Singles Magazine -

Singles The Magazine for Today's Single
From Our Sponsors: Make Them Remember You With A Gift From Lobster Gram!	*FROM OUR PUBLISHER:* *The Theatrics of St. Patrick’s Legacy* by Betty Van Volkenburg Leprechauns, castles, good luck and laughter Lullabies, dreams and love ever after. Poems and songs with pipes and drums A thousand welcomes when anyone comes… That’s the Irish for you! – An Irish blessing Grab a mug of green beer, join a parade or two and celebrate the Irish tradition of St. Patrick’s Day in typical American style. Well, that’s one way to do it, but I have a better idea. Why not look back on this ancient tradition and rejoice in typical Irish style, makes more sense to me, what do you think? For years, many of us have bought into the commercial-made holiday known as St. Patty’s Day. As children we ran around the playground looking to pinch whoever forgot to wear their blessed green while as adults we sing cheesy Irish songs, sip artificially colored cheap beer and model plastic green hats. This doesn’t sound like the revered holiday the country of Ireland prides themselves on. In fact, these things don’t sound that Irish at all! I asked a friend of mine from Tipperary to tell me how she remembers St. Patrick’s Day and what I found underlies the spirit and cultural traditions of the Irish people. According to my friend, March 17 was a holy day when people went to church after savouring a traditional (and no doubt heavy) Irish breakfast. Men donned clover leaves freshly picked from their gardens on the lapels of their suits or on the sides of their derby hats. Children wore miniature Irish flags of green, white and gold and people used the day to commemorate war heroes and saints. Yet this confused me, the essence of St. Patrick’s Day seemed to lie in two very disparate things: clover leaves and church? To understand their meaning I had to look back to the history of the man himself–St. Patrick. (Yes, he was real and yes, in reality he is why we celebrate the holiday.) The story of St. Patrick gets mixed up in the folklore and fables that fill the realm of Irish traditions. It is said, he was born in Scotland and later kidnapped and sold as a slave in Ireland. Over a period of time he moved up the clergy hierarchy from deacon to priest to bishop. His claim to fame and his status as an Irish icon relate to his mission. St. Patrick brought Christianity or religion to the masses in the Emerald Isle. Legend suggests he also drove snakes out of the country by sending them into the ocean, hence, the reason why no snakes exist in Ireland. Today, more than 60 churches and cathedrals stand in his namesake. March 17 is the day when his work and name are glorified. "Scamroy" or the Shamrock as we know it today represents the Christian cross and holy trinity. Before St. Patrick, Celtic religion regarded three as a mystical number and the Druids named the Shamrock a sacred plant because its leaves formed a triad. In his successful attempt to convince the Irish of the truth behind the belief in a holy trinity, St. Patrick plucked a shamrock from the ground and used the trefoil as a symbol and educational tool. Since then, religion bonded itself to Ireland and in every tradition the sense of spirituality pervades in the form of the Shamrock, Ireland’s symbol. Religious or not, Irish tradition remains a way to look at everything in life sacredly. Designated days like St. Patrick’s day remind us to do so and we should seize the opportunity in good ol’ Gaelic fashion. Now, as singles with all this knowledge behind us, St. Patrick’s day should begin to mean more as a cultural legacy. Love, friendship, "good luck and laughter," all appear more Irish and celebratory than restaurants and bars coated with images of leprechauns and shamrocks. I suggest you create an Irish feast with friends and give a "thousand welcomes" to anyone new that might come into your life this month because like the Irish, we should all honor and extol our own community and pride ourselves on what we have. So, you can’t whip up steak and guinness pie or colcannon, (a beautiful mound of greens and potatoes dripping with melted butter.) Buy some Irish soda bread, sauté some bacon and cabbage, (sans bacon for the vegetarian), and indulge in some rich coffee spiked with Bailey’s for a real Irish zinger. Sooner or later you won’t even miss the green beer and you’ll find yourself feeling a wee bit more Irish as the holiday continues. Slainte!

