Ever wonder who St. Patrick was and why we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? I thought he was the saint who drove all the snakes out of Ireland with a shamrock.

Saint Patrick’s Festival in Dublin. Saint Patrick is getting younger every year … or is it that I am getting older? (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I was wrong. (Imagine that! LOL.)
Patrick was born a Roman Citizen in Britain 1600 years ago (give or take.) He was kidnapped and taken to Ireland where he was a slave for six years. He turned to Christ during that time, escaped and later went back to Ireland as a missionary. (Now that’s Christian love!)
Patrick used the shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, which is the reason why shamrocks are part of St. Paddy’s Day.
St. Patrick DID NOT drive all the snakes from Ireland. (Gasp!) There are no fossil records of there ever being snakes in Ireland. (Sounds like a great place, doesn’t it?) He did, however, drive paganism from her beautiful green shores.
So why do we celebrate St. Patrick’s day on March 17th? Because it was his birthday? The day he was kidnapped? The day he escaped? The day he became a Christian?
Nope.
It’s the day he died. We’re celebrating his death day. (Who knew?)
I’ve never celebrated St. Paddy’s day in a big way. I wore green if I had it and pinched anyone who didn’t, but that’s about it. I’ve found, though, that I have a few very distant relatives who came from Ireland. One, apparently, by way of Scotland.
And with a name like Shay (at one time in the distant past, it was O’Shea) G-Man and our kiddos have a wee bit of Irish blood in them. At least one of my children makes a big deal of the holiday and has learned to cook corned beef and cabbage and a delicious soda bread.
I gave you a recipe from the Barefoot Contessa for CB and Cabbage on St. Paddy’s Day last year.
I doubt if I’ll be making any Irish meals today, unless Susan/Reuben Sandwiches are Irish. After all, most have corned beef on them, so they could be considered Irish, couldn’t they? (Truthfully, the only thing my sammies have in common with a Reuben Sandwich is the rye bread, sauerkraut and the fact that it’s a hot sandwich. But they’re good and not gristly.
Here’s how I make them–
- rye bread
- sauerkraut
- hot pepper cheese
- butter
- peppered turkey pastrami
I make the sandwiches by layering in this order–bread, cheese, pastrami, kraut, pastrami, cheese, bread. Lightly butter the outside of the sandwich and toast in a hot cast iron skillet until the cheese is melted and the bread crisp.
I tried making it in my new Panini maker, but it just melted the cheese from here to T-Town and the bread barely toasted, so it’s back to the old black skillet. 🙂
So, back to Paddy’s Day–will you celebrate?
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March 17, 2013 at 9:14 pm
Your Reubbies sound yummy!
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March 24, 2013 at 9:45 am
One radio preacher claimed St. Patrick was Baptist. Did they even HAVE BAPTISTS back then? 🙂
March 24, 2013 at 12:15 pm
Good question. I’m not a Baptist, so I don’t know anything about their history. But from what I’ve read (and I’m anything but an expert) St. Patrick was a catholic. I have a feeling that being on the radio doesn’t make the preacher right. 😉
Thanks for coming by!
March 17, 2014 at 7:28 pm
Yes, there were Baptists back then (I took Baptist History in high school). 😉 And no, St. Patrick wasn’t one. 😉
March 17, 2014 at 7:41 pm
Didn’t think so. He was either Catholic or Church of England.
March 17, 2014 at 7:42 pm
Yeah, thus the title “Saint” Patrick. 😉
March 17, 2014 at 7:43 pm
Gotcha! 😉
March 18, 2014 at 8:54 am
I know next to nothing about Catholics and Church of England, but I would guess if he was a “SAINT” he was Catholic. Does COE name Saints?
March 18, 2014 at 8:52 am
Wow. Where’d you go to high school? We didn’t have Baptist classes in my school. I did take some Old Testament History in college, but “Baptists” weren’t mentioned in that part of the Bible.
March 18, 2014 at 2:15 pm
I was homeschooled. 🙂 We use some curriculum from a Baptist church/college in FL — Landmark Freedom Baptist Curriculum. My sister also did correspondence classes through that college, so I also watched her Baptist History course with her. That was one of my most favorite history classes ever! 😉
March 20, 2014 at 4:51 am
I’m always impressed by people who homeschool. I have a sister who did that. It’s some job! 🙂 Sounds like your folks chose great curriculum.
March 20, 2014 at 6:16 pm
It can be quite the experience! 😉
March 24, 2013 at 9:47 am
Reblogged this on By the Mighty Mumford and commented:
A ST. PATRICK’S DAY REPRISE ( to gain another follower, I hope!)—Jon.
March 17, 2014 at 7:29 pm
Interesting post, Susan. 🙂
March 18, 2014 at 8:52 am
Thanks!