...about St. Patrick's Day!
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Who was St. Patrick?
St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland and one of Christianity's most widely known figures. Despite his celebrity, his life remains somewhat of a mystery. Many of the stories traditionally associated with St. Patrick, including the famous account of his banishing all the snakes from Ireland, are false, the products of hundreds of years of exaggerated storytelling. (Imagine the Irish embellishing and telling stories!)
What is known about St. Patrick is that he was born in Britain to wealthy parents in 385 and named Maewyn Succat. He is believed to have died on March 17, 461 A.D. It is not believed that his family was particularly religious and he was most likely drawn to the clergy initially because of the tax incentives associated with it. At the age of sixteen, Patrick was taken prisoner by a group of Irish raiders who were attaching his family's estate. They transported him to Ireland where he spent six years in captivity working as a shepherd, outdoors and away from people. During this time he turned to his religion for solace and become a devout Christian. Eventually he escaped and walked nearly 200 miles from County Mayo to the Irish coast and escaped to Britain where one night he had a dream telling him to return to Ireland as a missionary. Soon after he began religious training which lasted 15 years. Following his ordination he returned to Ireland as a priest with a dual mission to minister to Christians already living in Ireland and to begin to convert the Irish.
There were a small number of Christians on the island when he arrived but the majority of the Irish were practicing a nature-based pagan religion. Patrick is credited with taking many of those traditions and mixing them with Christianity including developing the Celtic Cross. Patrick is credited with managing the church in Ireland including dividing Ireland into diocese and building monasteries.
The History of the Holiday
St. Patrick's Day is celebrated on the anniversary of Patrick's death. The Irish have observed this day as a religious holiday for thousands of years. Irish families would traditionally attend church in the morning and celebrate in the afternoon. Lenten restrictions on the the consumption of meat was waived and people would dance, drink and feast.
The first 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.
Many Irish Catholics immigrated to the US as a result of the Great Potato Famine of 1845. Despised for their religious beliefs and funny accents by the American Protestant majority, the immigrants had trouble finding even menial jobs. When they took to the streets annually to celebrate St. Patrick's Day they were portrayed in newspaper cartoons as drunk, violent monkeys. However, they soon began to realize that their great numbers endowed them as a political power that had yet to be exploited. Suddenly St. Patrick's Day celebrations and parades became a show of strength. The first president to attend a St. Patrick's Day parade was President Truman in 1948.
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, it has been celebrated in other locations far from Ireland, including Japan, Singapore and Russia.
Quotes and Anecdotes
Samuel Johnson once said, "the Irish are a fair people, they never speak well of one another." So, naturally, Brendan Behan, that bad boy of Irish literature, had the Irish insult down to a fine art: "If it was raining soup, the Irish would go out with forks."
Father O'Malley was going through the post one day. Drawing a single sheet of paper from an envelope, he found written on it just one word: "FOOL." The next Sunday at Mass, he announced, "I have known many people who have written letters and forgot to sign their names. But this week I received a letter from someone who signed his name and forgot to write a letter."
Have you heard about the Irish boomerang? It doesn't come back, it just sings sad songs about how much it wants to.
"Being Irish, I have an abiding sense of tragedy which sustains me through temporary periods of joy." --W.B. Yeats
"Always forgive your enemies. Nothing annoys them so much." --Oscar Wilde
A Belfast newspaper reported on the launching of an aircraft carrier and recorded:
The Duchess smashed the bottle against the bow and amid the applause of the crowd she slid on her greasy bottom into the sea
Julio Iglesias was being interviewed by British TV host Anne Diamond when he used the word 'manyana'. Diamond asked him to explain what it meant. He said that the term means "maybe the job will be done to-morrow, maybe the next day, maybe the day after that. Perhaps next week, next month, next year. Who cares?" The host turned to Irishman Shay Brennan who was also on the show and asked him if there was an equivalent term in Irish. "No. In Ireland we don't have a word to describe that degree of urgency", replied Brennan.
Often the true stories are more humorous than made-up jokes: A young girl came to the late Father Healy of Cork, and sadly made her confession: "Father, I fear I've committed the sin of vanity," she announced. "What makes you think that?" asked her father-confessor. "Because every morning, when I look in the mirror, I cannot help but think how beautiful I am." "Never fear, colleen," was the reassuring reply. "That isn't a sin; it's only a mistake."
Sir Lewis Morris was complaining to Oscar Wilde about the neglect of his poems by the press. "It's a conspiracy of silence," he declared, "What do you think I should do?" "Join it!" suggested Wilde.
"True friends stab you in the front." --Oscar Wild
Irish Trivia
Which famous ship was built in Ireland? The Titanic was built at the Harland & Wolff shipyard in Ireland
Which five-line poem style is named after an Irish county? The Limerick, named after Limerick County, is noted by the 1st, 2nd and 5th lines rhyming and the 3rd and 4th lines rhyming.
What symbolism did St Patrick give the shamrock? St. Patrick used the shamrock to signify the Holy Trinity: The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The "lucky" shamrock has 4 petals.
Which colors are on the flag of Ireland? Green to signify the Irish Catholics and the Republic Cause, orange to represent Irish Protestants, and white to represent the hope for peace between them.
What is the national symbol of Ireland? The Celtic Harp
HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!
Received via email from my brother and I have tried to trace the source and can't seem to find it.
