by Christie Kelley
Are you wearing your green? I am. So it must be St. Patrick’s Day again. Not wanting to bore you with the traditional history of the day, I decided to have some fun and give you all little known facts about St. Patrick’s Day. Before I begin, I have to give you one that really has nothing to do with St. Paddy but is great for the beer drinkers.
It was reported to the AMA that Guinness may be as effective as aspirin at reducing the blood clots that cause heart attacks! Woohoo, Slainté!
What was St. Patrick’s given name?
What do the colors of the Irish flag represent?
Are you wearing your green? I am. So it must be St. Patrick’s Day again. Not wanting to bore you with the traditional history of the day, I decided to have some fun and give you all little known facts about St. Patrick’s Day. Before I begin, I have to give you one that really has nothing to do with St. Paddy but is great for the beer drinkers.
It was reported to the AMA that Guinness may be as effective as aspirin at reducing the blood clots that cause heart attacks! Woohoo, Slainté!According to the 2003 US Census, approximately 34 million Americans have Irish ancestry. That’s almost nine times the population of Ireland, which has 4.1 million people. And you can count me as one of them.
Green didn’t become associated with St. Patrick until the 19th century. Before that statues always depicted him in blue.
Celtic Druids imprisoned St. Patrick many times for trying to convert the people to Christianity.
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The shamrock was considered a sacred plant by the Druids as it symbolized spring.
Wearing the color green was considered unlucky in Ireland. Folklore holds that the leprechauns love the color green will steal away the children dressed in the color.
Nine of the people who signed our Declaration Of Independence were of Irish origin, and nineteen Presidents of the United States proudly claim Irish heritage -- including our first President, George Washington.
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the highest number of leaves found on a clover is 14. Now that had to be some luck!
So while the cabana boys are serving the green beer, I sent Sven out to get some corned beef and cabbage for us to enjoy. And in honor of the day celebrating my heritage, I decided to give away a copy of Every Time We Kiss.
Green didn’t become associated with St. Patrick until the 19th century. Before that statues always depicted him in blue.
Celtic Druids imprisoned St. Patrick many times for trying to convert the people to Christianity.
+of+shamrock.jpg)
The shamrock was considered a sacred plant by the Druids as it symbolized spring.Wearing the color green was considered unlucky in Ireland. Folklore holds that the leprechauns love the color green will steal away the children dressed in the color.
Nine of the people who signed our Declaration Of Independence were of Irish origin, and nineteen Presidents of the United States proudly claim Irish heritage -- including our first President, George Washington.
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the highest number of leaves found on a clover is 14. Now that had to be some luck!
So while the cabana boys are serving the green beer, I sent Sven out to get some corned beef and cabbage for us to enjoy. And in honor of the day celebrating my heritage, I decided to give away a copy of Every Time We Kiss.
But to be entered to win, you must answer the following questions correctly:
What was St. Patrick’s given name?
What do the colors of the Irish flag represent?
79 comments:
Is He coming to place
have Fun
Helen
He is at my place for St Patricks Day
Have Fun
Helen
Yeah Helen! Say hi to him for me -- he obviously doesn't like Cincinnati!
Happy St Patricks Day to you all it is nearly over here in Australia but I am sure there are still a lot partying in the City at all the Irish Pubs.
As to the answers the colours mean
Green- Gaelic Anglo Norman supporters
White- Truce between the two
Orange- The supporters of William of Orange.
I will take a guess and say Patrick as his name.
I am not sure whether I like green beer but a Baileys Irish Cream would be very nice.
Have Fun
Helen
Happy St. Patrick's Day. I'll be having corned beef and cabbage for dinner. I might have some green beer. No need to enter me, but here are my answers/guesses. St. Patrick's given name is Maewyn Succat. As for the flag, I was told the green represents those of Irish descent and the Catholic majority. The orange represents the Protestant minority and the white stripe in the middle represents the peace between the two groups.
Congrats on the GR, Helen.
Patrick is "Padraig" in Gaelic, but according to Wikipedia, St. Patrick's given name was Maewyn Succat (Latin: Magonus Succetus).
