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As you know, today is St. Patrick's Day. Many celebrate it by wearing green or affecting an Irish accent. But what is the origin of St. Patrick's Day, and why do we celebrate?
Believe it or not, St. Patrick's Day as we know it, is an American holiday. It was first celebrated as a solidifer between recently-emigrated Irish Roman Catholics. Back in Ireland, the population was feeling the effects of the Potato Famine In America, there were so many new Irish immigrants, other groups began to feel displaced. Discrimination and violence was common, as the backlash against the Irish continued. The first parade in honor of St. Patrick took place to bring the Irish-Americans together, to celebrate their heritage and their numbers.
Today, most Americans have forgotten the purpose of the holiday, choosing to use it as an excuse to drink as much green beer as possible or pinch those who forgot their green. But now you know why.
Here are some useful Gaelic phrases for you:
What would you like?Cad ba mhaith leat? (cod buh woh latt?)
I am thirsty.
Ta athas tart orm (taw aw-iss tart orr-im)
I would prefer beer/whiskey
B'fhearr liom beoir, uisce beatha (byarr lum byorr, isk-ihh bah-ha)
I am very drunk
Ta me are meisce (taw/may/air/mesh-keh)
My clothes are wet
Ta mo eadie fliuch (taw muh ea-dee flee-uck)
I am unwell (sick)
Ta me tinn (taw may tin)
Happy Saint Patrick's Day!
Beannachtai na Feile Padraig
Ireland Forever!
Erin go braugh! (erin go bra)
My hovercraft is full of eels. (because you never know when you will need it)
Ta m'arthach foluaineach lan d'eascainn
Now you have all the Gaelic you need, so lift a Guinness to your health, and may ye be in Heaven an hour before the devil knows you're dead!
5 great Irish movies
- The Commitments
- The Snapper
- Waking Ned Devine
- My Left Foot
- The Matchmaker
Now it's your turn...what Irish movie is your favorite? Why?
T, who's maiden name is Irish
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3 sent chocolate:
We had to google why we wore green & pinched people - found out the pinching was to commemorate the violence that occured between the orange & green factions.
By the way, this is Bobbie and I have no idea how to leave a comment with my google profile - it always came up before, but now there's a big list of options, and my google profile isn't one of them.
it's ok...I have a new comment plug-in that links new posts from those who have blogs and comment here. You (or anyone) can put your email in the little space and I can just email the comment, that way I don't miss important comments. Make sense? I see it is you, no worries. When are you going to start a blog?
Beannachtai na Feile Padraig, well we need to take care of mother earth, hopefully going green isn't just on st. patrick's day.
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