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Does it really matter what nationality
anyone is, in normal day to day events, probably not, or it shouldn’t
anyway. So why do I ask this all non important question.
St Patrick’s Day will soon be on us,
and this means everyone who even has a glimmer of what they may think is
Irish blood in their veins, professes to be Irish. This may be a
tradition in America, but in reality it’s just dumb. I don’t care if one
or both of your parents, your grandparents, your great grandparents or
some distant relative of a dog you once knew was somehow at sometime
distantly connected via blood or telephone to an Irish born person, if
you were born in the United States of America, you are NOT Irish.
I’ll agree you may be of Irish decent, but your not Irish and you
probably have no clue other than you can paint yourself green and get
drunk who St. Patrick was and why they have a St
Patrick’s Day.
Some little known facts:
St. Patrick was most likely
British – Americans have St
Patrick’s Day as public holiday – in Britain it is not
– Americans celebrate St Patrick’s Day
with much more vigor than the majority of Brits.
St. Patrick, was born Maewyn Succat
to an Anglo-Roman family living in Wales – but he could have been born
in Brittany, England, Wales or Rome – In his teens he was kidnapped by
an Irish Pagan warlord, Niall of the Nine Hostag and forced into slavery
– After six years being held captive in Ireland, legend has it he had a
religious dream/vision and then he escaped to France.
He returned to Ireland to preach Christianity and convert the Pagans –
He used the Shamrock as part of his
religious teaching – the reason why the Shamrock is
the national emblem today – the original color associated with St
Patrick was blue NOT green
– St. Patrick is believed to have
been born in 415 AD an died on March 17th 493 AD.
The hype today around St. Patrick is
nothing more than the effects of the nationalism of the 18th century
when St. Patrick was a symbol used
by the Irish to differentiate themselves from the British, it was not
who he was, but more his legacy that was the element used.
It was around 1737 in Boston that many of the Irish settlers held the
first big St
Patrick’s Day parade,
which has developed into street parties etc, in a number of major cities
in countries around the world.
If your going to go out and celebrate this St.
Paddy’s Day remember, Guinness, is not for everyone, green
beer comes in many varied brands, paint
yourself green if you wish, but there are 4 key DON’TS
you should note….
1 – DON’T drink and drive – it’s
illegal everywhere and costs lives
2 – DON’T pretend to be half Irish,
if you meet a real Irish man or woman, and then tell them it was
on your great great grandmothers side, pretending to be any nationality
other than what you are can be an insult not a compliment to the people
that are truly from that country and could cause adverse side effects,
or even hospitalization.
3 – DON’T eat the green snow or
drink from a glass you didn’t see get filled.
4 – DON’T
tell anyone you saw a leprechaun,
even if you think you did.
any sarcasm is not meant to
offend, unless it does, then consider the possibilities of more during
the season.
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Phillies Outside Archive Vault 
I’d say these are pretty good rules for this happy occasion. I am mostly Scotch… with at least a known 1/8 Cherokee. We wear funny dresses to weddings and funny dressings on our heads around the campfire. That’s the US American way.
–Jeff
http://redstatebluestate.mlblogs.com/
http://mtrredstatebluestate.com
I am Italian and my birthday is the day before this Irish holiday, which was always a bummer. I have no desire to celebrate while wear green and dancing with a Leprechaun.
Jenn
http://philliesphollowers.mlblogs.com/
LOL!! After I watch the ethereal cascading concentric rings of Guinness Goodness rain in my mug, I’ll lift it as a toast to this post……But can St. Patrick hit a curveball? I may not be Irish, but it takes a village. We all live in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave. We just have different accents. Drink safely folks!
http://thebrooklyntrolleyblogger.mlblogs.com/
Since I was adopted, I have taken the Nationality of Heinz 57 and decided I can participate in any holiday or celebration no matter what.
Be it Cinco De Mayo, or even Commonwealth Day in Canada, I reserve the right to celebrate them all.
In College and my 30’s, St Patrick’s Day was my adult holiday to go with Halloween. New Years I was the Designated Driver so I would remember who I kissed at midnight…. and where I parked the car ( don’t ask).
But in recent years, even the celebrations of these two holidays paled in comparison to the taste of champagne in September and the middle of October.
Sigh, guess the Rays will have to save that tradition too now…..maybe.
Still can’t believe you like “More Cowbell” over me……lol
Rays Renegade
http://raysrenegade.mlblogs.com
My Mom is adopted so I really don’t know. My Dad is 25% Italian which means I’m like 12.5% Itlaian. My name is Irish though.
Brady-
http://5toolblog.mlblogs.com/
Jeff – your a drink then…. is that a malt or blended…except for what your left foot which is Cherokee…:-)
Jenn – Didn’t anyone tell you, play with a Leprechaun and he may lead you to his pot of gold..:-)
btb – A man who can drink Guinness… As I tell everybody, I don’t have an accent everybody else does….
RR – LMAO… ok that was funny…
Brady – I’m just hoping were all mostly human in the mlblogoshphere…
~peter
Peter,
I love this part!
the original color associated with St Patrick was blue NOT green. Ahhh, my favorite color Blue!
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I am Honduran, both parents from Honduras so is Mayan Indian and Spanish.
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ST Patrick and Cinco de Mayo are just excuses to drink here in the US. Some people think that Cinco de Mayo is Mexican Independence but that is 9/16. Cinco de Mayo was a famous battle against the French in the city of Puebla, Mexico.
Emma
http://crzblue.mlblogs.com
Emma – Not sure on Mayan, but isn’t it from some Aztec name or something…. Funny how drinking celebrations get more activities than those with a different theme….:-)
~peter
I should have read your blog before i went to New Jersey for the ultimate St Patricks Day party.
http://catlovesthedodgers.mlblogs.com
Cat – As long as you had fun partying that’s the main thing….
~peter
Peter,
In Latin America, you had the Aztec in Mexico, the Mayans in the lower part of Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras and in South America, the Incas. Google the Mayans.
Emma
http://crzblue.mlblogs.com/
http://DodgersBlueBlog.com/
Emma – Google worked good, I did get this though – Mayans “a fictional biker gang in the TV series Sons of Anarchy” ….:-)
~peter