Even if you're not Irish, you're in luck this St. Patrick's Day because we all have a dispensation to drink (Why is not the same allowed in 2 days time on 19 March for Jozef’s Day?). For me, St Patrick is even more special as it is my confirmation name. Yesterday over Vivien’s expresso a group of magnificent seven ; ) discussed the underdogs mentioned in the book Dirt Cheap. Irish and Slavs have always been the underdogs and I assume that is one of the reasons I chose the name at the age of 16. On the light note Andy noted how everything is possible. Although St Patrick’s day falls in the Lenten season, the 40 days prior to Easter restrictions of meat and alcohol, which are in place during Lent, these by some miracle were lifted and people would feast on the Irish meal of bacon and cabbage and drowning it with beer...
Here's what's cooking for St. Patrick's Day Shave or waste tomorrow, St. Patrick's Day, when everybody's Irish
A three-leafed clover Everybody is Irish on St. Patrick’s Day
It is a holiday known for wearing green and drinking. But why, when St. Patrick’s Day has roots in religion and politics? The Leprechaun; The Shamrock
St. Patrick’s Day is March 17, the religious feast day of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, and a day when those with Irish lineage celebrate their heritage.
A lot of legends surround the story of St. Patrick, yet there is not a lot of definitive information.
He was born in Britain and came to Ireland through slavery. He worked as a shepherd for more than six years. During that time he was alone with only sheep and his thoughts on top of a mountain. He turned to God for companionship.
St. Patrick, in his own writings, said that while dreaming he heard a voice, which he thought to be God, told him to leave Ireland. He escaped and returned to Britain, where he devoted his life to God by becoming a priest.
Then St. Patrick had another dream in which a voice told him to return to Ireland as a missionary and convert the Irish to Christianity.
One of the best-known stories about St. Patrick is how he drove all the snakes out of Ireland. Since there are no snakes in Ireland, and most likely never were, this tale is thought to be a symbolic metaphor of St. Patrick bringing Christianity to the country, driving out its pagan beliefs.
• Snakes and Symbols [St. Patrick's Day may be about celebrating the Irish, but it's actually... ; Trinity -- the Father, Son and Holy Ghost ]
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• · · St. Patrick's Day is rich with myths and legends regarding Irish customs. In addition to wearing something green and wishing on a four-leaf clover, other Irish customs include kissing the Blarney stone and searching for a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow Dishing up ways to enjoy St. Patrick's ; If it seems everyone is wearing green today, consider that the number of Americans who claim Irish ancestry is second only to the number who claim German ancestry St. Patrick's Day by the numbers
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• · · · · · Far from being a saint, until he was 16, he considered himself a pagan. He escaped from slavery after six years and went to Gaul where he studied in the monastery under St. Germain, bishop of Auxerre for a period of twelve years. Piping Hot Customs and Traditions; The History of St. Patrick's Day