We’re coming up on St. Patrick’s Day in about a month. I know it’s early, but I don’t have anything else to write about at the moment. Besides, anyone who reads it will have plenty of time to get ready for the day of celebration and be dressed in the traditional green at the neighborhood Irish pub on March 17, the death date of St. Patrick (c. AD 385–461).
If you are Irish or just Irish at heart, do you know where all the celebration comes from?
This special day commemorates Saint Patrick and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland.
It began as a religious feast day for this patron saint of Ireland, but has become an international festival celebrating Irish culture with parades, dancing, some interesting special foods and the wearing of the color green.
It is believed that the celebrated saint was born in the fourth century into a family of wealth and that his father was a deacon and his grandfather was a priest in the Christian Church.
He was kidnapped at the age of 16 and taken as a slave by Irish raiders. He is said to have “found God” while working as a shepherd and was told by God to flee to the coast where a ship would be waiting to take him away. He went on to become a priest, returning to Ireland and converting thousands to Christianity.
Saint Patrick's Day was made an official Christian feast day in the early seventeenth century and is observed by the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion,(especially the Church of Ireland and the Eastern Orthodox and Lutheran Church.
Our culture thinks of St. Patrick’s Day not only as the commemoration of the date of his death, but also as a celebration of the heritage of Irish culture, as evidenced in the many traditional activities such as pub crawling, green beer, wearing of green, parties and even the playing of bagpipes.
Other folks go to church services or have Irish family gatherings.
Following are some Irish words and phrases:
Wearin' o’ the green
Where did that tradition of wearing green come from anyway? Sources say that the St. Patrick’s Day custom of things green, whether it be shamrocks or green clothing (the wearing o’ the green), has passed down through the centuries from 1726, because St. Patrick is said to have used the three-leaved shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity to the pagan Irish
Blarney – Talk that is not true but that is nice and somewhat funny and that may be used to trick someone.
Not the full shilling – Not fully sane.
Bucketing down – Raining.
Irish Blessing –May you have warm words on a cold evening, a full moon on a dark night, and the road downhill all the way to your door
Irish Toast – May you live to be a hundred years, with one extra year to repent.
Those are just representative examples of hundreds of fun and interesting Irish tidbits and history that can be found on the Internet by searching for Irish phrases and blessings. So, have some fun, learn something new about the lively Irish culture and be ready to jump into the conversations at the next Irish gathering.
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