January 17th - St. Patrick's Day

 

Today marks the end of the big three of College Holidays.  St. Patrick’s Day is known on campuses around the country as a time to drink copious amounts of green beer, black and tans, and toxic levels of Jameson’s Irish Whisky.  It’s a time to wear green, and cling to the smallest bit of Irish lineage in order to be able to pull off the “Kiss Me, I’m Irish” t-shirt.

And while yes, I will be doing some of these things, I wanted to go beyond what I did in college.  Like with every holiday during this project, I wanted to dig a little deeper and understand why we celebrate Pat on March 17^th of every year.

St. Patrick was a 4^th century British priest who was kidnapped by Irish raiders as a child and held as a slave.  Legend has it that God came to Patrick in a vision and helped him escape back to the British mainland.  Then, like the good Catholic he was, Patrick later went back to Ireland to spread Christianity.  He allegedly used the shamrock, which was plentiful on the Irish countryside, to explain the Holy Trinity to the polytheistic Irish people.  This is the big reason why "wearing the green" is such a big part of St. Patrick's Day, as it represents the shamrock (the shamrock was more important than Patrick, apparently, as the color associated with him was traditionally blue).

What is interesting is that the first occurrences of the celebration here in America were not Catholic in origin.  Because the majority of Irish immigrants were Protestant, the day was used less to celebrate the contributions of St. Patrick and more to celebrate Irish heritage.  This theme has held true to present day, and St. Patrick’s Day can be seen, more than anything, as a day to commemorate the contributions of Irish culture to the United States.

These contributions are what interests me the most.  My mother's mother is Irish, and a deep sense of Irish pride is felt all across my family.  With 10 brothers and sisters in the Brooks clan, there's a lot of it to go around.  The Irish often get a bum rap, and are stereotyped as drunken louts that talk like an army of Lucky Charms spokespeople.  And yes, Ireland has produced many a soul who enjoys a pint of Guinness over a meaningful contribution to society.  But it's also produced James Joyce (Ulysses), Samuel Beckett (Waiting for Godot), Oscar Wilde (The Importance of Being Ernest), and countless other artists, musicians, playwrights and dancers.  Irish immigrants helped build railroads, design the White House, and helped to lay the foundation upon which this nation was created.

My celebration today included wearing green and listening to some Ireland-inspired tunes.  Some may put Dropkick Murphy’s or Flogging Molly on repeat during their St. Patrick’s Day festivities.  And while I certainly love those bands, for me, the discussion about the best St. Patrick’s Day song begins and ends with the Pogues...

Tonight's celebration included a traditional boiled dinner of corned beef, potatoes, carrots, and cabbage (which has made my house stink to high heaven).

And plenty of green beer...

Erin go bragh!