In the year 387 in Dumbarton, Scotland . . . Or Cumberland, England . . . Or Northern Wales a child named Maewyn Succat was born into a family as stable as any kin group could be in the fourth century. Which is to say, to a family subject to the whims of weather, cattle raiders, and eventually slave raiders. Maewyn Succat’s grandfather was a Christian priest; his father a community leader. When Maewyn Succat was about sixteen years old, Irish slave raiders captured him, along with a large number of his father’s vassals and slaves.

In Ireland Maewyn Succat’s master Milchu was a clan chief who sent the youth to watch the sheep. It was hard times for Maewyn Succat, but he made the best of it, learned the Irish language and social customs, and decided that he preferred his family’s Christian faith to that of the druids around him. In later years, Maewyn Succat remembered that he prayed daily “in the woods, and on the mountain, even before dawn.” And then he had a dream that if he could make it to the coast, he could escape Ireland. The dream came true; sailors smuggled Maewyn Succat onto their ship, and they sailed away to . . . France.

In Auxerre, France Maewyn Succat became a bishop and took a new name: Patricius, or Patrick, meaning father figure. Patrick had another dream. This time, “all the children of Ireland from their mothers’ wombs were stretching out their hands” to him. Patrick knew he must return to Ireland and convert the island to Christianity.

Patrick arrived back in Ireland, at Slane, on March 24, 433. He was 43 years old — which was a venerable age at the time. For the next forty years, Patrick converted people, built churches, and established monasteries.

Legend says Patrick had a walking stick made from ash wood, and that he planted it in the ground while he preached in an area. In one place it took Patrick so long to persuade the people to be baptized that when he was ready to leave, Patrick discovered his stick had taken root. I suspect he pulled it up just the same.

There are other stories. Patrick used the lowly shamrock to explain the Christian concept of Trinity to his listeners. Just as the shamrock has three leaves but is one, so God was Father, Son, and Spirit and yet one. I’m not sure what people concluded from that story, or even if it was important to them. But the shamrock was important to pre-Christian Irish and the number three was significant.

There is also the story that while Patrick was undergoing a 40-day fast, snakes attacked him. He was so angry he drove them into the sea, which is why there are no snakes in Ireland . . . Except there’s no evidence there ever were any snakes in Ireland. No doubt the term snake was a metaphor for the devil who tempted Adam and Eve to sin, implying Patrick drove the devil out of Ireland, and who can say he didn’t?

It turns out, that though Patrick’s day became a church feast day in the seventeenth century, Patrick was never actually canonized as a saint, but he became someone more important.

Patrick became a symbol for Ireland and the Irish Diaspora.

In 1737 the Charitable Irish Society of Boston held the first St. Patrick’s day parade. New York followed suit in 1762. And in 1798 St. Patrick became associated with the color green, because during the Irish Rebellion that year, Irish fighters wore green to contrast with British red, and popularized the song The Wearin’ o’ the Green.

O Paddy dear, and did ye hear the news that’s goin’ round?
The shamrock is by law forbid to grow on Irish ground!
No more Saint Patrick’s Day we’ll keep, his color can’t be seen
For there’s a cruel law ag’in the Wearin’ o’ the Green.”
I met with Napper Tandy, and he took me by the hand
And he said, “How’s poor old Ireland, and how does she stand?”
“She’s the most distressful country that ever yet was seen
For they’re hanging men and women there for the Wearin’ o’ the Green.”

“So if the color we must wear be England’s cruel red
Let it remind us of the blood that Irishmen have shed
And pull the shamrock from your hat, and throw it on the sod
But never fear, ’twill take root there, though underfoot ’tis trod.

When laws can stop the blades of grass from growin’ as they grow
And when the leaves in summer-time their color dare not show
Then I will change the color too I wear in my caubeen
But till that day, please God, I’ll stick to the Wearin’ o’ the Green.

Take a Listen

https://youtu.be/WsoeoEFwnUI

As Irish immigrants poured into America, Irish populations grew, and the St Patrick’s day customs took root.

• A feast of corned beef, cabbage, potatoes and other inexpensive foods
• Parades
• Drinking beer and whiskey

Today Americans rejoice with green beer, whiskey, Guinness, shamrocks, leprechaun hats and all manner of silliness. In 1962 Chicago began dying the Chicago River green.

Question: How does a sheep dog round up pub patrons for a glass of Guinness?

Answer Below

St. Patrick Window. St. Patrick Catholic Church, Junction City, OH. By Nheyob.

Adam and Eve with the Snake in the Roman catacombs. Public Domain.

St. Patrick Greeting. Public Domain.

Green Chicago River, 2009. By Mike Boehmer.

St. Patrick. Catholic Online.

Saint Patrick. Franciscan Media.

The Wearing of the Green. Ireland-information.

Ashley Ross. “The True History Behind St Patrick’s Day.” Time. March 8, 2019.

