Sunday, 17 March 2013

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!!


La Fhéile Pádraig Shona Duit!

Dia dhuit, Cad é mar atá tú?
Hello, How are you? - (My limited Irish language skills)
Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

How do you spend your St. Patrick's Day?
Do you watch the parades, listen traditional music in the pubs while having a few pints of Guinness, go to a Ceili, indulge in some Irish food, dress in green and wear shamrocks, go to mass?
Everyone has different 'traditions' but no matter where you come from, everyone becomes Irish for the day :-)

My St. Patrick's Day traditions were going to mass in the morning, then spending most of the day in Omagh at a Street Festival (I recommend this, if you like traditional music and dance (and live in Ireland)), then spend the evening/night Ceili dancing. Off course I dressed in the traditional green although I must admit I didn't eat Irish food unless you count spuds.

 I can safely say that I will not be doing this, this year; one reason is that I don't live in Ireland so I can't go to the Street Festival and unless I dance around the kitchen table I won't be dancing either. I don't know what I will be doing this year, but I do know that I will be wearing green :-)


However you celebrate today, have fun and stay safe or as we say in Ireland - God Bless

Slán
Sabrina


 All Comments Are Welcome!!!


We all celebrate St. Patrick but who is he?
St. Patrick was born in Scotland in 385AD to Roman parents. When he was in his early teenage years her was captured during a raid and taken to Ireland to be a slave to tend and herd sheep. During this time he turned to God in prayer.
 
        "The love of God and his fear grew in me more and more, as did the faith, and my soul was rosed, so that, in a single day, I have said as many as a hundred prayers and in the night, nearly the same." "I prayed in the woods and on the mountain, even before dawn. I felt no hurt from the snow or ice or rain."
 
St. Patrick's captivity lasted until he was twenty, when he escaped after having a dream from God in which he was told to leave Ireland by going to the coast. There he found some sailors who took him back to Britain, where he reunited with his family.
After his return to Britain he had another dream in which the people of Ireland were calling out to him "We beg you, holy youth, to come and walk among us once more."
After having this dream he began his studies to become a Priest. St. Patrick was soon ordained a bishop and was sent to take the Gospel to Ireland. 
 
St. Patrick began preaching the Gospel throughout Ireland, converting many. St. Patrick preached and converted all of Ireland for 40 years. He worked many miracles and wrote of his love for God in Confessions.
During his time preaching, St. Patrick was thought to have banished all the snakes into the sea.
However this may or may not be correct, it is thought that Ireland may not have ever had snakes, another thought is that "snake" is term used to describe pagans.
 After years of living in poverty, travelling and enduring much suffering he died March 17, 461. He died at Saul, near Downpatrick, Ireland,  where he had built the first church.

St. Patrick and the Shamrock
St. Patrick was teaching some of his followers about the Holy Trinity. His followers were finding it difficult to understand so St. Patrick, picked up a shamrock and used it to show an example of  the "Three-in-one", Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The shamrock has become a symbol of Ireland.

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