More thoughts on St. Patrick's Day

This whole article started off with a simple thought. “St. Patrick’s day is coming, and wouldn’t it be fun to find an Irish flag to fly off the patio?” Now you have to understand a few things: One, I do have some Irish roots, and I have proven that to the Irish Government’s satisfaction. A Certificate of Irish Heritage hangs on my office wall to prove it. I’ve already mentioned my trip to Cill Airne agus Corcaigh (Killarney and Cork) in 1997, and the three things we learned about Lá Fhéile Pádraig-St. Patrick’s day-while there. (You can read about that here.) I’ve found that-besides all the obvious silly green paraphernalia-there’s not a small enough flag available locally to fly off our patio. The only one I could find was a 3’ x 5’ job, which might have doubled as a bedspread were I so inclined. The search for this has given me pause, however. (Hence this blog article.) 

One other thought comes to mind on how Americans celebrate St. Patrick’s day: it’s smack in the middle of Lent, which means consuming copious amounts of booze is generally frowned upon by the Church as there are some who gave up booze for Lent. I was pleased to find a sober St.Patrick’s Day party in New York; one could only hope that concept takes root elsewhere. (Check out the webpage for it here...after you’re done reading the rest of the blog, if you don’t mind.)

Back to my thought: If this one day is theoretically celebrating all things Irish, you’d think I’d find Irish flags all over the place. Granted, this year there’s a lot more push to market Easter-which is another blog for another time. This year, Easter is early. (Thought: is it proper to consume a chocolate cross at Easter? Should such things even be sold?) In North America, the day certainly doesn’t seem to be much about a sainted Christian, one who has been credited with bringing the Christian faith to Ireland. And after going back through my pictures and digitizing 42 of them to get a feel for that trip once again, I can’t say that I saw too many Irish Princess tiaras, shirts telling people about how much beer they planned to drink, or even men pinching women’s hindquarters if they weren’t wearing green. (And I pity the idiot who tried pinching a woman wearing orange, as there are a few Protestants living outside Northern Ireland. That chap would likely get slugged into the next county.) It’s no longer even a celebration of Irishness, it seems. It appears to be more and more focused on a stereotype the Irish are really starting to fight: the drunk. In fact, I suspect Patrick would be somewhat appalled at how Americans celebrate a day which was meant to honor him, his legacy-and his Christian faith.  

So...celebrate as you will, but keep in mind some of what I’ve said. Yes, I’ll be wearing something green that day; what that is will be depending on the weather. As for the flag that I’ve been looking for, the item that inspired all this writing tonight...I found one online, and even with shipping it’s ten bucks. It’s a nice looking cotton job with brass grommets, 12” by 18”. I’ll probably order it before the first of the month. The saddest part is the pole and bracket I’m going to have to get to fly it properly-as well as an American flag when those days to fly Old Glory come-will cost more than the flag will. 

Now that’s wrong in and of itself. 

Enough for now.

The Truth About St. Patrick's Day....

As I write this, tomorrow will be St. Patrick's Day. Many Americans will use this for an excuse (as if they truly need one) to swill green beer by the litre, wear green (and pinch those who don't), eat corned beef and cabbage as penance for all that green beer, adopt a rather bad Irish accent and pretend they have Irish roots.

In short, many Americans will use this as an excuse to party to excess. Those of us who actually have Celtic/Pict roots will go through the day and wonder what the fuss is about. However, we'll celebrate with everyone else.

There are three things I learned about St. Patrick's Day when I went to Killarney, County Kerry, Ireland in 1997. I share these with you:

1. St. Patrick's Day--Lá Fhéile Pádraig--is a Holy Day of Obligation in Ireland. That means, in layman's terms, nothing opens until after noon Mass--if anything opens at all. Most places that do open are usually for the tourists who come to visit. Parades on St. Patrick's Day in Ireland are a fairly new thing--dating from the 18th century.

2. Many Irish don't like corned beef and cabbage any more than you do. They are more likely to have mutton or salmon, and potatoes for dinner.

3. Green beer is repugnant to the Irish. In fact, the national drink is Guinness--which is a brown stout! If you are successful in turning it green, it's not fit for drinking. Many others will have Harp; it's a lager--but best served without dye.
Sláinte Mhaith--good health to you.

Enough for now.

(Posted 3/16/09)

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