Happy St. Patrick's Day




I am not Irish.  I am probably one of the few mutt-Americans who has no Irish ancestry to claim.  I am Scottish.  And Welsh.  And English.  But not Irish.  However, I would not be a self-respecting Irish dancer if I did not do my part to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. I am all showed-out, and the nursing home circuit is done, by the way. I read an article today that said,"When you learn that everything you thought of St. Patrick's Day is a lie, the holiday kind of sucks." I disagree.

First, I disagree because all of their things were things I already knew.  Yes, it's true that corned beef and cabbage is not actually Irish.  It is Irish-American.  It is true that the Shamrock is not the symbol of Ireland, the harp is.  But shamrocks were used by St. Patrick to illustrate the trinity, so it's still an appropriate symbol. Yes, St. Patrick's color is blue.  But the color of Irish Nationalists, and Irish Catholics, is green.  And yes, most of the celebrations of St. Patrick's Day as we know it did not originate in Ireland--they originated in the United States so that Irish immigrants could demonstrate solidarity and respect their roots.  But why is that a bad thing?  I think that's a fine thing to celebrate.  And no, it's not about drinking.  Is that the only thing on this planet worth celebrating? Last, but not least, St. Patrick wasn't Irish.



It's true, but that's a main part of why I like him so much.  St. Patrick was British.  Roman-British to be exact.  He was probably rich.  When he was young, he was abducted by Irish druids and lived in Ireland as a slave. Eventually, he returned to England and learned of Christianity.  It gave him so much joy, that he wanted everyone to have that joy--including his abductors, captors and slavers, the Irish. 

And I can really celebrate St. Patrick.  So sorry that it's not REALLY about drinking and dying random things green (though I love the dying random things green...not the drinking, though).  But it is about loving everyone and being a good missionary and ambassador of Jesus Christ.  In fact, in my opinion, St. Patrick's Day is more about love than St. Valentine's Day.  Just saying.

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