I do so love St. Patrick's Day.
I'm sure somewhere I have an Irish gene..
a wee bit unlikely, but even blarney is Irish! :-)
How much of what we know is myth? How much truth?
I think I found some answers:
Shamrocks:
"St. Patrick used this simple green herb to explain the concept of The
Holy Trinity – The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit – and how they
could all exist as separate elements of the same entity. His followers
adopted the custom of wearing a shamrock on his feast day."
The Wearing of the Green:
"With 10 times the population of Ireland in the US claiming Irish
ancestry, one in four Britons doing the same, and countless more in
other countries around the world, it seems that people wishing to become
‘Irish for the day’ have opted for the green of the Irish flag to
express their Irishness. In fact, in the US, it’s not uncommon to spot
folks sporting hand-drawn shamrocks on their cheeks with streaks of
green running through their hair.
"One of the reasons that one wears green on St. Patrick's Day is because
the Catholic side of Ireland is identified with green, and St. Patrick
is a Catholic Saint credited with converting the island to Christianity.
Whereas the Protestants are identified with orange, and are often
called "Orangemen," as in King William the Orange. The clashes in
Ireland between the Catholics and Protestants are often clashes of the
green and the orange. The irony is that the Irish flag, is supposed to
represent the unity of the two with the white between the two colors
representing unity. The traditional pinching of a person who wears
orange on St. Patrick's Day is a mild form of the violence that has so
often occurred in the past as both factions have had St. Patrick's Day
marches/parades. In Ireland, you only wear green if you are Catholic.
Protestants all wear orange. The US does not observe this tradition. The
day is celebrated with parades, green beer and lots of shamrock
decorations. On St. Paddy's day, everyone is Irish."
"History: Just before the 1798 Rebellion in Ireland if you wore a
shamrock in your hat, it signified your support for the Rebellion. Hence
the saying "the wearing of the green." Green was also the colour of
"Society of United Irishmen," a republican revoluntionary organisation.
This organisation launched the 1798 Rebellion and may I add that the
forefathers/founders of this Organisation, despite public misconception
were a mixture of Presbyterians, Church of Ireland and Catholics."
"Another answer: The wearing of Green stems from the ancient Celtic
practice of wearing green during the Vernal Equinox to celebrate the
rebirth of the Earth. When Christianity invaded Ireland, many of the
Irish traditions were adopted into practice, to make conversion easier.
Saint Patrick included using bonfires and adopted the symbol of the sun
onto the cross, creating what is now known as the Celtic Cross. Since
the local Pagan population was hesitant to give up wearing green, that
too was adopted. It should be noted that St. Patrick's original color
was blue."
Myth or Truth?
"The Irish didn’t always look so kindly on donning the color green. Irish
folklore considered the color unlucky as it was the favorite shade of
the Good People – leprechauns. Those who wore too much of the color –
especially children – could be stolen away. Some cynics may tell you
there are no such things as leprechauns, but there are those who beg to
differ. True believers will swear that if you take a stroll along a
quiet country lane in Ireland, you can actually hear the mischievous
leprechauns giggling by the side of the road."
Snakes in Ireland?
"First, let’s tackle the snakes. Apart from our modern-day zoos, it’s
true that there are no snakes slithering around the green isle. But this
has little to do with St. Patrick and probably more to do with the fact
that there have never been any indigenous snakes in Ireland. Driving
the snakes from Ireland was most likely symbolic of putting an end to
pagan practices, which disappeared from Ireland in the centuries after
St. Patrick introduced the seeds of Christianity."
Ireland or America?
"Until the 1970s, St. Patrick's Day in Ireland was a minor religious
holiday. A priest would acknowledge the feast day, and families would
celebrate with a big meal, but that was about it.
"St. Patrick's Day was basically invented in America by Irish-Americans," Freeman said.
Irish-American history expert
Timothy Meagher
said Irish charitable organizations originally celebrated St. Patrick's
Day with banquets in places such as Boston, Massachusetts; Savannah,
Georgia; and Charleston, South Carolina.
Eighteenth-century Irish
soldiers fighting with the British in the U.S. Revolutionary War held
the first St. Patrick's Day parades. Some soldiers, for example,
marched through New York City in 1762 to reconnect with their Irish
roots.
Other parades followed in the years and decades after,
including well-known celebrations in Boston, Philadelphia, and Chicago,
primarily in flourishing Irish immigrant communities.
"It becomes
a way to honor the saint but also to confirm ethnic identity and to
create bonds of solidarity," said Meagher, of Catholic University in
Washington, D.C.."
The River Green
"Sometime in the 19th century, as St. Patrick's Day parades were
flourishing, wearing the color green became a show of commitment to
Ireland, Meagher said.
In 1962 the show of solidarity took a spectacular turn in
Chicago when the city decided to dye a portion of the Chicago River green.
The
tradition started when parade organizer Steve Bailey, head of a
plumbers' union, noticed how a dye used to trace possible sources of
river pollution had stained a colleague's overalls a brilliant green,
according to
greenchicagoriver.com.
Why not use the dye to turn the whole river green on St. Patrick's Day, Bailey thought. So began the tradition.
The
environmental impact of the dye is minimal compared with pollution
such as bacteria from sewage-treatment plants, said Margaret Frisbie,
the executive director of the advocacy group
Friends of the Chicago River."
Shamrock or Clover
"..... the custom of wearing a shamrock dates back to the 17th and 18th
centuries, and "I know of no evidence to say what people then used. I
think the argument on authenticity is purely academic—basically I'd
guess they used anything cloverlike then."
St. Patrick
S ent to Ireland by God,
T aken there by force.
P atrick tended his flock
A nd listened to the Lord.
T ime ended his bondage
R eturning as a free man.
I nspiring with stories and service,
C eltic Christians honored him,
K eeping his memory forever green.
Thank you for playing along.. It's time for a Guinness...
"On any given day 5.5 million pints of Guinness, the famous Irish stout brand, are consumed around the world.
But
on St. Patrick's Day, that number more than doubles to 13 million
pints, said Beth Davies Ryan, global corporate-relations director of
Guinness.
"Historically speaking, a lot of Irish immigrants came
to the United States and brought with them lots of customs and
traditions, one of them being Guinness," she said.
Today, the
U.S. tradition of St. Patrick's Day parades, packed pubs, and green
silliness has invaded Ireland with full force, said Freeman, the
classics professor.
The country, he noted, figured out that the popularity of St. Patrick's Day was a good way to boost spring tourism."
Cast:
Irish Linen Placemats
Bordallo Pinheiro Cabbage Charger Plates
Wedgwood Windsor Dinner Plates
French Arcorac? Maybe Salad Plates
Estate Sale Mixed Silver Flatware
Ralph Lauren Napkins
Stein Mart Napkin rings
Handblown in France Purchased in Santa Fe, NM Water Goblets
Dollar Tree Wine Glasses
Candle holders and Plant are both Unknowns
