Wearing of the Green

Happy St. Patrick’s Day. Seems like every year I think it’s necessary to write something about St. Patrick or green, or beer, or Ireland, or something….
Well, might as well carry on the tradition, even though there is a limited amount of material and most of whatever winds up here has already been said — probably even by me.

Saint Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland, even though he wasn’t Irish. His real name was Maewyn Sccat — his Romaniciaed name was Patricius, that later became Patrick. He was born in Britain to wealthy parents and was taken prisoner when he was about sixteen by a group of Irish raiders that attacked his family’s estate. He was taken to Ireland and pretty much kept as a slave for six years. He wrote about hearing God’s voice in a dream telling him it was time to leave Ireland. He escaped and walked nearly 200 miles to the Irish coast.

After returning to Britain, Patrick has a second dream in which a angel told him to return to Ireland as a missionary. Based on that dream, Patrick began his religious training, studying more than fifteen years, becoming a priest and later a bishop. He was sent to Ireland where his mission lasted more than thirty years. St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated on the day of his death (March 17 in AC 461.)

The significance of green — while pretty much universal around here, in Ireland identifies you as Catholic. Irish Protestants are identified with orange…
Just before the 1798 Rebellion in Ireland if you wore a shamrock in your hat, it signified your support for the Rebellion. That contributed to the saying, “the wearing of the green.”

So here’s to St. Patrick and his day….
Here’s to a long life and a merry one.
A quick death and an easy one
A pretty girl and an honest one
A cold beer – and another one!
—30—