Feelin' Lucky, Punk? Well, Do Ya?!
If so, you happen to be in for some luck! Yeah, thats right, this is March, the month of the lion and luck. Customarily, it is known for its winds and green buds that are appearing, it is not so the case in Ohio. Yeah, we dont start becoming green until at least mid-April, and well, unless you're green with envy! But thats okay, because no matter the weather (thank Heaven for that), in Ohio, we always like to drink our beer and reflect on the Irish heritage that brings us so much happiness this time of year. Yeah, you guessed it: St. Patrick's Day!
Now see, personally, there is absolutely nothing wrong with St Patty's Day, because it truly is my favorite day of the whole entire year. Ah, yes. But I'm sure y'all must be wondering, "Well, what is the orgin of this holdiay?" I'm glad you asked, because whether you like it or not, I'm going to supply you with more knowledge of this saint's day than you could ever hope to want, need, or use. Buwhahahaha its great being me.
THE MAN BEHIND THE DAY:
Well, I suppose it all started when St. Patrick was born in Britain to wealthy parents near the end of the fourth century. He is thought to have died on March 17, but no one knwos for absolute certainty (so that means we could be celebrating his death *ABOUT* the right time). His father was a Christian deacon apparently, so it has been suggested that he probably took on the role because of tax incentives (HAHAHAHA!!) so time really hasnt changed the church that much. At the age of sixteen, Patrick was taken prisoner by a group of Irish raiders who were attacking his family's estate...for what cause I doubt anyone knows, although I suspect they got pretty pissed off because the family was out of Guiness. After more than six years as a prisoner, Patrick escaped (the little devil that he was!) According to his writing, a voice—which he believed to be God's—spoke to him in a dream, telling him it was time to leave Ireland. (or maybe he was just scizo...the world may never know) To do so, Patrick walked nearly 200 miles from County Mayo, where it is believed he was held, to the Irish coast....so he's a real good walker. After escaping to Britain, Patrick reported that he experienced a second revelation (a revelation this time, not a vision, so obviously while he was there he got a thesaurus)—-an angel in a dream tells him to return to Ireland as a missionary. Soon after, Patrick began religious training, a course of study that lasted more than fifteen years. After his ordination as a priest, he was sent to Ireland with a dual mission—to minister to Christians already living in Ireland and to begin to convert the Irish. He did so for more than 30 years, battling the original Irish religion and eventually died on March 17, somethin'-somethin' AD. Like 460 AD or somethin. So, in a nutshell, when we look under St. Pat, we should see that he was: a schitzophrenic drunken jailbird whose father was tax-freeloader that could be a marathon runner today. Whoa, he really did deserve a whole day to himself!
St. Patrick's Day is celebrated on March 17, his religious feast day and the anniversary of his death in the fifth century. The Irish have observed this day as a religious holiday for thousands of years. On St. Patrick's Day, which falls during the Christian season of Lent, Irish families would traditionally attend church in the morning and celebrate in the afternoon. Lenten prohibitions against the consumption of meat were waived and people would dance, drink, and feast—on the traditional meal of Irish bacon and cabbage.
The first St. Patrick's Day parade took place not in Ireland, but in the United States. Irish soldiers serving in the English military marched through New York City on March 17, 1762. Along with their music, the parade helped the soldiers to reconnect with their Irish roots, as well as fellow Irishmen serving in the English army. Over the next thirty-five years, Irish patriotism among American immigrants flourished, prompting the rise of so-called "Irish Aid" societies, like the Friendly Sons of Saint Patrick and the Hibernian Society. Each group would hold annual parades featuring bagpipes (which actually first became popular in the Scottish and British armies) and drums.
Today, St. Patrick's Day is celebrated by people of all backgrounds in the United States, Canada, and Australia. Although North America is home to the largest productions, St. Patrick's Day has been celebrated in other locations far from Ireland, including Japan, Singapore, and Russia.
In modern-day Ireland, St. Patrick's Day has traditionally been a religious occasion. In fact, up until the 1970s, Irish laws mandated that pubs be closed on March 17. Beginning in 1995, however, the Irish government began a national campaign to use St. Patrick's Day as an opportunity to drive tourism and showcase Ireland to the rest of the world. Last year, close to one million people took part in Ireland 's St. Patrick's Festival in Dublin, a multi-day celebration featuring parades, concerts, outdoor theater productions, and fireworks shows.
SOME IRISH THINGS TO KNOW:
- 40 million americans can trace their ancestory to Ireland
- Ireland is half the size of arkansas
- In November 1995, the people of Ireland narrowly passed a referendum legalizing divorce.
- The Quiet Man was filmed there. another must see movie! John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara
- Irish tradition says that anyone who kisses the blarney stone, which is located in this town, will be blessed with the Irish "gift of gab": Blarney
- "Erin Go Bragh," a phrase heard often on St. Patrick's Day, means: Ireland Forever
- Some areas in Ireland are known to receive this many inches of rain each year, which accounts for the brilliantly green grass that has earned Ireland the nickname the "emerald isle": 80 inches!
