For the unfamiliar, St. Patrick's Day is upon us and in America, the parades and drinking of green beer are usually accompanied by the decidedly un-Irish tradition of corned beef, cabbage, carrots and potatoes. Though cabbage is consumed in Ireland, corned beef is not. That tradition, developed by Irish immigrants to cities like Boston, among others, occurred as a reaction to the expense of pork, a meat the Irish in nineteenth century America could not afford. Additionally, the Irish of that time lived in close proximity to eastern European immigrants, and cheaper beef brisket, a staple of their diet, easily flavored cabbage and other vegetables.
Apart from parades, music, dance and festivals devoted to Irish culture and history, St. Patrick's Day among actual Irish commemorates the arrival of Christianity in Ireland and is a Feast Day for Catholics. People don green but it is considered rude to dress in orange, put on "Kiss me, I'm Irish" clothing or order a drink called an Irish Car Bomb. Celebrations last for several days, the highlight being 17 March.
I like to think if my tiny great grandma of Irish heritage today and celebrate the small bit of Irish in my DNA.
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
4 comments:
Happy St Patrick's Day! My Irish friends used to comment that it was a day you went to Mass, not paint the town green! They were amazed at the Irish-American any excuse for a party approach.
Happy St. Paddy's day! It's a big party day here in NYC, with libations freely flowing. I usually try to stay off the streets.
Happy St. Patrick's Day to you, too. There was a party here this afternoon featuring green beer. Only in America.
Irish on Hubby's side. He doesn't eat any of that. Me, I love the cabbage sales this week. I call it Cabbage Week. It's the same with the playoffs when Avocados are on sale. I call it, Avocado Season!
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