It's
said that Patrick became Ireland's patron saint by driving the snakes
from the Emerald Isle (throwing down the witty challenge, "All
snakes wishing to remain in Ireland, raise your right hand").
It's a great story, but not literally true.
Since
the Ice Age, the country most likely had no snakes; however, serpent
symbols were prominent in the pagan rituals that dominated Ireland.
Over the 3 decades that Patrick spread Christianity throughout the
country, those ancient practices were "driven" away.
March
17th is believed to be the day St. Patrick died (in 460 A.D.) and is
observed as a religious holiday throughout Ireland. Here in America,
we mark it by adopting some of the symbols and practices of the
Irish, hoping some of their "luck" will rub off on us.
*
Finding a penny and picking it up
*
Finding a four-leaf clover
*
Sneezing 3 times before breakfast
*
Spilling wine while proposing a toast
*
Having a ladybug land on you
*
Seeing a spider spinning in the morning
*
Dropping a glove
*
Picking up a pencil in the street
*
An itch on the top of your head
Interestingly
many people wonder what is the meaning of ‘Erin Go Bragh’. It is
mostly translated to mean ‘"Ireland
Forever’.
Origin:
Speakers of the Irish language assume that the phrase is a corruption
of the Irish Éire go Brách or Éireann go Brách. The term brách
is equivalent to "eternity" or "end of time",
meaning the phrase may be translated literally as "Ireland until
eternity" or "Ireland until the end (of time)". The
form Éireann go Bráth or Éire go Bráth is also used in Irish and
means the same thing.
(From
Wikipedia)
This
is also a great time to start listening to Irish music and you can
always find great irish music online. You can find streaming radio
stations that feature Irish and Celtic music for your St. Patrick's
Day festivities. Great for parties to play some genuine Irish folk
music.
Irish
and Celtic radio stations for Irish music online:
A good list of online music can be found compiled over at about.com. Click here to view the irish music online streaming stations.
