “ James Joyce
1 Comment so far
by KatieFeldmom
On March 17, 2010 at 12:55 pm
I’m wearing green today and my sister is making corned beef and cabbage at her house. Except I don’t like it so I’m having fish and potatoes instead.