The Shamrock

One traditional symbol of Saint Patrick's Day is the Shamrock.

"Shamrock" is the common name for several different kinds of three-leafed clovers native to Ireland.

The shamrock was chosen Ireland's national emblem because of the legend that St. Patrick had used it to illustrate the doctrine of the Trinity. The Trinity is the idea that God is really three-in-one: The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit.

Patrick demonstrated the meaning of the Three-in-One by picking a shamrock from the grass growing at his feet and showing it to his listeners. He told them that just as the shamrock is one leaf with three parts, God is one entity with three Persons.

The Irish have considered shamrocks as good-luck symbols since earliest times, and today people of many other nationalities also believe they bring good luck.


Leprechauns

The name leprechaun comes from the old Irish word "luchorpan" which means "little body."

A leprechaun is an Irish fairy who looks like a small, old man about 2 feet tall. He is often dressed like a shoemaker, with a crooked hat and a leather apron.

According to legend, leprechauns are aloof and unfriendly. They live alone, and pass the time making shoes. They also have a hidden pot of gold!

Treasure hunters can often track down a leprechaun by the sound of his shoemaker's hammer. If the leprechaun is caught, he can be threatened with bodily violence to tell where his treasure is, but the leprechaun's captors must keep their eyes on him every second. If the captor's eyes leave the leprechaun - he's known to trick them into looking away - he vanishes and all hopes of finding the treasure are lost.

GREEN

The Color Green
Believe it or not, the color of St. Patrick was not actually green, but blue! In the 19th century, however, green became used as a symbol for Ireland. In Ireland, there is plentiful rain and mist, so the 'Emerald Isle' really is green all year-round. The beautiful green landscape was probably the inspiration for the national color.

Wearing the color green is considered an act of paying tribute to Ireland. It is said that it also brings good luck, especially when worn on St. Patrick's Day.

Many long years ago, playful Irish children began the tradition of pinching people who forgot to wear green on St. Patrick's Day and the tradition is still practiced today.


The Harp

The harp is an ancient musical instrument used in Ireland for centuries. It is also a symbol of Ireland. Harpists, who were often blind, occupied an honored place in Irish society. Harpists and bards (or poets) played an important role in the social structure of Ireland. They were supported by chieftans and kings.

Although it is not as recognizable as the shamrock, the harp is a widely used symbol. It appears on Irish coins, the presidential flag, state seals, uniforms, and official documents.

O'Carolan was one of the most famous harpists, and many Irish melodies inspired by him still survive to this day.


The Celtic Cross

Saint Patrick was familiar with the Irish language and culture, because of his time as a slave there. When Patrick went back to Ireland to convert the Irish to Christianity, he was successful because he didn't try to make the Irish forget their old beliefs. He combined their old beliefs with the new beliefs.

One example of this is the Celtic Cross. Saint Patrick added the sun, a powerful Irish symbol, onto the Christian cross to create what is now called a Celtic cross, so that the new symbol of Christianity would be more natural to the Irish.




The Blarney Stone

The word "Blarney" has come to mean nonsense or smooth flattering talk in almost any language. Tradition says that if you pay a visit to Blarney Castle in County Cork and kiss the Blarney Stone, you'll receive the gift of eloquence and powers of persuasion, a true master of the "gift of gab."

The Blarney Stone is a stone set in the wall of the Blarney Castle tower in the Irish village of Blarney.

The castle was built in 1446 by Cormac Laidhiv McCarthy (Lord of Muskerry) -- its walls are 18 feet thick (necessary to stop attacks by Cromwellians and William III's troops). Thousands of tourists a year still visit the castle.

The origins of the Blarney Stone's magical properties aren't clear, but one legend says that an old woman cast a spell on the stone to reward a king who had saved her from drowning. Kissing the stone while under the spell gave the king the ability to speak sweetly and convincingly.

It's difficult to reach the stone -- it's between the main castle wall and the parapet. Kissers have to lie on their back and bend backward (and downward), holding iron bars for support.

The world famous Blarney Stone is situated high up in the battlements of the castle. Follow one of the several long, stone spiral staircases up to the top and enjoy the spectacular views of the lush green Irish countryside, Blarney House and The Village of Blarney.

