Matthew woke up this morning and wanted to know why he had to go to school if it was a Holiday. I started to explain the meaning of St Patrick's Day to him an realized I didn't really know or remember other than, being proud to be Irish ( I am a little athough my husband doesn't like me to tell anyone) and drinking green beer. So I had to look it up and I figured I would share and save you the step. :) Your welcome.
The real St. Patrick wasn't even Irish.
He was born in Britain around the A.D. 390 to an aristocratic Christian family with a townhouse, a country villa, and plenty of slaves.
What's more, Patrick professed no interest in Christianity as a young boy, Freeman noted.
At 16, Patrick's world turned.
He was kidnapped and sent overseas to tend sheep as a slave in the chilly, mountainous countryside of Ireland for seven years.
"It was just horrible for him," Freeman said. "But he got a religious conversion while he was there and became a very deeply believing Christian."
Hearing Voices
According to folklore, a voice came to Patrick in his dreams, telling him to escape. He found passage on a pirate ship back to Britain, where he was reunited with his family.
The voice then told him to go back to Ireland.
"He gets ordained as a priest from a bishop and goes back and spends the rest of his life trying to convert the Irish to Christianity," Freeman said.
Patrick's work in Ireland was tough—he was constantly beaten by thugs, harassed by the Irish royalty, and admonished by his British superiors.
After he died on March 17, 461, Patrick was largely forgotten.
But slowly, mythology grew up around Patrick. Centuries later he was honored as the patron saint of Ireland, Freeman noted.
No Snakes in Ireland
The St. Patrick mythology includes the claim that he banished snakes from Ireland.
It's true no snakes exist on the island today, Freeman said. But they never did.
Ireland, after all, is surrounded by icy ocean waters—much too cold to allow snakes to migrate from Britain or anywhere else.
But since snakes often represent evil in literature, "when Patrick drives the snakes out of Ireland, it is symbolically saying he drove the old, evil, pagan ways out of Ireland [and] brought in a new age," Freeman said.
The snakes myth and others—such as Patrick using three-leafed shamrocks to explain the Holy Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Ghost)—were likely spread by well-meaning monks centuries after St. Patrick's death, Freeman said.
(Related: "Snakeless in Ireland: Blame Ice Age, Not St. Patrick.")
St. Patrick's Day: Made in America?
Until the 1970s, St. Patrick's Day in Ireland was a minor religious holiday. A priest would acknowledge the feast day, and families would celebrate with a big meal, but that was about it.
"St. Patrick's Day was basically invented in America by Irish-Americans," Freeman said.
Timothy Meagher is an expert on Irish-American history at Catholic University in Washington, D.C.
He said Irish charitable organizations originally celebrated St. Patrick's Day with banquets in places such as Boston, Massachusetts; Savannah, Georgia; and Charleston, South Carolina.
Eighteenth-century Irish soldiers fighting with the British in the U.S. Revolutionary War held the first St. Patrick's Day parades. Some soldiers, for example, marched through New York City in 1762 to reconnect with their Irish roots.
Others parades followed in the years and decades after, including well-known celebrations in Boston, Philadelphia, and Chicago, primarily for flourishing Irish immigrant communities.
"It becomes a way to honor the saint but also to confirm ethnic identity and to create bonds of solidarity," Meagher said.
Wearing Green Clothes, Dyeing River Green
Sometime in the 19th century, as St. Patrick's Day parades were flourishing, wearing the color green became a show of commitment to Ireland, Meagher said.
In 1962 the show of solidarity took a spectacular turn in Chicago when the city decided to dye a portion of the Chicago River green.
The tradition started when parade organizer Steve Bailey, head of a plumbers' union, noticed how a dye used to detect river pollution had stained a colleague's overalls a brilliant green, according to greenchicagoriver.com.
Why not, Bailey thought, turn the river green on St. Patrick's Day? So began the tradition.
The environmental impact of the dye is minimal compared with sources of pollution such as bacteria from sewage-treatment plants, said Margaret Frisbie, the executive director of the advocacy group Friends of the Chicago River.
Her group focuses instead on turning the Chicago River into a well-known habitat full of fish, herons, turtles, and beavers.
If the river becomes a wildlife haven, the thinking goes, Chicagoans won't want to dye their river green.
"Our hope is that, as the river continues to improve, ultimately people can get excited about celebrating St. Patrick's Day different ways," she said.
(Related: "St. Patrick's Day Fast Facts: Beyond the Blarney.")
Pint of Guinness
On any given day 5.5 million pints of Guinness, the famous Irish stout, are consumed around the world.
On St. Patrick's Day, that number more than doubles to 13 million pints, said Beth Davies Ryan, global corporate relations director of Guinness.
"Historically speaking, a lot of Irish immigrants came to the United States and brought with them lots of customs and traditions, one of them being Guinness," she said.
