The Luck of the Irish...

***some history for you first...if you care that is***

St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, is one of Christianity's most widely known figures. But many of the stories traditionally associated with St. Patrick are false, the product of hundreds of years of exaggerated storytelling.

It is known that St. Patrick was born in Britain to wealthy parents near the end of the fourth century and he is believed to have died on March 17 around 460 AD. At the age of 16, Patrick was taken prisoner by a group of Irish raiders who were attacking his family's estate. They transported him to Ireland where he was held captive for 6 years. During this time, lonely and afraid, he turned to his religion for comfort, becoming a devout Christian.

According to his writing, a voice, which he believed to be God's, told him in a dream that it was time to escape and leave Ireland. After escaping back to Britain, Patrick began his religious training and fifteen years later, was ordained a priest. He was sent back to Ireland on a mission to begin to convert the Irish to Christianity as well as to also administer to those who were all ready Christians living in Ireland.

Familiar with the Irish tradition and culture, Patrick chose to incorporate traditional rituals into his lessons instead of trying to change native Irish beliefs. For instance, he superimposed a sun, a powerful Irish symbol, onto the Christian cross to create what is now known as the Celtic cross so that the symbol would seem more natural to the Irish.

The Irish culture has centered around a rich tradition of legend and myth so it is no surprise that the story of St. Patrick's life became exaggerated over the centuries, spinning exciting tales to remember their Irish way of life and of their history.

ok. now on to the good stuff.

i don't really have any memories of this holiday other than watching those poor kids who moms didn't put them in green (i am soooo kidding at this. i mean, who really cares?!?) get the crap pinched out of them.

but with that being said, i am one to make sure that they're wearing green, very visibly. and i lie. i just had a memory. those nimrods in jr high or high school who would say "i am too wearing green! there's green on my underwear! right here...." and then would make an attempt to pull down their pants. huh? why? parents. please advise your teens to NOT do this. wow....

anyway, back to memories other than green and pinching. i told my kids that we could eat "lucky charms" for breakfast AND for dinner. hahaha and with that, i am good and the fun mom once again! waaaahaaahaaa awesome....

i will say that the BEST memory that i have of st. patricks day would be 3/2000. all time best and worst. but one that i will never forget.

one of my best friends flew into washington dc for a little eastern road trip. i was living back east and he had never been so we had a little adventure planned out. dc, atlantic city, new york, and buena vista, va. quite the combo.

seeing that it was st patricks day, there was no way that we could miss out on finding the best pub in town. let's just say that i had way too much "green stuff" that night and the toilet became my personal st. patrick. barf. literally. food coloring is never good, in anything.

i will say that i love march.

1. march madness. woot woot tonight. that's all i am going to say so that i don't jinx it.
2. steve young ski classic that is this weekend
3. spring cleaning meaning de-junking
4. summer is right around the corner which also means that THIS is almost 3 wks away!!!

that's all but i do hope that the luck of the irish suits your fancy and that we all get lucky in one way or another! and in closing, i had to post this. i laughed hard then and i laughed even harder last night. please ENJOY, LAUGH or CHUCKLE as hard as i did!