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DiscoverMaineMagazine.com
It Makes No Never Mind by James Nalley
A
s of this writing, the country is still facing a pandemic that will not only affect people’s lives, but also how they celebrate certain holidays. Being that this issue is released near March, it is natural to consider St. Patrick’s Day. Although many people know that this holiday honors St. Patrick, who is usually credited for introducing Christianity to Ireland in the 5th century A.D., there are many such “facts” that are not simply true. First, the patron saint of Ireland was born in Scotland. According to the traditional narrative, when he was 16, Palladius (his actual name) was enslaved by Irish raiders and transported to Ireland. Approximately six years later, he escaped and returned to Scotland, where he joined a monastery. He eventually returned to Ireland as a missionary and lived there until his death in 461 A.D. Second, well before St. Patrick began preaching in Ireland, Pope Celestine sent a bishop “to the Irish believing in Christ,” indicating that some Irish residents had already converted. Thus, St. Patrick is falsely credited for introducing Christianity to Ireland.
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Third, St. Patrick was not a canonized saint. In fact, the process of canonizing saints did not become common until long after St. Patrick’s death. During his lifetime, the title of “saint” was more of a general one that was assigned to those who lived holy lives and spread the word of God through their acts of kindness and, in some cases, martyrdom. Fourth, although green is most associated with Ireland, it was not the color worn by St. Patrick himself. Members of the Order of St. Patrick wore blue as their symbolic color. Two reasons why green replaced blue is due to Ireland’s nickname of “The Emerald Isle” and the green strip in the Irish flag, which represents the Catholics in the country. Finally, there is no historical evidence that St. Patrick used the shamrock to demonstrate Christianity by stating that the three leaves represented the Holy Trinity. In fact, during his lifetime, the shamrock already had symbolic importance in pagan traditions. In this regard, green was a significant color in paganism because it represented rebirth, while the number three symbolized the three primary gods in pagan
As seen on News Center Maine“207”
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religions. On a side note, for those interested in finding a four-leaf clover, the odds of finding one are approximately 1 in 10,000. So, before you run out to get that green shamrock shirt, surf the Internet for an easy corned beef recipe, and pick up some whiskey or Guinness to make a toast, let me close with the following jest: An Englishman and an Irishman are driving towards one another on a dark, twisted road. Both men are driving too fast for the conditions and they collide on a sharp turn. To their amazement, they are unscathed, but their cars are both destroyed. In celebration of their luck, both men agree to put aside their dislike for the other from that moment on. At that point, the Irishman goes to the trunk of his car and grabs a 12-year-old bottle of Jameson whiskey. He hands the bottle to the Englishman, who toasts, “May the English and the Irish live together forever in peace and harmony!” Then, he tips the bottle and drinks more than half of it. Already feeling the alcohol, the Englishman hands the bottle to the Irishman, who says, “Oh! No thanks man! I’ll just wait for the police to get here first!”
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