Will ye be wearing the green next Wednesday? If not, what will you do to commemorate Lá Fhéile Pádraig, more commonly known as St. Patrick’s Day in honor of a man named Maewyn Succat, born in 4th century Britain?
![_St_Patrick[1]](http://www.pattilacy.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/St_Patrick1-300x199.jpg "_St_Patrick[1]")
Maewyn was kidnapped and hauled as a slave to Ireland. During his enslavement, Maewyn turned to God, escaped to England, then was told in a dream to return to Ireland and introduce Christianity to the locals, who practiced a pagan religion.After fifteen years of training, Maewyn became a priest and claimed the saint name of Patrick. Many believe that St. Patrick used the shamrock, an indigenous Irish plant, to explain the Trinity. After St. Patrick’s death, Ireland set aside a special day to remember their beloved saint.
Oddly, the first color associated with St. Patrick was blue. “Wearing of the green” means to wear a shamrock on one’s clothing, and is derived from the traditional Irish folk song of the same name.
“Wearin’ o’ the Green” (last verse):
When laws can stop the blades of grass from growin’ as they grow
And when the leaves in summer-time their color dare not show
Then I will change the color too I wear in my caubeen
But till that day, please God, I’ll stick to the Wearin’ o’ the Green.
Did you know there are two types of people? Those who are Irish and those who want to be.
Sigh. I fall in the second category, though our dubious family tree is rumored to contain an Irishman. Oh, how I love this land. This people!
So…for my March contest, tell me what you plan to do on St. Patrick’s Day, if you’ve been to Ireland and where, or if you want to go to Ireland!
Erin go braugh!!!!
Congratulations, SARAH FORGRAVE! You were randomly chosen to win a $15 Barnes & Noble gift card. Please e-mail me at patti@pattilacy.com and provide your snail mail!!!
I’ll probably forget. I usually do.
Believe it or not, I’m Irish. :0) And other European ancestry… not Puerto Rican at all, unfortunately.
Woohooo for Sarah!
We will be working in a mission for a project with our church on St. Patrick’s day. I am going to try to make some special green food cookies.
I would love to go to Ireland. You planted that seed when I read your book!
I hope to ride my bike on the trail dressed in GREEN1
A fine Blog by a fine lady. A little Texas Irish is OK…
I’d love to go to Ireland (and Scotland). I love both accents!!! I don’t have any special plans for that day. Probably just enjoying the Spring Break (I’m off work all week!) and editing.
Patti: I didn’t know there was a song associated with Wearin’ green! Thank you for sharing that.
Although I am Irish, I wear orange on St. Patty’s Day, since I heard that in Ireland only Catholics wear green and Protestants wear orange. Besides, orange is my fav color, so that gives me an excuse!
On St. Pat’s Day I will be drawing a name from my blog comments between now and Tues at noon, to give away an autographed copy of Tammy Barley’s debut novel.
Can’t wait for your new baby to be released, then we’ll have a party on my blog for you!!! I am praying for help for you with the changes.
I see I cannot delete my above message, so I would like to apologize for using your blog to blatantly advertise the drawing on MY blog, Patti. That was tacky. Please forgive me.
Jen
Yay! I’m so excited I won something!
As far as wearing green, my selection of maternity clothes is extremely limited, and I’m not sure if any green can be found. I’ll wear whatever is closest (maybe blue now that I know it’s the first color associated with St. Patrick).
I’m sure I will forget St. Patrick’s Day. I would love to go to Ireland. I have a blogger friend from there who came to visit us while she was visiting here. She has invited us to come stay with her family. Maybe someday we will get there.
Kristin, St. Paddy’s is really a family type thing–either done or not! Deanna, HOW COOL! Will ye blog about those cookies?
Jim, watch out! That may make the news!!!
Sherrinda, VERY COOL! Enjoy that break to the fullest!!!
Congrats, Sarah!
I’m not Irish, but I like the green day. However, most people I know use it as an excuse to drink too much green beer. I’m out of that scene. I’ll likely go to church and bring along some brownies with green sprinkles on top.
Susan, waving!
Mary, the Irish and beer? Oh, they wouldn’t???!!!!!!!!
Oh Patti! I am Irish and always secretly wished that I was really born there instead of Key Largo. But I do have family from there. Came over during the potato famine. And was treated in the WORST way. I have a story idea about it for the MG audience.
I am unplugging next week, but I will be doing a St. Paddy’s post. One of my kids is named after the Patron Saint. I want to go to Ireland in the worst way. And I will. In a couple of years.
I cook a lot of Irish dishes. This year, corned beef and cabbage, Irish soda bread, (my recipe comes from Ireland .) Dublin Coddle (my fav), Colcannon, blueberry scones, fudge mint pie. Uh yeah, I’m on a diet, BUT a true Irishman or woman in this case celebrates with lots of cabbage and bacon and lots of Irish coffee without whiskey, though in the day I put whiskey in it and before I die want one more cup. =) Our family is from Donegal and Contae Chorcai, which is County Cork.
Wonderful post Patti. Made me smile. I hope you got my email. These days I never know. Dang domain.com Can’t wait to leave them. I’ve been calling them Domain.crap Ivy laughs about that. Forgive me Lord. =)
Somewhere on my mother’s side there came a group from County Cork, Ireland,, too = wonder if my relatives knew Robyn’s!. So I am 1/6 Irish! Though I’m not crazy about the smell of cooking cabbage, I always make a corned beef. I just saw a recipe for colcannon that I’d like to try, too. Though it does contain that noxious cabbage. Funny, I like it raw, but not cooked.
Someday my daughter and I are going to Ireland. The timing hasn’t been right, and we haven’t had enough money to do it the “right” way, yet, but we will. There are ancestors on my father’s side from the Isle of Man, and I have read that it’s a beautiful place as well. For now I will have to be satisfied with wearing green on St. Patrick’s Day!