St.Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's Day is March 17th. March 17th was chosen because it is the day of his death (and his birthday is unknown). It was originally an Irish Holiday, but is widely celebrated in American, regardless of one's ancestry. To the Irish, it is a day to commemorate the Patron Saint of Ireland, namely St. Patrick, who lived in the 5th century. To the rest of us, it is a day to celebrate the Irish traditions and culture which are a big part of what all Americans still know and do. For example, all children wear green on St. Patrick's Day for good luck. If you don't wear green, beware! You might get pinched by someone else, usually by a friend or someone you know. It's a kind of playful punishment for not wearing green on St. Patrick's Day. [Source for much of my information comes from Wikipedia]. (But, I have used other sources as well, and I give links to all my sources.).

There are several superstitions associated with St. Patrick's Day; BUT, not that they have anything to do with St. Patrick himself. They are merely Irish lore and superstition thrown into the holiday. One Irish superstition deals with Leprechauns (see picture below). Leprechauns are little men (about as tall as a pencil) who live in the mountains of Ireland. If you can catch one, he will give you a pot of gold for his release.

Another superstition is that the music of the Leprechauns is very bewitching to anyone who might by chance hear it.

A third superstition is that if one finds a four leaf clover, and keeps it with him/her, then that person will have very good luck.

Let me give credit where credit is due... the above two graphics were taken from the following to site:

One day, while on the way to school, I noticed a rainbow had landed on the road up ahead. It was a fairly foggy day, and I couldn't see anything past the rainbow. Of course, I had heard of the Irish saying that there was a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, so I eagerly pressed forward. When I got to the place where the rainbow had landed, I stopped, but the rainbow was no longer there. It had moved further down the road. In my foolish naivety I figured that if I progressed more rapidly I could "catch" the rainbow. So, I doubled my speed. But, the rainbow kept its distance from me, as if taunting me: "You'll never catch me," I imaged it whispering to me. I tried once again, and it moved again, keeping speed with me. By then I was at school, and I gave up the pursuit. It was that day that I learned that you can never attain the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, because the target keeps moving, and only a naive fool would try.

Patrick was an English man, who was a slave boy in Ireland. He escaped and later went back to Ireland to convert the pagans to Christianity. (That's the short version of his life from Wikipedia's article). The official color of the Order of Saint Patrick is light blue, and apparently Bishop Patrick was said to have worn blue robes. (Source). He wasn't depicted wearing green until the 1800s (and it started off as a bluish-green) [Source]. He is the patron saint of Ireland. He is famous for many things...

1. Hearing voices.
A voice helped him escape slavery. And, a voice told him to go back.

2. Teachings.
He is famous for using the shamrock as a teaching tool; to teach the trinity doctrine. Each leaf represents a member of the Godhead; but they are one in purpose and action, just as a shamrock has three leaves, but is one at the stem.

3. Having performed miracles.

In order to become a saint, one must be "beatified" by the pope, usually posthumously. The saint in question must have performed at least one miracle in his lifetime. Saint Patrick was said to have performed two miracles in Ireland.

RE: Miracle #1: The Eradication of Snakes from Ireland
It is said that Patrick eradicated all the snakes from the island. However, scientists say that there is no evidence of snakes ever having lived on the island. It is therefore more likely that this is a metaphor for the eradication of spiritual darkness on the island. There was no miracle, unless you consider changing the hearts of the people a miracle.

[NOTE: I use St. George and the Dragon as a guide to make such a statement as I did above. It is commonly accepted by historians that the dragon, which was defeated by St. George, was a metaphorical representation of the spiritual darkness. (Look it up!)]

RE: Miracle #2: Healing with Holy Water
It is written that Patrick was accused of killing a neighbor's horses, which actually trespassed on Patrick's land and ate some poisonous plants. The defendant was determined to get revenge upon Patrick (I think by killing Patrick), but the man suddenly got deathly ill, and became bed-ridden. The man's servants begged Patrick to heal their master. Patrick used some holy water to heal not only the man but revive the horses as well. Now, that's a miracle in my book!
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QUESTIONS:
From my experience (and research) miracles are nothing more than the laws of physics being employed in ways that we don't understand. Japanese Dr. Emoto has proven that human emotions can affect water. (Search for him and his work on YouTube). What if Patrick imbued the water with holy, loving energy, and that loving energy was what healed the man and his horses?

