St Patrick’s Day

Over the years, my mom and I have spent many hours trying to trace the Cross linage. The war of 1812 and the burning of all the records in the Maryland area have caused us a load grief.  We can get back to the early 1800s, but no further. I would really like to know if William Cross, born in the late 1790s, was English or Irish. My sister and I are hoping Irish, because we both love the music.

This Tuesday, March 17^th, is St Patrick’s Day. In honor of that, I decided to do a little searching about the holiday. Since I knew very little, almost everything here is from a smattering of Googled sources. Take it with a grain of salt. AI is good but sometimes can go a little sideways.

St Patrick’s Day commemorates the death of Ireland's patron saint and the arrival of Christianity. No he didn’t wear green; it was St Patrick blue. He was 4^th century British, not Irish. He also never chased the snake out of Ireland. There weren’t any snakes there to start with.

There are some really interesting facts I have been able to sort through.

• ·       One source says that people started to wear green because they thought it made them invisible to leprechauns. It seems they like to pinch you when you are not looking.
• ·       Many Protestants began to wear orange to differentiate them from Catholics who favored green.
• ·       The Irish flag is green orange and white: often described as green for Catholics, orange for protestants, and white for peace between them.
• ·       Leprechauns are likely based on Celtic fairies.
• ·       St Patrick was said to try to explain the trinity using shamrocks (3 leaf clovers).
• ·       The first recorded St. Patrick’s Day parade took place in St. Augustine, Florida in 1601, not Ireland.
• ·       Chicago dyes its river green for the festival.
• ·       The green food, shamrock shakes, green beer, and classic meals like corned beef & cabbage are Irish-American, not Irish. In Ireland they have Irish bacon and cabbage.
• ·       St Patrick’s real name was Maewyn Succat. (Ya, I’m glad they changed it.) 
• ·       Irish refugees who came to America during the 1845 potato blight were looked down upon. The immigrants began to rely on St. Patrick’s Day to proudly celebrate their cultural identity, and the American public eventually embraced the Irish.

The Irish have certainly left their mark on American culture and helped shape our history. Whether you wear green or orange, pinch or not pinch, or just avoid it all together, I hope you have a grand St Patrick’s Day Tuesday. Now I want a Shamrock Shake…

 

I leave you with a traditional Irish blessing.

"May you have warm words on a cold evening,

a full moon on a dark night,

and a smooth road all the way to your door".

 

Excelsior!