St. Patrick's Day
According to the US Census Bureau, about 4.8 million Irish immigrants have come to the USA since 1820. On St. Patrick’s Day everyone seems to want to be Irish and 34.5 million Americans claim Irish ancestry. But St. Patrick himself wasn’t Irish. He was British.
What we know of him comes from documents that he wrote himself. At the age of 16 he was kidnapped by pagan Irish pirates and enslaved in Ireland as a shepherd for 6 years. He heard God speak to him in a dream, telling him to escape and that a ship awaited him. He escaped and traveled 200 miles to a port and boarded a ship that waited there.
Back home in Britain, he again had a dream- in this one he heard the people of Ireland calling him to come back and teach them about Christ. Patrick was ordained a priest, then a bishop and returned to Ireland to evangelize the people. He famously used the shamrock to teach the people about the Holy Trinity. It is also said that he “drove the snakes out of Ireland”- but there have never been wild snakes in Ireland. In the Book of Genesis, in the story of creation- the devil tempted Adam and Eve to disobey God and he was in the form of a snake. Snakes have come to symbolize evil in the Christian culture. So the “snakes” St. Patrick drove out was paganism- by evangelizing and teaching the Irish people about Christ, the people were converted to the Christian faith and abandoned paganism.
So how do we celebrate and honor St. Patrick on his feast day? Green beer for mom and dad? Lucky charms and leprechaun traps for the kids?
If possible, feast days should always include the celebration of Mass; a special meal for family and friends where we can come together and enjoy each other’s company and pass on faith traditions with the next generation is more fitting than some of the ways people celebrate this feast day. I’m not saying you can’t have fun with the green beer and green everything else- but St. Patrick himself should figure into the day somehow.
When it comes to planning your meal, corned beef and cabbage seems to be the dish of choice in the USA- but in Ireland, shepherd’s pie or lamb is the meal of the day. Which is very fitting when you consider that St.Patrick spent 6 years as a shepherd and numerous years shepherding God’s people as a priest and later a bishop.
Fun crafts for the kids can be incorporated into the celebration to help them learn about St. Patrick and recognize that he is the reason we celebrate this feast.
Here are some links to craft ideas and a simple Irish recipe for your St. Patrick’s Day celebration.
What we know of him comes from documents that he wrote himself. At the age of 16 he was kidnapped by pagan Irish pirates and enslaved in Ireland as a shepherd for 6 years. He heard God speak to him in a dream, telling him to escape and that a ship awaited him. He escaped and traveled 200 miles to a port and boarded a ship that waited there.
Back home in Britain, he again had a dream- in this one he heard the people of Ireland calling him to come back and teach them about Christ. Patrick was ordained a priest, then a bishop and returned to Ireland to evangelize the people. He famously used the shamrock to teach the people about the Holy Trinity. It is also said that he “drove the snakes out of Ireland”- but there have never been wild snakes in Ireland. In the Book of Genesis, in the story of creation- the devil tempted Adam and Eve to disobey God and he was in the form of a snake. Snakes have come to symbolize evil in the Christian culture. So the “snakes” St. Patrick drove out was paganism- by evangelizing and teaching the Irish people about Christ, the people were converted to the Christian faith and abandoned paganism.
So how do we celebrate and honor St. Patrick on his feast day? Green beer for mom and dad? Lucky charms and leprechaun traps for the kids?
If possible, feast days should always include the celebration of Mass; a special meal for family and friends where we can come together and enjoy each other’s company and pass on faith traditions with the next generation is more fitting than some of the ways people celebrate this feast day. I’m not saying you can’t have fun with the green beer and green everything else- but St. Patrick himself should figure into the day somehow.
When it comes to planning your meal, corned beef and cabbage seems to be the dish of choice in the USA- but in Ireland, shepherd’s pie or lamb is the meal of the day. Which is very fitting when you consider that St.Patrick spent 6 years as a shepherd and numerous years shepherding God’s people as a priest and later a bishop.
Fun crafts for the kids can be incorporated into the celebration to help them learn about St. Patrick and recognize that he is the reason we celebrate this feast.
Here are some links to craft ideas and a simple Irish recipe for your St. Patrick’s Day celebration.