The Irish flag is made up of three vertical stripes, green and orange on the outside and white between those colors. The "orange Irish," or Irish protestants, are represented by the orange stripe. The green stripe represents Irish Catholics, and the white in the middle stands for peace between the two.
When I worked at the Chicago Sun-Times years ago, I could look out my office window and watch as the Chicago River turned green. They would dye it every year for St. Patrick's Day -- I think they still do.
Christie
I have ordered your book and should get it in the next day or two I am so looking forward to reading it.
I love cornbeef and cabbage with white sauce yay should be having that for dinner tonight
Have Fun
Helen
Becke
I have said Hi to him for you and he said he hopes to visit you very soon.
Have Fun
Helen
Woohoo! Happy St. Patrick's Day, Christie! Gotta love corned beef :D I'm not too sure about the green beer either, but I do remember eons ago, McDonalds used to have green milkshakes (this was back when they used to have the Hamburglar and those other friends of Ronald...) I hear the Shamrock shakes have made a comeback, but I haven't had one ;)
As to the questions--St. Patrick’s given name was Maewyn Succat, and he was actually not natively Irish. The green, white, and orange of the Irish flag represent the Gaelic tradition (green), the Protestant following William of Orange (orange!), and the truce between them (white). As a non-Catholic kid attending a mostly Catholic school, I was told that I ought to wear orange on St. Patrick's Day if I wasn't Catholic/Irish. Either way, I seemed to get quite a few pinches--my kids say that isn't allowed at school these days :)
Congrats on the GR, Helen! Hope he enjoys the corned beef! ;)
Hey, Helen, begorrah, my sweet colleen, you've got a wee Irish rooster visiting you for St Paddy's day! You'd better give him lettuce for lunch! Ooh, and while you're there, can I have a Bailey's too? Love the stuff!
Happy St Patrick's Day, everyone! Great post, Christie. The mind boggles at the thought of a 14-leaf clover! Was it found next to a nuclear reactor or something?
Actually I have no Irish ancestors, unless you count the Scots way back who mostly came from Ireland in the first place. But I suspect that connection is a little tenuous seeing we're going back to the Dark Ages!
I found this in http://flagspot.net/flags/ie.html#meaning :
Meaning of the Colours
Officially (i.e. in the national constitution) the colours of the Irish flag have no meaning. However many urban legends have arisen to account for the colours. Some are presented below:
From this webpage: The Green is for the Catholics, the Orange for the Protestants and the white for the peace between them. Every once in a while when you see a green-white-yellow (instead of orange) flag around the country here, that person is basically disagreeing.
Heather, 27 April 2003 [Ed. note: green-white-yellow/gold are the colours of Offaly.]
From a Government webpage: The green represents the older Gaelic tradition while the orange represents the supporters of William of Orange. The white in the centre signifies a lasting truce between the 'Orange' and the 'Green'.
The Dubliners-Whiskey in the Jar
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eOIU9ekSMk
St. Patrick: Maewyn Succat (Latin: Magonus Succetus).
Riverdance song duet
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgDhxOC5g48&feature=related
Happy St Patricks Day!
Riverdance Choir - Home And The Heartland
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcWyJpjeF9Y&feature=related
Hi Christie, Sure and Begorrah, Happy St. Pat's Day to you!
I have absolutely no Irish blood in me that I know of, but we have a huge Irish population here in Oz as well. And a few honorary ones, who are just there for the green beer, no doubt!
Hey, the cabana boys are in the cutest leprechaun suits! How did you get them to agree to that? I must admit ignorance and say that I had no idea about the Irish flag, but I love learning all these bits of history and trivia. Thanks!
Ooh, Helen, congrats on the bird!
Luck 'o the Irish be to ye, this fine St. Paddy's day, Christie.
Alas, other than a fake Irish brogue, three bairns whose Da is of Irish descent, and one grand joke to tell, that's all the Irish I can lay claim to!
Woot Helen!!!
Happy St. Patricks Day everyone!!!! Wishing you all a pinch free day (unless, of course, its one of those flirty kind of pinches *g*)
Christie, can I have a tray of potatoes instead of the corned beef?
Happy St. Patrick's Day! I've got some Irish in me, too, and really enjoy a Guinness Stout and some good Irish music!
