In honor of St. Patrick and my Irish heritage, I wanted to post a few facts about this day:
Who was St. Patrick?
Born in Great Britain and captured by the Irish Pirates and taken to Ireland as a slave. He escaped after several years and fled to Europe where he became a priest.
Why did he return to Ireland?
St. Patrick had a dream where he was told to return to Ireland
What happened when he returned?
He brought the gospel message to the pagan Celts and converted them to Christianity.
Why celebrate on March 17?
March 17 is known as the anniversary of his death in 5th Century AD.
How did the Irish celebrate?
Even though the Irish holiday falls during Lent the church waived their Lenten practice of not eating meat on this feast day and they would go to church in the morning and in the afternoon they would eat Irish bacon and cabbage and would dance, drink, and celebrate in honor of St. Patrick.
Why do Americans eat corned beef and cabbage?
Irish bacon is very different from American bacon (it's more like thinly sliced salty cured ham). When I went to Ireland and had their bacon I loved it, but when I came back to the United States I wasn't able to find bacon like the Irish bacon. Corned Beef is an American tradition on St. Patrick's day (maybe because Irish bacon isn't readily available).
Why Green?
If you've every been to Ireland (or seen picture of the landscape) you realize why it's called the "Emerald Isle". The countryside is covered with lush green; it's breath-taking!
Why the Shamrock?
The Shamrock was St. Patrick's symbol for the Trinity.
To hear a short video on the history of St. Patrick, click here:
http://www.history.com/topics/st-patricks-day/videos#st-patrick
One of my favorite video's on St. Patrick's day:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fg5ejLGEnZk
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Who was St. Patrick?
Born in Great Britain and captured by the Irish Pirates and taken to Ireland as a slave. He escaped after several years and fled to Europe where he became a priest.
Why did he return to Ireland?
St. Patrick had a dream where he was told to return to Ireland
What happened when he returned?
He brought the gospel message to the pagan Celts and converted them to Christianity.
Why celebrate on March 17?
March 17 is known as the anniversary of his death in 5th Century AD.
How did the Irish celebrate?
Even though the Irish holiday falls during Lent the church waived their Lenten practice of not eating meat on this feast day and they would go to church in the morning and in the afternoon they would eat Irish bacon and cabbage and would dance, drink, and celebrate in honor of St. Patrick.
Why do Americans eat corned beef and cabbage?
Irish bacon is very different from American bacon (it's more like thinly sliced salty cured ham). When I went to Ireland and had their bacon I loved it, but when I came back to the United States I wasn't able to find bacon like the Irish bacon. Corned Beef is an American tradition on St. Patrick's day (maybe because Irish bacon isn't readily available).
Why Green?
If you've every been to Ireland (or seen picture of the landscape) you realize why it's called the "Emerald Isle". The countryside is covered with lush green; it's breath-taking!
Why the Shamrock?
The Shamrock was St. Patrick's symbol for the Trinity.
To hear a short video on the history of St. Patrick, click here:
http://www.history.com/topics/st-patricks-day/videos#st-patrick
One of my favorite video's on St. Patrick's day:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fg5ejLGEnZk
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
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