Today, the U.S. tradition of St. Patrick's Day parades, packed pubs, and green silliness has invaded Ireland with full force, noted Freeman, the classics professor.
The country, he noted, figured out the popularity of St. Patrick's Day was a good way to boost spring tourism.
"Like anybody else," he said, "they can take advantage of a good opportunity."
ATC today has some green on it!
Have a great day.
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I don't know how it happened! I do know that if school today has the kids write what they did on their 2 week vacation Danielle should write about this! SHE GOT MATTHEW INTO NEOPETS! They should have a support group for kids who are addicted to this site because my daughter needs help and now my son.
At least they are not fighting!!!!
They didn't even notice I was taking these pictures.
Have a great Tuesday!!!!
These little frames sit on my kitchen window sill and I change them up every season with some of my new scrapbooking stuff that inspires me when I see it each day. The frames in the frame, are cut outs from the new Sassafras vintage yummy paper line. I added some stickles crystal glitter, ink, rub ons, and pop dotted them after I cut them out.
The calender is all about Jack this month. He has brought so much joy to this family and is so fun.
While I had my camera out I had to take a picture of the yellow and orange Ranniculus that were part of my centerpiece for the dinner party Greg and I had Saturday night before they die. LOVE these flowers.
Have a great day!!!
I havn't bought anything for myself in awhile... but these were too sweet to pass up. Wish I had somewhere to wear them to everyday! 24.99 at TJ Maxx.
Spent some time yesterday with my dad, so I didn't get a chance to post. These cards are both on Hambly Clearly Overlays. Embossing on them is a cinch and doesn't melt or warp them. Transparencies are a different story. I made a flower out of one, by cutting circle shapes in three different sizes, and then used my embossing gun to melt and warp them for some dimension. Then I inked the edges and layered them. I like making my own flowers. Very FUN. Have a great Friday!!!!!
Danielle is definitely a perfectionist. She has been that way since she was little, from lining her barbies up in a row to her penmanship. She takes after her father :). I like when things are imperfect like the dew drops on this card. I realize after uploading this photo they are a little off and I will be fixing that. This card is in the center of the layout and is more beautiful than the picture shows. It is on a Clearly Heavy Overlay by Hambly. Have a great Wednsday. I am going to try and get some scrapping done today.
Matthew woke up this morning and wanted to know why he had to go to school if it was a Holiday. I started to explain the meaning of St Patrick's Day to him an realized I didn't really know or remember other than, being proud to be Irish ( I am a little athough my husband doesn't like me to tell anyone) and drinking green beer. So I had to look it up and I figured I would share and save you the step. :) Your welcome.
The real St. Patrick wasn't even Irish.
He was born in Britain around the A.D. 390 to an aristocratic Christian family with a townhouse, a country villa, and plenty of slaves.
What's more, Patrick professed no interest in Christianity as a young boy, Freeman noted.
At 16, Patrick's world turned.
He was kidnapped and sent overseas to tend sheep as a slave in the chilly, mountainous countryside of Ireland for seven years.
"It was just horrible for him," Freeman said. "But he got a religious conversion while he was there and became a very deeply believing Christian."
Hearing Voices
According to folklore, a voice came to Patrick in his dreams, telling him to escape. He found passage on a pirate ship back to Britain, where he was reunited with his family.
The voice then told him to go back to Ireland.
"He gets ordained as a priest from a bishop and goes back and spends the rest of his life trying to convert the Irish to Christianity," Freeman said.
Patrick's work in Ireland was tough—he was constantly beaten by thugs, harassed by the Irish royalty, and admonished by his British superiors.
After he died on March 17, 461, Patrick was largely forgotten.
But slowly, mythology grew up around Patrick. Centuries later he was honored as the patron saint of Ireland, Freeman noted.
No Snakes in Ireland
The St. Patrick mythology includes the claim that he banished snakes from Ireland.
It's true no snakes exist on the island today, Freeman said. But they never did.
Ireland, after all, is surrounded by icy ocean waters—much too cold to allow snakes to migrate from Britain or anywhere else.
But since snakes often represent evil in literature, "when Patrick drives the snakes out of Ireland, it is symbolically saying he drove the old, evil, pagan ways out of Ireland [and] brought in a new age," Freeman said.
The snakes myth and others—such as Patrick using three-leafed shamrocks to explain the Holy Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Ghost)—were likely spread by well-meaning monks centuries after St. Patrick's death, Freeman said.
(Related: "Snakeless in Ireland: Blame Ice Age, Not St. Patrick.")
St. Patrick's Day: Made in America?
Until the 1970s, St. Patrick's Day in Ireland was a minor religious holiday. A priest would acknowledge the feast day, and families would celebrate with a big meal, but that was about it.
"St. Patrick's Day was basically invented in America by Irish-Americans," Freeman said.
Timothy Meagher is an expert on Irish-American history at Catholic University in Washington, D.C.