Although it's not entirely certain, St. Patrick's given name is thought to have been Maewyn Succat, and he took the name Patricius, after he became a priest. and he wasn't the first Christian to come to Ireland to convert the population, just the most famous, and I guess, the most successful. :D
There are three vertical retangles on Ireland's flag and the colors symbolize religions - the green, representing the Catholics, is next to the flagpole, the orange on the right, the Protestants, and the white in the middle symbolizes peace between the two.
Fun blog!
Laurie
Kudos Helen on grabbing him today!
Christie - I have no idea what the answer to your questions are without googling, but I do know there are 10,000 average clovers to one four-leaf. My husband is going to be so happy to hear about Guiness, his favorite. Now he'll tell me he's being healthy when he orders one.
Happy St. Patrick's Day to all of you.
Happy St.Patrick's Day to you all, I am sure there will be a lot of Wearin' O' the Green today. I have to make do with just a touch of green somewhere as my uniform for today is blue.
I have your book Christie and it is jockeying for position to be next in line in my tbr pile.
Congrats Helen ...grabbing the Gr for St. Patricks day was a fine feather in your cap!
I have to admit to Googling the answers!!
1.Maewyn Succat
2.
The green pale in the flag symbolises the older majority Gaelic tradition of Ireland. Green had long been associated with Ireland as a nation,[12][13] and with the revolutionary groups within it.[14] The orange represents the minority who were supporters of William of Orange. He, of the House of Orange and originally the Stadtholder of the Netherlands, had defeated King James II and his predominantly Irish Catholic army[15] at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. His title came from the Principality of Orange in the south of France that had been a Protestant bastion from the 1500s. It was included in the Irish flag in an attempt to reconcile the Orange Order in Ireland with the Irish independence movement.[14] The white in the centre signifies a lasting truce between the two cultures and a living together in peace.[16] The flag, as a whole, is intended to symbolise the inclusion and hoped-for union of the people of different traditions on the island of Ireland, which is expressed in the Constitution as the entitlement of every person born in Ireland to be part of the independent Irish nation, regardless of ethnic origin, religion or political conviction.
Thanks Christie for the prompt to look this up on the Wiki!
My Great-Great grandmother Catherine came from County Offally (Kings county) to Australia in 1853 two sisters - Catherine 21yrs. and her sister Briget 19 yrs. Amazing to think of two sisters travelling into the unknown way back then, married an American merchant sailor. Catherine was buried in Rushworth, Victoria in 1914.
Why do we love historical romance?
because it was real life once!
Cheers Carol
Happy St. Patrick's Day! I have to remember to wear green. St. Patrick's given name was Maewyn and the Irish flag colors are green for the native people of Ireland (mostly Catholic), orange for the British supporters of William of Orange (mostly Protestants) and white for peace between the two groups.
Helen, congrats on nabbing the GR. The G stands for Green today :)
Hi Helen, I'm with you on the green beer but I'm not much of a beer drinker.
Hi, guys! Happy St. Pattie's Day!
I posted a winner to my post yesterday. I did it last night but apparently it didn't go through.
Anyone watch Grey's Anatomy? Kevin McKidd isn't Irish (He's Scot) but he's a redhead and GORGEOUS! Just sayin'... in case anyone gets tired of the tanned cabana boys. ;0)
Kay
Hi, guys! Happy St. Pattie's Day!
I posted a winner to my post yesterday. I did it last night but apparently it didn't go through.
Anyone watch Grey's Anatomy? Kevin McKidd isn't Irish (He's Scot) but he's a redhead and GORGEOUS! Just sayin'... in case anyone gets tired of the tanned cabana boys. ;0)
Kay
Congrats Helen!
Happy St. Paddy's Day! There's Irish ancestry on my family tree as well. I'd love to be eating my traditional meal of corned beef and cabbage but I'm still sick and my appetite is pretty much limited to chicken soup. Maybe a little green food coloring will give it that Irish touch? lol
Christie, congrats on the new release. It's a wonderful story! I really, really loved this one.
The Republic of Ireland's flag is made of three equal-sized rectangles of orange, white, and green. This flag was first used in 1848.
