St Patrick's Day

March 17 celebrates St. Patrick's Day and yet most people have no idea the origin.  There really was a St. Patrick dating back to 390 AD and was likely born in Wales, but he was a Roman Citizen.  He was taken to Ireland to work as a slave by Irish raiders.  During that time, he found God and is a key player in bringing Christianity into Ireland.  Funny how that turned into an over-indulgent drinking holiday for many people.
There are a few things that I found interesting about this holiday and the first was the color green being associated with St. Patrick's Day.  Actually, the color worn was known as St. Patrick's blue-- a light color with shades of green, but not green as green is considered UNLUCKY!  This was traditionally the color from 1783-1921.
Prior to 1971, the holiday was a religious feast and all pubs were required to be closed.  Now, while drinking seems to be the point of the holiday for many, in Ireland, they do not offer green beer.
The shamrock is not the national symbol of Ireland and while it is associated with St. Patrick, that shamrock is a three leafed clover, not the "lucky" four leafed clover.  The three leafed clover is symbolic of the Holy Trinity.
St. Patrick's Day parades began in the US and started with a parade in New York City in 1762.  The first St. Patrick's Day parade in Ireland was in 1931.
St. Patrick actually died on March 17 but that was not his birthday.

Many Americans celebrate St. Patrick's Day with corned beef and cabbage and it is believed that eating this dish started here because the Irish wife would go to the local Jewish deli and get the cured meat.  Paring it with cabbage was inexpensive and the delicious dish took hold.  In Ireland, a family would likely have had pork and potatoes.
Funny how all this has evolved into something strange and different from the original roots.  Growing up I always panicked because I didn't have a green shirt and would claim my hazel eyes were enough.    But today, I wore green, and tonight, we are having corned beef--- in a way---we are having Reuben Sandwiches as we love sauerkraut and the beef on the lightly toasted rye bread.  No green beer in our house tonight but I will stop a moment and honor my Irish roots and long for the day I can stand on Irish soil!