St. Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's day became the day the new immigrants remembered their strong ties to the "auld sod" with parades and banquets. By the turn of the century, the celebration of St. Patrick's Day had become a distinctly American custom, with everyone, no matter what his nationality, wearing a bit of the green.

Curiously, the celebration of St. Patrick's Day in Ireland has evolved into a high-spirited holiday only in the past twenty years. Since St. Patrick's Day was a holy day (and still is), people attended Mass and all the pubs were closed. An authentic St. Patrick's Day observance with music, dance and food, and liquid refreshment had to take place at home.

A ceilidh (Gaelic for "dance" pronounced kali) is a gathering of family and friends to hear traditional Irish music, do a bit of step dancing, eat thick slices of soda  bread slathered with butter, drink cups of strong tea and engage in the Irish indoor sport of conversation.

But the heart of the ceilidh is Irish music, of which there are two distinct types: energetic dance tunes or lamentful narrative songs, usually ballads. In Irish reels the main melody is repeated over and over again until it leads into another similar tune, forming a "set" and the listener unfamiliar with its unique circular structure frequently comes away with the impression that he has been tapping his feet to one long Irish jig for two hours.


For the Children

On St. Patrick's Day the children will have a lunch of Shamrock sandwiches ( cut with cookie cutters) limeade, and green frosted cupcakes. Then they will have a treasure hunt, looking for an Irish leprechaun and his pot of gold in the back yard. Although not one leprechaun can be found, the children do discover small mesh bags of gold foil chocolate coins!
Celebrating St. Patrick's Day can help remind everyone that when we search for the end of the rainbow, we often find the pot of gold in our own backyard.

Happy Thursday!!!