See title, above.
Caid mille failte!
This day, March 17th, is now a national holiday in Ireland, celebrating the culture of the Irish people, complete with a week long festival held in Dublin (not Ohio) featuring parades, music, art, and plays.
The original idea behind St. Patrick's Day was to commemorate the life of said saint, the man who is credited with helping to firmly establish Christianity in Ireland. It was originally only a holy day for Irish Catholics.
March 17 was chosen as it was his date of death, in 461 A.D.
Note I said "A.D.", and not the ever-increasingly used "BCE", or, Before the Common Era, for those who despise religiosity in all its forms.
While there are certainly more revels leading up to the holiday than in the past in Ireland, there (fortunately) is no equivalent to the green beer driven Bacchanalia that has evolved here in the US.
Whether you are Irish by birth, ancestrally in part, or just like to wear green once a year, here's a hearty Happy St. Patrick's Day wish for you and yours!
And it is not St. Paddy's Day, either; many Irish consider "Paddy" to be stereotypical and untoward, although many Patricks are called Paddy.
Time for some Irish stew and soda bread!
Bushmills, Bailey's and Guinness are permitted, in moderation today.
Not certain why a certain university named for a French cathedral has taken Fighting Irish for the name of it's sports teams, however.
Slainte!
Ramblings of a 60 Year Old Man - My thoughts on just about anything, in no particular order; Robert Thomas - author.
Thank you for the tutelage. I am oblivious to the BCE suffix you refer to. One more for the scrapheap.
ReplyDeleteCE "Common Era" and BCE "Before Common Era" have been used by the non-Christian world (most of Asia and the Mid-East) for decades. I learned about it in high school, so it's at least that old. So, it not just for those who "despise religiosity", but those who choose not to associate the common era with Christianity.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the additional tutelage!!
I've also seen Before the Christian Era. It's even used in Liguorian, although the writer was taken to task for it. Apparently, it's the historically correct method of today for scholars. I still prefer the old ways!
ReplyDeleteLooked at Irish foods for dinner, but they took too long for the time I had. We had spaghetti.
ReplyDeleteI actually read that Ireland is only the third largest consumer of Guiness in the world behind the UK and Nigeria of all places.
ReplyDelete