The post St Patrick’s Day and the ‘Wearin’ o’ the Green’ first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.

With St. Patrick’s Day coming up on Saturday, it’s time to think about how to catch leprechauns, the wee people associated with Ireland and gold.

Leprechauns aren’t easy to find. Rumor has it these small fairies were once about two feet tall, but they’ve become smaller over time until now they can fit in a shoebox.

Leprechauns are tricksters with a less than pleasing personality. The words lustful, nasty, and capricious are found in any description, but then so might you be if people only want to catch you to steal your gold.

According to leprechaun mythology, the wee people have access to the pot of gold left behind after the Viking invasions. The gold is at the end of the rainbow — though which rainbow and where it ends is elusive.

If someone catches a leprechaun or steals his ring, he will barter for the ring’s return and his release. The captor wants the gold. The leprechaun offers three wishes or a gold coin. The transaction, however, can be challenging, because leprechauns easily trick their less clever opponents.

There’s the story of a man who captured a leprechaun and forced the magical creature to reveal the bush where he could dig for the treasure. The leprechaun took his captor to the site, knowing the man didn’t have a shovel. The man released the leprechaun, marked the bush with one of his red garters, returned home for a shovel, and went back to the site, only to find every tree and bush had a red garter. No treasure for him.

Seamus of County Mayo also caught a leprechaun and in exchange for three wishes, released the trickster. Seamus wished to be the richest man on a tropical island. Poof! There he stood on his tropical island. An island with neither people nor pubs. After a few hours Seamus became bored, and wished to return to Ireland. Like the man with too many red garters, he ended up where he started out.

If you think you can do better, you can make a leprechaun trap. Most often these are small containers, about the size of a shoe box.  Cut a hole in the top at the top of the box, and cover it with a piece of felt. This is the trap door. To make the leprechaun feel at home, you might want to paint the box green and cover it with shamrocks.

Leprechauns are said to like gold and shiny objects, so you could bait the trap with gold jewelry or chocolate coins covered in gold foil. Leprechauns also like whisky and dandelion tea, but be careful. Leprechauns who drink too much whiskey can be mean spirited. Place whatever you select as bait on top of the felt. Now it’s time to spring the trap by putting it in a secluded part of the yard the night before St. Patrick’s Day when leprechauns are most active.

If you catch a leprechaun, please leave a comment so the rest of us can set a trap next year. And be careful or you’ll end up like Seamus.

Whether you catch a leprechaun or not, have a

HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY.

Illustrations from Wikimedia Commons.

Leprechaun in Green Suit. Free Art License

Leprechaun with Pot o’ Gold by Ignacio Leo. Creative Commons Attribution.

Leprechaun with Rainbow by SatyrTN. Creative Commons Attribution.

How to catch a leprechaun.

How to Catch a Leprechaun. Your Irish Culture.

“Legend of the Irish Leprechaun.” YourIrish.com

Alicia McDermott. “Leprechauns: At the End of the Rainbow.” Ancient Origins. Sept. 21, 2015

Benjamin Radford. “Leprechauns: Fun Facts.” Live Science. March 8, 2017.

The post Catching Leprechauns first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.

Ever curbed that urge by thinking about how you’d never get the glitter out of the carpet?

If you answered yes to the first question, you are either a water sprite or carefree child.

If you answered yes to the second, you
a.) Had a parent with eyes in back of his or her head
b.) Have been the person who had to clean the carpet
c.) Have a strong desire to please others
d.) Have actually given in to the urge and then had to clean up after yourself which would not have been necessary if you had remembered to cover the carpet with plastic first.

The correct answer is “D” – because it means you can now cover the floor and run around flinging glitter while being chased by an over-excited dog.

Glitter is fun. It sparkles. It makes any attempt at artwork look somehow better.
Glitter is a cornerstone of crafting – and March is National Craft Month.

Glitter comes in various containers and a rainbow of colors.

It can be attached to practically any surface including your eyelids and other body parts.

Glitter draws the eye. It makes me laugh. Its mundane ingredients are magical.

People have always been drawn to glitter – the very word comes from Old Norse – glitra. People living in caves used flake mica to give their artwork a glittery surface. Ancient Egyptians used the iridescent shells of beetles and ground malachite crystal to make things sparkle.

Modern glitter is made from plastic – less romantic than sparkling beetle shells, but more amenable to mass marketing. Which means that if you go down to your local craft store, they probably have plenty of green glitter as well as undecorated hat forms. You need to stock up now, because March 17 is when we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day and you need a proper green hat, trimmed in green glitter to wear while you drink green beer.

That’s the thing about glitter – it makes you want to celebrate.

Do you have a favorite use for glitter? Leave a comment.

Information:

Featured Image by Evi Michaelidou, Creative Commons Attribution, Wikimedia Commons

The post SOME PROPERTIES OF GLITTER first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.