Singles
The Magazine for Today's Single

From Our Sponsors:

Make Them Remember You With A Gift From Lobster Gram!

FROM OUR PUBLISHER:

The Theatrics of St. Patrick’s Legacy

by Betty Van Volkenburg

Leprechauns, castles, good luck and laughter
Lullabies, dreams and love ever after.
Poems and songs with pipes and drums
A thousand welcomes when anyone comes…
That’s the Irish for you!

– An Irish blessing

Grab a mug of green beer, join a parade or two and celebrate the Irish tradition of St. Patrick’s Day in typical American style. Well, that’s one way to do it, but I have a better idea. Why not look back on this ancient tradition and rejoice in typical Irish style, makes more sense to me, what do you think?

For years, many of us have bought into the commercial-made holiday known as St. Patty’s Day. As children we ran around the playground looking to pinch whoever forgot to wear their blessed green while as adults we sing cheesy Irish songs, sip artificially colored cheap beer and model plastic green hats. This doesn’t sound like the revered holiday the country of Ireland prides themselves on. In fact, these things don’t sound that Irish at all!

I asked a friend of mine from Tipperary to tell me how she remembers St. Patrick’s Day and what I found underlies the spirit and cultural traditions of the Irish people.

According to my friend, March 17 was a holy day when people went to church after savouring a traditional (and no doubt heavy) Irish breakfast. Men donned clover leaves freshly picked from their gardens on the lapels of their suits or on the sides of their derby hats. Children wore miniature Irish flags of green, white and gold and people used the day to commemorate war heroes and saints. Yet this confused me, the essence of St. Patrick’s Day seemed to lie in two very disparate things: clover leaves and church?

To understand their meaning I had to look back to the history of the man himself–St. Patrick. (Yes, he was real and yes, in reality he is why we celebrate the holiday.)

The story of St. Patrick gets mixed up in the folklore and fables that fill the realm of Irish traditions. It is said, he was born in Scotland and later kidnapped and sold as a slave in Ireland. Over a period of time he moved up the clergy hierarchy from deacon to priest to bishop. His claim to fame and his status as an Irish icon relate to his mission. St. Patrick brought Christianity or religion to the masses in the Emerald Isle. Legend suggests he also drove snakes out of the country by sending them into the ocean, hence, the reason why no snakes exist in Ireland. Today, more than 60 churches and cathedrals stand in his namesake. March 17 is the day when his work and name are glorified.

"Scamroy" or the Shamrock as we know it today represents the Christian cross and holy trinity. Before St. Patrick, Celtic religion regarded three as a mystical number and the Druids named the Shamrock a sacred plant because its leaves formed a triad. In his successful attempt to convince the Irish of the truth behind the belief in a holy trinity, St. Patrick plucked a shamrock from the ground and used the trefoil as a symbol and educational tool. Since then, religion bonded itself to Ireland and in every tradition the sense of spirituality pervades in the form of the Shamrock, Ireland’s symbol.

Religious or not, Irish tradition remains a way to look at everything in life sacredly. Designated days like St. Patrick’s day remind us to do so and we should seize the opportunity in good ol’ Gaelic fashion.

Now, as singles with all this knowledge behind us, St. Patrick’s day should begin to mean more as a cultural legacy. Love, friendship, "good luck and laughter," all appear more Irish and celebratory than restaurants and bars coated with images of leprechauns and shamrocks. I suggest you create an Irish feast with friends and give a "thousand welcomes" to anyone new that might come into your life this month because like the Irish, we should all honor and extol our own community and pride ourselves on what we have. So, you can’t whip up steak and guinness pie or colcannon, (a beautiful mound of greens and potatoes dripping with melted butter.) Buy some Irish soda bread, sauté some bacon and cabbage, (sans bacon for the vegetarian), and indulge in some rich coffee spiked with Bailey’s for a real Irish zinger. Sooner or later you won’t even miss the green beer and you’ll find yourself feeling a wee bit more Irish as the holiday continues. Slainte!