If you\u2019re lucky enough to be Irish\u2026 you\u2019re lucky enough. I guess that\u2019s especially true today. Today is St. Patrick\u2019s Day, a day to celebrate \u2014 yep, Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland credited with converting the nation to Christianity. This day, March 17th, is the observation of the death of St. Patrick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As is tradition here on \u201cWhat Would Jimmy Do,\u201d I usually talk about St. Patrick because \u2014 well, because it\u2019s St. Patricks Day. I also have a beer \u2014 sometimes it\u2019s even a Guinness.
We all know that St. Patrick was not Irish, he was English, and his given name was Maewyn Succat. If his name hadn\u2019t been changed, we\u2019s be celebrating Maewyn Day today.\u00a0
St. Patrick\u2019s Day commemorates the arrival of Christianity in Ireland \u2014 in the year 432.
St. Patrick was kidnapped when he was 16 years old by a group of Irish raiders that attacked his family\u2019s estate. He was taken to Ireland by his kidnappers and worked there attending sheep before he escaped and became a priest.
Today, people traditionally wear green and eat corned beef and cabbage\u2026 even though corned beef isn\u2019t an Irish dish \u2014it\u2019s English.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Between 1903 and 1970, all\/most pubs in Ireland were closed on St. Patrick\u2019s Day because it was a religious holiday. After 1970, the holiday was reclassified as a national<\/em> holiday and the Irish started drinking \u2014 on St. Patricks Day. I\u2019m not sure how many pubs will be open in Ireland today\u2026 this year a lot of St. Patrick festivities \u2014 worldwide \u2014 like the parades and dying the Chicago River green have been cancelled because of the coronavirus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But it\u2019s still St. Patrick\u2019s Day, and we can all still be Irish today. They say that finding a four leaf clover on St. Patrick\u2019s Day is especially lucky\u2026 we can all use some luck. And maybe we can all become friends \u2014 the Irish say a best friend is like a four leaf clover: hard to find and lucky to have. If you\u2019re lucky enough to be Irish\u2026 you\u2019re lucky enough. I guess that\u2019s especially true today. Today is St. Patrick\u2019s Day, a day to celebrate \u2014 yep, Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland credited with converting the nation to … Continue reading
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