Celebration of St. Patrick’s Day abounds.
It’s that time of year again. Remember the dread you felt when you realized you’d come to school without wearing a stitch of green on Saint Patrick’s Day? I admit, every St. Paddy’s Day I still do an inventory of my clothing looking for green. Why do I care? Is a school-boy going to pinch me?
A fun shamrock on a front door
Imagine my surprise when I did a Google search and discovered blue was the color originally associated with St. Paddy’s Day and somehow switched to green in the 17th century. Few facts about Saint Patrick can be verified. I even checked with the library’s history department and was told we don’t know much about him; most is folklore. He didn’t rid the land of snakes as legend tells us, and it’s unlikely he compared the Trinity to the shamrock.
A welcoming front door!
A few interesting tidbits I uncovered: By the seventh century, Saint Patrick was the patron saint of Ireland, but he was not Irish. He was kidnapped at age 16 from his home in Great Britain and taken as a slave to Ireland. After six years, he escaped and returned to his family. He became a cleric and went back to Ireland. He served as an ordained bishop and spent his last 30 years in Ireland, baptizing pagans, ordaining priests, and founding churches and monasteries. Ireland fully converted to Christianity within 200 years and was the only country in Europe to Christianize peacefully.
Here in the Evergreen State (Washington) we are surrounded by green; Seattle was nicknamed the Emerald City. But I’d better dig through my wardrobe and wear the few pieces I own. Are you wearing green? Do you celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day? If so, how? Do you watch a parade? Do you enjoy a traditional Irish meal? I don’t know that I’ve eaten one and would love to hear about it.
Almost too pretty to eat. Just kidding!
Should you wish to enter to win a signed copy of either Leaving Lancaster or Pennsylvania Patchwork let me know in your comment! Winner will be chosen by random and has one week to respond. USA and Canada.
Congratulations to Christine M, last week’s winner of a signed copy of Leaving Lancaster or Pennsylvania Patchwork!
To be Released on June 1, 2014
Would love to be entered in the drawing. We try and wear green…just to not get pinched but I really hate the whole pinch thing…it’s more about being Mean trying to find people to pinch…I deal with it all day with my little guys trying to catch each other without their green on…or telling them that the non green sweatshirt cancels out their underneath green shirt..sigh…..
The kids love the true story of St Patrick though….a true Saint following God, not man’s edicts.
I’m not crazy about the pinching either, Nat. I drove past a grade-school yesterday and saw most of the kids were clad in green. I wondered if kind teachers had brought spare buttons or paper shamrock to school for the children whose parents forgot. I enjoyed reading about Saint Patrick and the amazing conversion of Ireland. Thanks for entering the contest and good luck!
Thanks, Kate for this interesting post. I learned a lot about St Patrick that I didn’t know.
Our family celebrates with a meal of corned beef, cabbage, and red potatoes. Then we watch Disney’s Darby O’ Gill and the Little People, or John Wayne & Maureen O’ Hara in The Quiet Man, while enjoying mint chocolate chip ice cream shakes to top off a perfectly green day! ~ Kathleen
It sounds as though you enjoy a most fun and delicious day, Kathleen! Thanks for writing and sharing your family’s traditions!