The green color on the flag represents the native people of Ireland (most of whom are Roman Catholic). The orange color represents the British supporters of William of Orange who settled in Northern Ireland in the 17th century (most of whom are Protestant). The white in the center of the flag represents peace between these two groups of people.
St Patrick's real name was Maewyn Succat. Pope Celestine gave him the name Patricus -St Patrick.
Down here (FL) they had a parade on sat and another one scheduled for tuesday!
Hey Helen! Get the GR to do his Riverdance! It's fabulous (hard on the chicken feet, but fabulous)
Happy St. Paddy's day to you Chrisite and all the Banditas and BB's.
Suz said that's all the Irish I can lay claim to!
Don't be too sure, colleen...the gift of eloquence is a well honed Irish trait and ye've got that in spades!
Boy, I could sure do with a 14 leaf clover about now. I'm off to lunch at an Irish pub though so who knows? After a couple of rounds I just might see one....I might see a lot of things :-)
Happy St Patrick's Day! :)
What was St. Patrick’s given name? Here I was suprised, because sure didn't know it wasn't Patrick -- Maewyn
What do the colors of the Irish flag represent? The green color on the flag represents the native people of Ireland (Catholics), The orange color represents the British supporters of William of Orange who settled in Northern Ireland in the 17th century (Protestants). The white in the center of the flag represents peace between these two groups of people.
Lois
Howdy! :)
Given name of St. Patrick - Maewyn
Meaning of the Irish Flag - Green stripe is represents Catholics, the Orange represents Protestants and the white stripe symbolizes the peace between them
:) Thanks for entering me! :)
Hi Jane, believe it or not, I've never fixed corned beef and cabbage. My mother used to and I love corned beef. Tonight it's pasta because I have the kid driving to do so I need something quick.
Treethyme, I'd love to see the Chicago at St. Paddy's day. I heard on the radio yesterday that they did dye the river again. FYI, it's a vegatable based dye so it's safe for the fish.
Helen, thanks for ordering my book. Yeah, no corned beef for me tonight either.
Top of the morning to everyone! And tip top of the morning to you, Helen! Green feathers for everyone!
Here are the answers to your questions.
The flag is divided into three equal stripes and its width is equal to twice its height. It is used as the civil and state flag and as the civil and naval ensign.
Symbolism:
GREEN - The green stripe represents those of native Irish descent. It also signifies Irish Catholics & the Republican cause.
WHITE - represents the hope for peace between the two groups.
ORANGE - The orange stripe represents calum cato being a ginger orange to represent the protestant or unionist tradition, green to represent the catholic or nationalist tradition and white for the peace it was hoped would exist between them
St. Patrick's given name was reported to be Maewyn Succat. No wonder the poor guy changed it!
Cabana boys in leprechaun suits? I need to catch a leprechaun! What's at the end of that rainbow?
I will definitely be having some corned beef as it is one of my all time favorites, but no cabbage for me, thank you.
Fedora, I LOVED those shamrock shakes. Of course, I love anything minty flavored. Hmm, will Tawny allow me to have one today? She's trying to get some of us to eat better :)
And btw, am I wearing green today? No, but I do have my purple Irish wool sweater on straight from Ireland.
Anna, I would love to have found a picture of that 14 leaf clover. What a mess it must be. And I think you're pushing it with the Irish connection.
Hi Minna, happy St. Patrick's day!
Christine, I plied the boys with a few green pints before I told them to get into the leprechaun suits. I told them they would look pretty. Weird but after a few pints, it worked.
Suz, my boys have an Italian last name but are more Irish than anything else. And they look more Irish than Italian.
Tawny, just think of all those carbs. But if you really want those potatoes, go right ahead. As long as I can find a shamrock shake :)
Hi Laurie, Happy St. Patrick's day to you! Thanks for stopping in!
Dianna, I'll have to start searching my clover infested yard for a four-leaf one. Happy St. Paddy's day.
Dianna, the only green I have on today is my shamrock earings. They are pretty cool because they each have an actual shamrock embedded in them.
Carol, very cool that you know when your relatives came over. Most of mine came over during the famine.
With a name like Maureen, I hope you do wear your green today! Happy St. Paddy's day.
Kay! How could we ever get tired of tanned cabanna boys?!!
