St. Patrick's Day

On St. Patrick's Day, everyone is a little bit Irish. Which reminds me of that old joke. An Irishman sidles up to a handsome lass standing at the bar on St. Patrick's Day. "You look like you might have a little Irish in you," he says. "Afraid not," she replies. "Well, would you like a little Irish in you?" he asks.

Okay. Bad joke.

But, what is all this fuss about St. Patrick’s Day?

We wear green, listen to Irish folk music, consume copious amounts of Irish beer, (often dyed green), drink Irish whiskey, Irish coffee, and God forbid, Bailey's Irish cream.

We eat green bagels, and paint green stripes down the center of streets. We watch Riverdance for the 13th time. We eat corned beef and cabbage. We go to parades. We dye the Chicago River Green. Is any of this really Irish?

Parades

The first and the biggest St. Patrick’s Day parade originated in Manhattan in 1766 and just keeps getting bigger. The Irish have been parading in Dublin for only about 75 years.

The Wearing of Green

For centuries flaunting green garb has been considered bad luck in Ireland. It was believed to be the favorite color of fairies, who were likely to kidnap women and children wearing too much of the emerald green.

The Luck of the Irish

Anyone who has read Angela's Ashes has to wonder about the luck of the Irish. 1000 years of invasions, starvations, and emigrations doesn't sound so lucky. Apparently the luck of the Irish originated during the United States gold rush of the late 19th century, when four fellows named Fair, Flood, O’Brien, and Mackay became some of the richest prospectors, known as the Silver Kings, not because they were so smart, but because they were “lucky” and hit the Comstock Lode.

How About Those Snakes?

Saint Patrick is said to have banished snakes from the Irish soil. It is true snakes haven't been spotted on the island since St. Patrick lived there. But neither have elephants or monkeys or iguanas. When snakes were populating the earth, about 100 million years ago, Ireland was under the ocean, and snakes can not swim. Cold blooded little critters that they are, they need the sun, and the Irish weather is not the Costa del Sol.

Leprechauns

In Ireland leprechauns have always been thought to be nasty, brutish, stingy, grumpy, alcoholic, little elves, who worked hard and complained making shoes for Irish fairies. It wasn't until Walt Disney dressed one up in green, gave him that stage Irish allure in the 1959 movie, Darby O’Gill and the Little People, that leprechauns found their place onto our boxes of Lucky Charms.

Corned Beef and Cabbage

Cabbage has been a staple of Irish cuisine for centuries, but always coupled with bacon. It was their Jewish neighbors in the tenement houses of lower Manhattan who turned the Irish immigrants onto the cheaper alternative, corned beef.

St. Patrick: Everybody Wants Him

He was born to a Roman patrician father in what would now be called Scotland. He came to Ireland only after hearing voices. He was certainly a priest. But he is claimed not only by Catholics. The Protestants credit him with founding a distinctly Celtic Christian church. Evangelicals claim him because he took his wisdom from the Scriptures and listened to voices and visions. Even in Utah, Mormons say because he went overseas as a missionary to convert he was working in the Mormon tradition. New Age Christians love him for combining nature, magic, and mother Earth at the center of Christian belief. Like Barbie, anyone can dress St. Patrick up any way they like, perhaps because so little, in truth, is known about him.

So, Who Invented St. Patrick’s Day?

It's a tossup. There are more people of Irish descent in New York City than in Dublin. 34 million US Americans claim Irish descent, so, arguably, there are more Irish in the USA than in all of Ireland. The population of Ireland stands at about 4 million. There are six cities in the USA named Dublin. One is in Ohio. Another is a suburb of San Francisco. But that doesn’t make us Irish.

One Thing Is For Sure

The Blarney Stone is still in Ireland. The Irish have wisely built a fence around it, thus prohibiting all but the most adamant from kissing that intoxicating piece of rock.