TODAY, St. Patrick's day is celebrated by children wearing green and searching for four-leaf clovers in the lawns, meadows, and fields. If one doesn't wear green they might get pinched (in fun).

It is celebrated by adults by going to the pub and imbibing Irish beer, and possibly the singing of Irish songs. Adults will tell their children tales of the "little people" (both Leprechauns and Faeries).

In doing research for this page, I found out some interesting things about Ireland (and Irish people/culture) that I'd like to share with you... (in no particular order):

Google A.I. says that Ireland has the most red-heads per capita than any other country in the world, with estimates up to 30% of the population.

Halloween started in Ireland. It was called "Sam[w]hain", which means "Sam" = summer + "whain" =wanes. It was the end of the Celtic year, when the weather changed from warm to cold. The last day of the Celtic calendar was October 31st (by Gregorian calendar). And, it was commonly believed that Hel (the daughter of Loki) who ruled the Underworld would open the gates of the Underworld and allow the spirits of the deceased to roam the land of the living for that one night per year. There was no devil, for the Celts had no concept of a devil. The closest thing that they had to the devil was Loki. Now, it was also believed that some of the spirits of the deceased may have been evil, or someone who had a vendetta upon the living; So, many traditions were started to protect the living from such malevolence. See Leon's page on Halloween for more details (and awesome pictures). The funny thing is that many of the Halloween traditions that Americans have developed over in America. For instance Ireland didn't have pumpkins (anciently); so jack-o-lanterns were made out of turnips in Ireland anciently. Irish Americans were introduced to pumpkins by the indigenous peoples of America.

According to Google A.I., no country has more lore about fairies than Ireland. Most of the Irish believe in fairies, and there are many sacred places in Ireland that are considered "fairy-touched". It is important to note that the word "fairy" or "faerie" comes from the French language. In Irish the word for fairy is ben [or ban, as in banshee].

Fairy, a mythical being of folklore and romance usually having magic powers and dwelling on earth in close relationship with humans. It can appear as a dwarf creature typically having green clothes and hair, living underground or in stone heaps, and characteristically exercising magic powers to benevolent ends; as a diminutive sprite commonly in the shape of a delicate, beautiful, ageless winged woman dressed in diaphanous white clothing, inhabiting fairyland. [Britannica]

"Faerie"
(Image created by A.I. and Leon)

The common modern depiction of fairies in children’s stories represents a bowdlerization of what was once a serious and even sinister folkloric tradition. The fairies of the past were feared as dangerous and powerful beings who were sometimes friendly to humans but could also be cruel or mischievous. [Britannica] Take for example, the Banshee (pictured below).

"Banshee in Green"
(Image created by A.I. and Leon)

Banshees are fairies, but of the creepy sort. Sometimes banshees appear in a green gown (above), and sometimes in a white one (below). Their appearance portent some unfortunate future, such as the death of a loved one. Especially to hear a Banshee cry is a bad omen. [Wikipedia article on Banshee].

"Banshee in White"
(Image created by A.I. and Leon)

There is a wonderful article on the Fairies of Ireland on the Wilderness Ireland website. The author, Dawn Rainbolt, explains that in the past, people kept a healthy respectful distance from fairies as much as possible. People would use certain plants to keep fairies away, such as marigolds, primroses; and the wood of the ash, the rowan, and the blackthorn. Also, a bag of clover could be used to keep fairies away.

There are no stories of fairies actually harming or killing people, but it has been known that people are sometimes abducted by the fairies, for a time, or forever. If the person returned (or was returned) to the their home world, they would notice a time difference. For instance typically one day in fairyland was one year in our world. If this is true, then the story of Rip Van Winkle would be an exaggeration, wouldn't it.

The story "Rip Van Winkle" was written by Washington Irving, a Scottish American. Although, he set the story in America, clearly the story is much, much older--from his ancestors in Scotland (and Scotland is probably the second country with the most fairy lore). He probably adapted a much older story to fit contemporary times.

In the story Rip Van Winkle spent one night with some short [fairy] men in a cave behind some big boulders playing nine-pins and drinking alcohol. When he awakes (outside the cave), 21 years have passed.

But, whether one day in fairyland is one year or twenty-one years here, one would be cautioned to consider the repercussions of spending time with the fairies (or any of the little people for that matter).

Leon explores the legends of little people all around the world (including Fairies and Leprechauns).