PJ, keep the food simple today. You can get your corned beef later when it goes on sale. I hope you feel better soon. There's been a ton of stomach sickness around lately.
Thank you so much for your comments on my book. I read a lousy review for it yesterday and I wanted to drown myself in chocolate. But I didn't!
Joan, have fun at lunch today! My dh isn't feeling great or I'd take him out to lunch too.
Hi Lois, happy St. Patrick's day! Thanks for the guesses.
Hi Rachael, happy St. Patrick's day!
Happy St. Patrick's Day! I absolutely can claim Irish heritage. My great-great grandfather, Patrick came to the U.S. from Ireland. I've never been to Ireland, but it is definitely at the top of my list!
St. Patrick's real name was Maewyn Succat (I think I'd go with Patrick, too. *g*)
The green in the flag is for the native Irish (Roman Catholic), the orange is for the supporters of William of Orange (Protestant) and the white is for the truce between them.
I always wear green---I have green eyes! LOL
Gannon, you're not alone, I haven't been to Ireland either. I took a facebook quiz on what country you should live in...any guesses? Yep, Ireland.
Joan said: Don't be too sure, colleen...the gift of eloquence is a well honed Irish trait and ye've got that in spades!
Not that I wouldn't love to lay claim to that trait coming from some good Irish blood...but the Welsh people have it too...and THAT blood line I do have running straight through me. Tis also where the muscial ability in me family came from, Joanie darlin!
Maewyn Succat is St Patrick's real name
Green- Gaelic majority supporters
White- Truce between the two
Orange- The supporters of William of Orange.
Happy St. Patrick's day, jcp.
maewyn Succat
Green irish catholic
orange protestants of n.ireland
or the loyalist who remained loyal to the crown
white a lasting truce
Donna here - sitting in her green sweatshirt at the computer, proudly declaring her Irish heritage. My great-grandparents on my maternal side came over from County Cork. One day I hope to cross the Atlantic to see if those ancestral roots.
Congrats to Helen for her rooster nabbing.
We're having rueben sandwiches - corned beef and sauerkraut - for our traditional St. Pat's dinner tonight. It's our version of corned beef and cabbage.
Thanks for the fun facts, Christie.
Hi Peggy, happy St. Paddys day!
Hi Donna, I love rueben sandwiches. Can I come over for dinner?
Yeah Helen! He is back home again! Have a great time with him today!
Happy St Patricks Day everyone!
St Patricks given name was Maewyn Succat. The colors of the flag mean orange to represent the protestant or unionist tradition, green to represent the catholic or nationalist tradition and white for the peace it was hoped would exist between them.
Have a great day everyone!
Hi Virginia! Happy St. Patrick's day to you!
Top o' the afternoon ta everyone and Happy St. Pat's. (I'm wearing the one and only green shirt I own so no one be pinching me now.)
Looks like the answers are all out and thanks for the trivia. I didn't know any of it. LOL!
I'm afraid I have no Irish in me that I know of, but as me mum was adopted and me da can't go beyond his own parents, there's no telling what makes up this mutt.
Happy St. Paddy's day, Terrio! Glad you could make it.
Good afternoon, Christie!
I'm just back from the St. Patrick's Day parade in downtown St. Paul. It was a lovely day for it, though my faith in humanity is a little tarnished after some giant teenaged boys stood directly in front of my children (who were in what was previously the front row), then rolled their eyes at me when I politely suggested they move five feet to the left so the small people could see.
They didn't move.
Then, on the bus on the way home, a handful of large, drunk men boarded & proceeded to terrify my girls by chatting them up in their loud, drunk, slurred voices. I finally said, "They're SHY" even though they decidedly are not & put them behind me when the men didn't quite grasp that the girls weren't enjoying the attention.
*sigh*
But all that aside, they loved putting on their green, loved seeing everybody else dressed up in their green, & really loved it when the parade marchers tossed out handfuls of candy. :-)
Happy St. Pat's Day, everybody! Anybody else turning out for the parades?
Hi Susan, sorry you had to fight the drunkards and teenagers. But at least the girls had fun. No parade here just cool, cloudy weather.
