Meghan Nicole Photography: Saint Patrick's Day

(The beers we drank at home, made extra special with GREEN food coloring!)

Today was Saint Patrick’s Day! I have a wee bit O’Irish in me. My ancestors came to America from County Kerry, Ireland. Our last name used to be O’Gallivan, but later they changed it to Gallivan. County Kerry is a southwestern country in Ireland. It forms part of the Irish province of Munster. The size of county Kerry is about 1, 832 square miles. It is also bordered by County Limerick which is to the east and County Cork to the south-east. One of Ireland’s most famous towns, Killarney, is located in County Kerry.

I thought I would give you a little bit of information about the history of Saint Patrick’s Day. Saint Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland and one of the most celebrated religious figures around the world. Even though he is so famous, there is little information about him. Most of it has been twisted or embellished over time but scholars believe that some parts of his story are true. He is thought to have lived between 432-461 A.D. When he was sixteen he was kidnapped and sold into slavery in Ireland. He worked as a Shepard and turned to religion for comfort. He escaped after six years and went back to his home in Britain. He became a priest and returned to Ireland after he had a dream about the voices of Irish people calling him to convert them to Christianity. Patrick brought a massive religious shift to Christianity by converting people that were in power. He set up the plans for hundreds of monasteries and churches that eventually grew across Ireland and promoted Christianity. He also promoted the study of legal texts and the bible when previously storytelling and history were passed down through orally passing down stories. His mission in Ireland lasted for approximately thirty years. Scholars believe that he died in the fifth century on March 17; the day that St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated each year. The very first year St. Patrick’s Day was celebrated in American was in Boston Massachusetts in 1737. The first St. Patrick’s Day parade was held in New York City in 1766. On this day “everybody is Irish!”

St. Patrick’s Blue, not GREEN was the color associated with St. Patrick. Green is a color that is associated with Ireland and Irish people. Ireland’s change from the color blue to green began in the 1750’s. The phrase “the wearing of the green” means to wear a shamrock on your clothes. When you wore a shamrock on your clothes it was seen as a sign of Irish nationalism and loyalty to the Roman Catholic faith. Patrick used the shamrock, the three-leaved plant to explain the Holy Trinity to the pre-Christian Irish people. His followers devloped the custom of wearing a shamrock on his feast day.

Today, people celebrate Saint Patrick’s day with parades, wearing green and drinking beer. St. Patrick’s Day might have become so popular because it takes place just a few days before the first day of spring.

http://holidays.kaboose.com/patrick-history.html

My Family at Dinner