The stone is believed to be half of the Stone of Scone which originally belonged to Scotland. Scottish Kings were crowned over the stone, because it was believed to have special powers.

The stone was given to Cormac McCarthy by Robert the Bruce in 1314 in return for his support in the Battle of Bannockburn.

JUST THOUGHT I WOULD GIVE A LITTLE INSIGHT TO ST. PATRICK'S DAY!

Great post, txsgal! Very informative! Thanks for sharing!

your welcome now you know how the pinching came about for it was for paying tribute to Ireland and it stood for good luck so for those that did not follow along they pinched them for it.

Very interesting! Thank you for this post

The young lads are the reason I get pinched

The terrible thing about that, I don't wear green and I'm Irish

Awwww here is some more history on it very interesting:

History and Origins

Legends about St. Patrick are very famous. He is a very important man in Ireland's history. St. Patrick is the man who brought the Catholic church to Ireland. There are dozens of legends about the magical things he did, but the most popular is about snakes. St. Patrick is supposed to have sent all the snakes in Ireland into the ocean where they all drowned. Some people say that even today there is not a single snake on the island. When he died on March 17, all people mourned for him. Every year on the date of his death, people would pray and worship to remember him.

St. Patrick's Day became more and more important in the U.S. in the late 1800s as thousands of Irish immigrants came to America and settled in the cities here.



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Common Traditions

Everyone wears the color green to honor Ireland. Ireland's nickname is "The Emerald Isle" because the grass on the hills is so green.

If someone doesn't where green, everyone else is allowed to pinch him. Some people say that if you pinch someone who is wearing green, that person gets to pinch you back ten times.
Decorations often include shamrocks to honor St. Patrick. He is supposed to have used the shamrock to explain religion to the Irish people.

Leprechauns are also common decorations. It is said that these little magical men hide their gold in pots at the end of the rainbow.

There are always big parades in Chicago and New York.

The city of Chicago dyes their river green


JUST A LITTLE EXTRA TO ADD TO THE POT!!

JUST A WEE BIT MORE MY FRIENDS ! HAPPY READING AS WELL!


St Patrick

So who was St Patrick? And why is he so fondly remembered by so many people around the world 1500 years after his death?

Legend has it that St Patrick was born Maewyn Succat, to an Anglo-Roman family in Wales, in 415 AD. When he was 16 years of age he was captured by an Irish pagan warlord, Niall of the Nine Hostages, and he spent six miserable years in Ireland until he escaped to France.

Maewyn went on to become a priest, changing his name to Patricius, or Patrick, which derives from the Latin for father-figure - other derivations include patrician, patron and patronise. Rather than forgetting his wretched experiences in Ireland, he decided to go back to the country that enslaved him, and he spent his later years preaching Christianity to the Irish, banishing snakes and popularizing the shamrock. He used this three-leaved grass to help explain the Trinity, how God could be three entities (God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit) yet, at the same time, be one. This is the reason that the shamrock is the national emblem for Ireland.

Not only that, but, unlike the fully indoctrinated Roman Catholic monks, he was quite open minded, and so a lot of the pagan influences found their way into the Irish Catholic faith. His greatest legacy was a platoon of scholar-monks, who sought to preserve the classical works of Greece and Rome. So, at the same time the Romans were burning down the Great Library at Alexandria, Irish Catholics were faithfully copying much of what was being lost. When Roman Catholics disagreed with a certain text, they burned it, but Irish Catholics copied it word for word, but made editorials in the margins like 'this is pure rubbish, here'.

According to legend, St Patrick got rid of all the snakes from Ireland, so he must have also got rid of all fossilized remains of snakes and any references to snakes in the ancient literature and legends. But to this day, there are no snakes in Ireland except one known as the slow worm. It's found somewhere off the western seaboard - Kerry or Clare - and strictly speaking it's not a snake, it's a lizard, but it certainly looks like a snake.

St Patrick is believed to have died in 493 AD and his remains are assumed to be buried in a grave at Down Cathedral in Downpatrick.

Hey girl you and I goggeled the same things!!!

(((TXS)))