Well unless absolutely everyone else is wrong: The given name of St. Patrick was Maewyn Succat or Magonus Succetus in Latin.
The meaning of the Irish Flag - The green stripe represents Catholics, the Orange represents Protestants and the white stripe symbolizes the peace between them
I have no Irish in me but my husband has l/8th and so my two girls have l/16th lol.
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
I don't have any Irish blood but I love all the fun facts in the blog, Christie.
Oh, and I also love McDonalds' Shamrock shakes :-) I'll stick with that (hey, it's green) instead of green beer *g*
Hi catslady, that 1/16 counts! Happy St. Patrick's day!
Beth, you and me both on the shamrock shakes. Do they still make them? I really don't want to know.
Christie, I took the same Facebook quiz and got Ireland, too. I knew I would! :)
Maewyn Succat is St. Patrick’s birth name.
Green represents Catholics; the Orange, Protestants; and the white symbolizes peace between them. (Yeah, right. I don’t like Orange. Can I switch religions?)
Christie Kelley said...
Dianna, the only green I have on today is my shamrock earings. They are pretty cool because they each have an actual shamrock embedded in them.
Oh, those do sound cool, when I got to work I swiped a little piece of a shamrock garland and paper clipped it to my collar.
A very happy St. Patrick's Day to you, Christie, and all the Irish descendants in The Lair.
What a rollicking blog this is. I'm from the Midwest, so green beer frat parties were de rigeuer as were green ketchup and green mustard on grilled bratwursts.
Helen, is the GR sporting fancy greens today? I bet he's busy scarfing down green chocolate.
Great post, Christie!! I almost forgot it was the "Wearin' o' the green" day and I'm part Irish!
Don't know any of the answers to the questions though.
Yay, Helen, put the chook in a little bit o' green!
Chiming in late to shout: Erin Go Bragh! Ireland Forever!
As I'm sure I've bragged before, I'm Irish on BOTH sides of my family tree! The McGary (my father's side) is from the north somewhere, most likely County Antrim or County Donegal. The name was probably a variation on Garragh (which in Irish Gaelic means garden) before it was Anglicized.
My mother's family came from County Cork, MAYBE! Back in the day, when the Irish immigrants arrived and they were asked where they came from they answered "I sailed from Cork" because most ALL the ships sailed from Cork. Whether they were actually FROM Cork is another matter.
AC
thinking the Cabana boys look mighty fine in their leprechaun outfits
Helen, you lucky duck! Hope you and the GH have had a great day together. *g*
Christie, I'm a bit envious that you know of your Irish ancestry. On both sides of my family, we have traced English, Scots, German, French, Native American and Welsh blood...but no Irish. My mother claims we MUST have some Irish mixed in with the Scots, since so many immigrants were Scots-Irish, but the family trees don't support her view.
Of course, she was a "Dugger" and no one is for sure where that name came from (or what it was before its illiterate carriers made it to America in the 1600s). Dugger is NOT a common name, even today. Yes, we are probably distantly related to the Duggars of reality TV fame. Now THAT family may skew the total number of Duggers/Duggars in existence!
Bottom line: still no definite Irish ancestry. I wear green anyway, though! Also, corned beef was denied me this year because we gave up beef (and some other stuff) for Lent. *sigh* I clearly didn't think that one through!
And I'm sure other people know the answers to your questions but I don't. :-(
Susan, you'll be appalled to know there are NO St. Patrick's Day parades in the Southeast. Well, there may be one somewhere, but I've lived in Nashville, Houston, Charlotte and Raleigh and have never seen one yet (except on TV). Most of the Irish here is of the Scots-Irish variety, with heavy emphasis on the Scots part. We have GREAT Highland games, though!
PJ, I'm sorry to hear you're sick. Hope you feel better soon!
Sorry I'm late to the party y'all, but Happy St. Patrick's Day anyhow!
I bought some cider this evening. No green beer for me. Woodchuck Pear cider. Tasted great at the sampling. Paid $9 for a six pack. Got it home, had knocked back two of them when I looked at the bottle. FOUR PERCENT ALCOHOL. Heck. I might as well be drinking Koolaid. Sheesh. And I paid good money for this!
Sigh. Live and learn. Live and learn.
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