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Eukara Vox -> Issue 40 - Thoughts on St. Patrick and Luck (Eukara) (3/11/2009 16:02:59)
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Thoughts on St. Patrick and Luck
by Eukara
St. Patrick's Day: It is a widely celebrated holiday all over the world, both Christians and non-Christians taking part in the festivities. Recent articles written about this festive day proved to be eye-opening: my research turned up many, many articles and discussions commenting on how little celebrants know of this day's history. Many people know of modern traditions and activities, mostly because they all took part in them as children. And for the most part, people don't know why they celebrate what they do.
So, what is this day all about? According to history, when Patrick was 16, he was taken prisoner when Irish raiders attacked his family's estate. He spent the next 6 years as a shepherd, tending flocks alone on the Irish countryside. It was during this time that Patrick turned to his Christianity for comfort. At the end of his imprisonment, he was convinced God was telling him to return home. He walked more than 200 miles to the Irish coast, to escape back to England.
Once home, he again felt God talking to him and entered into an in-depth training for Christian ministers, remaining in the training for 15 years. At the end, when he was ordained a priest, he returned to Ireland with the Church's blessings, to minister to the already growing Christian population there along with the Irish that had not heard the Christian message. The origins of the Celtic cross are from this time. Patrick, utilizing the enormous role the sun played in Irish worship, joined the symbols of the sun and cross so that converts to the faith would find it easier to revere the sacred relic. Patrick died on March 17, 460, after a lifetime of work in Ireland. For over a thousand years, the date March 17th has continued to be an annual commemoration of this historic figure.
After interviewing several individuals, many of whom recalled widespread and popular traditions, I noticed that virtually none of what I was hearing had been mentioned in the original story. So where did they come from?
The most common answer I received from Americans when I asked about St. Patrick's Day was this: people either watch the St. Patrick's Day Parade, or remember watching it with family as children. Understandable, as this is the oldest civilian parade in the world, and the largest in the US (with over 150,000 participants.) The parade's origin dates back to March 17, 1762. Irish soldiers that served in the English military took to the streets of New York City, gathering together to celebrate their roots and reconnect with others who were from Ireland. From then on, this became an annual event where Irish culture, roots and camaraderie were celebrated. Eventually, in 1848, it was decided that one large, encompassing parade would be held in New York City.
The second most common response revolved around the color green and the shamrock. A little research revealed that originally, green was not the color of the day, but blue. Around 1750, green became the color more commonly worn, most likely due to the phrase "the wearing of the green" (referring to pinning a shamrock on the shirt to show pride in Irish heritage). Shamrocks were seen as a religious symbol - one that Patrick is thought to have used to explain the Trinity concept to the Irish. Green and shamrocks thus became a mixture of religious and cultural pride to be displayed on St. Patrick's Day.
Probably the most vivid memories on this day are the painful ones. Everyone I spoke with remembers being pinched for not wearing green. After much research and time, I found that one tradition revealed the explanation behind this practice. It is entirely an American tradition created by children in the 1700s. Apparently, it was a widespread belief among the children that wearing green made you invisible to leprechauns. On this day, if a leprechaun found you, he would pinch you. The pinch was originally meant to warn you that you were visible and to fix the problem. Now, it is just a way to torture our friends.
Some towns in the US show their Irish roots by turning the water sources green for the holiday. The most well-known of these is probably in Illinois, where the Chicago River is dyed green each year. Other greened-up waters include Indianapolis' main canal, Savannah's downtown fountains, and Jamestown, New York's Chadokoin River. In San Antonio, when the river is dyed green (it doesn't take much!) a proclamation is read - temporarily re-naming it as "The River Shannon." It is not only water sources that are dressed up with green; a group of alumni from the University of Missouri in Rolla paints 12 city blocks kelly green to prepare for the parade.
I learned that many families incorporate some very interesting traditions into their holiday celebrations. For instance, one family buys a bunch of gold coin chocolates to put into a black pot. This tempting treasure sits out before the family indulges in their cabbage and meat meal. Another tradition includes a meal of cabbage, potatoes and sausage fried up together. The family that takes part in this meal also sits around singing Irish drinking songs together, enjoying each other's company. Have family in Ireland? Bring them over for the celebration! If your family from over the sea doesn't mind, enjoy the day with them with music, laughter and bit of Irish dancing. And if you are looking for a treat, try some soda bread.
So far, only the United States has been represented here. So, what about Ireland itself? Well, here is an interesting story from an Irishman. A typical St. Patrick's Day in his hometown consists of him waking up at 9am and going for a walk. According to his account, it is always sunny on that day. No cars rumble down the road as the people leave those behind and opt for a more personal stroll by foot. As one passes a person on the way, he or she stops to wish them a happy day and good luck. In town, the perfect spot for the parade is chosen and over the next hour, bands and music pass by, giving out stuff. A mass follows the parade where everyone hears the story of St. Patrick. Then the adults head to a local pub with friends and family while the kids gather and hang out at a park. The day ends at 10pm with the family regathering and settling for the night.
Synonymous with St. Patrick's Day is a phenomenon called luck. Many opinions abound regarding its existence. Is it something man makes for himself or is it random? Does it truly exist or is it a figment of the imagination that a person throws around to explain why something happens the way it does? Instead of writing out a lengthy discourse, I decided to share some quotes by various people from different places and walks of life. (You may recognize many of these names from the AE forums!)
"I believe that luck is something that should be minimized if you plan on succeeding. Yes, you could get lucky, but if you don't... Well, tough luck. Like in the AE games, if you have a high random damage with a low base damage, you can't kill anything reliably. You can try, but you'll succeed sometimes, and fail epically other times. Without some factor of luck, though, there's no fun in anything. Stuff would become predictable, and therefore, boring. So, luck is something that should be minimized for the best effect, but it should still be present to make life exciting. Small, but still there. 'Sides, as exciting as things can get with a lot of random luck, I think succeeding is preferable to finding joy in the inherent difficulty of a task only to fail miserably." - Coyote
"As for luck, that depends on the day. In general, I believe that luck is a happenstance of random chance, that I have good luck - and that you make your own luck. If you look out for the good and ignore the bad, you have good luck - regardless of who or where you are." - Aelthai
"What is luck really? Why are some people luckier than others? Is the notion that some are luckier than others even definite, or is luck simply a fragment of one's imagination? The answers to these questions may never surface, though I would consider luck as the fragment of one's imagination. From my frame of reference, all events in one's life are predetermined and are up to fate to decide." - The Game
"Luck is.... hm. My dad has this crazy theory that makes a bit of sense to me. He thinks that lucky people just pay more attention to the details. So if you pay more attention, you'll see that one add for a job offer, or see that $20 bill half-hidden in the ground. He has this one story where he was driving along, and he saw a hammer in the middle of the road. So he pulled over and picked it up, since it was in perfectly fine condition. And later that day? He needed a hammer! I know the 'needed a hammer' doesn't require him to pay attention, so this kinda doesn't work in most situations. But it makes sense most of the time." - InMediaRes
"I can't really believe in luck - we find our opportunities by being prepared." - A friend
Maybe this quote says it the best: "Well, luck has everything to do with avians. Without luck, we wouldn't stand a chance on the wing and we'd molt all over the place. But with luck, we can dive into the waters of life and catch ourselves a grand meal!" - eagle88
*sources:
http://www.history.com/content/stpatricksday
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Patrick's_Day
http://www.thesanantonioriverwalk.com/
Personal interviews with friends
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