He said Irish charitable organizations originally celebrated St. Patrick's Day with banquets in places such as Boston, Massachusetts; Savannah, Georgia; and Charleston, South Carolina.
Eighteenth-century Irish soldiers fighting with the British in the U.S. Revolutionary War held the first St. Patrick's Day parades. Some soldiers, for example, marched through New York City in 1762 to reconnect with their Irish roots.
Others parades followed in the years and decades after, including well-known celebrations in Boston, Philadelphia, and Chicago, primarily for flourishing Irish immigrant communities.
"It becomes a way to honor the saint but also to confirm ethnic identity and to create bonds of solidarity," Meagher said.
Wearing Green Clothes, Dyeing River Green
Sometime in the 19th century, as St. Patrick's Day parades were flourishing, wearing the color green became a show of commitment to Ireland, Meagher said.
In 1962 the show of solidarity took a spectacular turn in Chicago when the city decided to dye a portion of the Chicago River green.
The tradition started when parade organizer Steve Bailey, head of a plumbers' union, noticed how a dye used to detect river pollution had stained a colleague's overalls a brilliant green, according to greenchicagoriver.com.
Why not, Bailey thought, turn the river green on St. Patrick's Day? So began the tradition.
The environmental impact of the dye is minimal compared with sources of pollution such as bacteria from sewage-treatment plants, said Margaret Frisbie, the executive director of the advocacy group Friends of the Chicago River.
Her group focuses instead on turning the Chicago River into a well-known habitat full of fish, herons, turtles, and beavers.
If the river becomes a wildlife haven, the thinking goes, Chicagoans won't want to dye their river green.
"Our hope is that, as the river continues to improve, ultimately people can get excited about celebrating St. Patrick's Day different ways," she said.
(Related: "St. Patrick's Day Fast Facts: Beyond the Blarney.")
Pint of Guinness
On any given day 5.5 million pints of Guinness, the famous Irish stout, are consumed around the world.
On St. Patrick's Day, that number more than doubles to 13 million pints, said Beth Davies Ryan, global corporate relations director of Guinness.
"Historically speaking, a lot of Irish immigrants came to the United States and brought with them lots of customs and traditions, one of them being Guinness," she said.
Today, the U.S. tradition of St. Patrick's Day parades, packed pubs, and green silliness has invaded Ireland with full force, noted Freeman, the classics professor.
The country, he noted, figured out the popularity of St. Patrick's Day was a good way to boost spring tourism.
"Like anybody else," he said, "they can take advantage of a good opportunity."
ATC today has some green on it!
Have a great day.
This card is one of my favorites. The girl makes ice skating look so easy. Look at those muscles on her legs! I used Basic Grey Ambrosia papers, roughed the edges up a little with a steak knife to add a vintage feeling. The stamped and embossed frame for my word is by Technique Tuesday lost in louvre.I don't even mind that it didn't come perfect. Remember the big bag of strung pearls I got to play with? They made a perfect frame for this girl. And Stickles Crystal for sparkle on the ice. Strength. I need some today...
Happy Monday.
I have finished my March project!!! It is not due until the end of the month but once I got started making these ATC's I couldn't stop. I spent alot of time researching them first for inspiration. I never saw any done on transparencies so I decided to try it( This is one of them with white cardstock behind it). Some of them are very bulky which I am not sure is kosher in the ATC world but I am happy with them as a whole and think they show my style well. I am not going to share them all yet, maybe one a day until they are due. My theme was ice princess, which really threw me. I found some vintage skating images that really got me inspired on my theme and played with them digitally to add them to my cards. Each card contains a word that is a quality of an ice princess. When I wrote these qualities down I thought to myself that Danielle has all of these qualities too, but she is in no way an ice princess.. per say. So I turned it into the theme for my layout...A picture of her dressed like a princess and the journaling reads... "You can be anything you set your mind to be little girl... even an Ice Princess". I really do believe this and I say it to my kids all the time that they can be anything and do anything they set their mind to. When Danielle saw the completed layout last night she said "WOW mom", and that is what this is all about for me... creating something that means something even if it is just a DT assignment.
Ps A very good friend of mine... :) is selling some adorable one of a kind custom switch plates on Etsy. Take a look and add some flair to you home for Spring. I Just love the Hambly owl and bird one's!!!
take a peek... www.kac4470.etsy.com
LOVE the stings of pearls. I drew the theme Ice princess.
Time to get creative!!!!!
When I saw this layout
http://s145.photobucket.com/albums/r218/nzimmer/?action=view¤t=gotgum.jpg
using the Stride gum wrapper, I knew I had to use it on a layout for Danielle. She never asks for anything except this gum. I gave her a three pack for Valentines day and you would have thought I gave her Gold. That and Neopets are her obsessions right now. I will take it for as long as I can..... :)
Thanks Nikki Z for the inspiration!
