This is St. Patrick\u2019s Day… St. Patrick\u2019s Day wasn\u2019t a particularly big deal where I grew up, at least not so much as it is in other places. I remember that St. Patrick supposedly drove the snakes out of Ireland and everyone was supposed to wear green on that day or someone\/everyone could \u201cpinch\u201d you. The dish of the day was corned beef and cabbage and all the places that sold beer always had green beer on St. Patrick\u2019s Day. There were never any St. Patrick\u2019s Day parades anywhere in Oklahoma, or the neighboring states \u2014 at least that I knew of.<\/p>\n
We all think of St. Patrick as Irish but, in fact, he wasn\u2019t… he was born to Roman parents in Scotland or Wales in the late fourth century. He introduced Christianity to Ireland in the year 432. And \u2014 not only was he not Irish, his name wasn\u2019t even Patrick. His birth name was Maewyn Succat…. he changed his name to Patricius when he became a priest.<\/p>\n
Even though his name isn\u2019t Patrick and he\u2019s really British, not Irish, St. Patrick\u2019s Day is a big deal to the Irish and in the land where he became famous. Today is a national holiday in both Ireland and Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n
If not even being Irish isn\u2019t enough to discourage you \u2014 green wasn\u2019t really his color. His color was \u201cSaint Patrick\u2019s blue\u201d that is, a light shade of blue. The color green only became associated with St. Patrick\u2019s Day after it was linked to the Irish independence movement in the late 18th century. Want more? For most of the 20th century, St. Patrick\u2019s Day was considered a strictly religious holiday in Ireland and that meant that the nation\u2019s pubs were closed on March 17.<\/p>\n
Now how about the snakes… surely St. Patrick really did perform that feat. Well, it\u2019s true that St. Patrick gets credit for driving all the snakes our of Ireland \u2014 but \u2014 it probably wasn\u2019t much of an accomplishment given that scientists indicate that Ireland has never been home to any snakes. Through the Ice Age, Ireland was too cold to host any reptiles and the surrounding seas have staved off snakes ever since.<\/p>\n
When I was growing up in Oklahoma, we referred to the three-leaved plants that sprouted up in our grass as clover. I don\u2019t think they\u2019re exactly the same, but something that looks very similar, called shamrocks, is associated with St. Patrick. According to Irish legend, St. Patrick used the three-leafed plant as a metaphor for the Holy Trinity when he was first introducing Christianity to Ireland.<\/p>\n
A lot of people say that on St. Patrick\u2019s Day, everyone is Irish; and… if you\u2019re lucky enough to really<\/em> be Irish…. you\u2019re lucky enough! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This is St. Patrick\u2019s Day… St. Patrick\u2019s Day wasn\u2019t a particularly big deal where I grew up, at least not so much as it is in other places. I remember that St. Patrick supposedly drove the snakes out of Ireland … Continue reading
\nHappy St. Patrick\u2019s Day.
\n\u2014 30 \u2014<\/p>\n