New York and the Famine The Wall Street Journal On this day of all days, the Irish Catholics of New York should do something that would've been unthinkable even a few years ago: raise a toast to the Protestants.
Irish Mark St. Patrick's Day with Parades, Optimism AFP The biggest parade is in Dublin, where a 3,000-strong parade will snake its way through the city centre, bolstered by 16 marching bands from countries including Ireland, Japan, Italy and the United States.
Green Minister Defends St. Patrick's Day 'Junkets' Belfast Telegraph Communications Minister Eamon Ryan has defended the annual series of foreign trips undertaken by his cabinet colleagues on St Patrick's Day. Mr Ryan was answering questions from reporters about the more than €500,000 of taxpayers' money that was spent on such trips last year.
March 17, 2008
The first thing you have to understand about St. Patrick (387-493) is that he wasn't Irish.
He was born in Scotland, to "connected" parents. His father, Calphurnius, came from a high-ranking Roman family and was the decurio in Gaul. His mother, Conchessa, was a near relative of the great patron of Gaul, St. Martin of Tours.
At first, Patrick didn't go to Ireland willingly. When he was 16, he was "Shanghaied" (before that term meant something) and taken to Ireland as a slave. While tending the sheep of his master, he prayed.
And prayed.
And prayed.
"I have said as many as a hundred prayers, and in the night nearly the same, so that whilst in the woods and on the mountain, even before the dawn, I was roused to prayer and felt no hurt from it," he wrote in his "Confessio," one of only two authentic surviving documents from his life.
God, he said, spoke to him and he eventually escaped, fleeing back home. But Ireland continued to call to him.
"I saw a man coming, as it were from Ireland," he said. "His name was Victoricus, and he carried many letters, and he gave me one of them. I read the heading: ‘The Voice of the Irish.' As I began the letter, I imagined in that moment that I heard the voice of those very people who were near the wood of Foclut, which is beside the western sea - and they cried out, as with one voice: ‘We appeal to you, holy servant boy, to come and walk among us.'
And he did. But it was an uphill walk.
Murchiú's life of Saint Patrick contains a supposed prophecy by the Druids:
"Across the sea will come Adze-head, crazed in the head,
his cloak with hole for the head, his stick bent in the head.
He will chant impieties from a table in the front of his house;
all his people will answer: ‘so be it, so be it.'"
Despite the admonition, Patrick slowly won over the people. In 440, he began the conversion of Ulster.
Then it was on to Meath, Leinster, Naas, Munster, Limerick, and onward. Until he had converted nearly all of Ireland.
Before he died, he consecrated no fewer than 350 bishops. Ireland's highest peak, formerly known as Eagle Mountain, became known as Croagh Patrick, or the Holy Hill, the Mt. Sinai of Ireland.
He was given the Last Rites on March 17, 493, at Saul. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, "His remains were wrapped in the shroud woven by St. Brigid's own hands. The bishops and clergy and faithful people from all parts crowded around his remains to pay due honour to the Father of their Faith."
How this solemn day evolved into an all-day drinking fest is lost on me.
Any ideas?
The St. Patrick You Never Knew americancatholic.org He didn't chase the snakes out of Ireland and he may never have plucked a shamrock to teach the mystery of the Trinity.
The History of St. Patrick's Day History.com The modern secular holiday is based on the original Christian saint's feast day also thought to be the date of the saint's death.
Making St. Patrick's Day Official epicurious.com Guinness thinks it's about time Americans bought the cow and stopped getting the milk for free, as it were. The company is pushing Proposition 3-17, which would recognize St. Patrick's Day as an official federal holiday.
How do you celebrate St. Patrick's Day?
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I'm half Irish on my Mother's side (family is originally from County Mayo). Even though I was raised protestant (Anglican/Episcopalian) and now an agnostic, your kind words about St. Patrick are noted.
I too am curious as to how this special day became an all-day drink fest. Since I don't drink, I guess I'll enjoy my corned beef and cabbage with a glass of green Gatorade.
It's interesting to note, also, that St. Columba, who evangelized Scotland, was actually Irish.
"Luck of the Irish" to all the people who created this site and the people who read it and make so many interesting comments.
Bliss said...
Today I am "Irish" ~ Erin Go Bragh!
Thank you, Peterman.
;-)
Very good point on how this day evolved into an all-day drinking fest. But as many things in life, exspecially associated with religion, they just get misinterpreted; St. Patty's day is just another one of these days. Many miracles have been attributed to the bishop, including the driving of the snakes from Ireland. His sainthood derives from his conversion of the Irish celtic pagans to Christianity. He used the native shamrock as a symbol of the holy trinity when preaching and brought the Latin alphabet to Ireland. March 17 is the feast day of St. Patrick, of course.
The custom of "knocking back a few"on St. Patrick's Day comes from an old Irish legend. As the story goes, St. Patrick was served a measure of whiskey that was considerably less than full. St. Patrick took this as an opportunity to teach a lesson of generosity to the innkeeper. He told the innkeeper that in his cellar resided a monstrous devil who fed on the dishonesty of the innkeeper. In order to banish the devil, the man must change his ways. When St. Patrick returned to the hostelry some time later, he found the owner generously filling the patrons' glasses to overflowing. He returned to the cellar with the innkeeper and found the devil emaciated from the landlord's generosity, and promptly banished the demon, proclaiming thereafter everyone should have a drop of the "hard stuff" on his feast day. This custom is known as Pota Phadraig or Patrick's Pot. The custom is known as "drowning the shamrock" because it is customary to float a leaf of the plant in the whiskey before downing the shot.
St. Patrick's Day was first celebrated in America in Boston, Massachusetts in 1737, and is now celebrated nationwide as an opportunity to wear green and consume the whiskey or logger of your choice. The celebration in Ireland is more of a religious matter, whereas in the U.S., it's a festive occasion. The wearing o' the green is a symbol of Ireland's lush green farmlands.
cherann said...
There's an ancient Irish blessing that contains a few lines that might explain how the Irish somehow manage to combine the spiritual feats of St. Patrick with a license to generously imbibe. It's at least humorous. I quote:
"When we drink, we get drunk.
When we get drunk, we fall asleep.
When we fall asleep, we commit no sin.
When we commit no sin, we go to heaven.
So, let's all get drunk, and go to heaven!"
All of the commentators above have given this half-Irishman a problem to think about. I don't drink. So perhaps to honor my heritage (and go to heaven) I should get drunk on good Irish whiskey on a regular basis.
I'll give it a lot of thought. Do you think a bottle of fake beer like O'Doul's would work. Come to think about it i don't even drink fake beer.
Thanks everyone! Happy St. Patrick's Day!