Celebrating St. Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's Day is a very special day to me. Now, understand that I'm American Irish, but I'm proud of my Irish heritage. My mother was/is, too! I'm the youngest of five, but I'm pretty sure I remember her having each of us wear green on St. Patrick's Day, but we also had to wear a sprig of orange. There was good reason for that, too. Read on...
Did you know that blue used to be Ireland's color before it was green? When Patrick (before he was a Saint) was trying to teach the pagans about Christianity, he used the three leaf clover to explain the unity/relationship of the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost, otherwise known as the Holy Trinity. That's why the three leaf clover is the "true" symbol of Ireland!
Now, regarding that sprig of orange that I used to have to wear on St. Patrick's Day: There are three colors on Ireland's flag - Green / White / Orange. On one end, the green in the flag represents Catholicism. On the other end, the orange in the flag represents Protestant faith. The white in the center stands for peace between the two. May God Bless Ireland.
And now you know why, when you see me on St. Patrick's Day, I'm wearing a sprig of orange.

Did you also know that corned beef isn't found in Ireland? Corned Beef is an American tradition, not an Irish one. When Irish immigrants came over to the USA, they first came to New York, right? Irish use lamb as their meat of choice in most of their dishes. When those Irish folk arrived in New York, they searched the markets for lamb. But the butcher's didn't carry lamb. The closest thing they had (or thought was the closest thing) was corned beef. (I know, right?) So, that's why corned beef is an American thing, not a true Irish thing. Don't get me wrong, please. My family loves corned beef at any time of the year! But, on St. Patrick's Day, we have lamb. And it is delicious.

There's your wee bit of Irish education for today..

May God Bless Ireland and bring peace to all those who reside there, no matter what their faith.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Thanks for Inkin' of me,