(ok well the ones of us who are obsessive about things Irish)... we get all caught up in the fervor of St. Patrick's Day and yes, I will have a guinness tonight as well, as I should.
But... what is it all about?
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| The very modernized and proper depiction of St. Patrick |
No... he did not run all the snakes out of Ireland, though the comics with him driving the car with them in it is pretty hilarious and fantastic.
He was not even from Ireland.
But...that is OK, we are an adaptive society of people, we go with it.
He was probably born somewhere in Scotland in the late 3oos, so you know...records are not the best. It is not like his mum had the opportunity to facebook every moment of his life... look Patrick's first bowl of gruel, look Patrick playing with his stick doll... nope...
Patrick did not have the best adolescence... I mean if you are a young teen and you are kidnapped, made a slave, and then forced to tend sheep in Ireland, it is not exactly what you planned on doing (and if you did...well, special... just special)
Eventually he escaped and began working to Christianize the pagan Irish, which turned out to be pretty successful since when I visited Ireland I found more Churches in Dublin than I did in Middle Georgia and well, wow...that is a difficult thing to do.
He lived like many of us think the mendicant orders lived during the middle ages...vow of poverty, chaste, scant living...and he continued to work to turn people to God, inspiring others in Ireland to follow in his footsteps, so pretty cool guy, I can see why he has a holiday.
So...the Shamrock? Simple, he used it to explain the holy trinity..worked out pretty well.
Do not even ask me to explain how it turned into green beer and drunken lunacy. I went to the Savannah celebration once, I am good.
That being said... I am currently wearing a green tshirt with a giant cat leprechaun on it.
Have a Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Have a Happy St. Patrick's Day!
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