Today is St. Patrick's Day. Many of my family roots are from Ireland. Most of these are on my paternal side, though there are some likely on the maternal side, as well. Given this, we never made a big deal of the saint's day. As a child, I would get something to pin to my coat. I recall a shamrock made of furry green pipe cleaner type of stuff. It had something in the centre that I'm not fully remembering, but it was likely a leprechaun top hat with a buckle. We didn't cook anything different or sing Irish songs. I did try to wear something green on that day, though.
In North America, the day has become an all out bar brawl type of day. Regardless of lineage, everyone seems to celebrate the day at a huge party or pub crawl. In town yesterday, about 1/2 block from my previous abode, one street was jammed with people out for a 'run' -- many with some form of alcoholic beverage in hand. Much of this goes along with the stereotype of Irish as over-consumers of alcohol. This commonly held prejudice likely has roots in the famine of the mid-19th Century. At this time, in Ireland English land-owners and aristocratic British army officers witnessed many people staggering along the streets. The easy assumption was that they were drunk, when in fact, they were starving. The central nervous system requires glucose to function. Without food, then, the system malfunctions causing inability to walk or talk. Stumbling and slurring would appear.
My paternal ancestors left Ireland during the beginning of the famine -- three brothers with the widow and child of a fourth. What a journey that must have been. The two older brothers went to the US while the youngest brother and sister-in-law remained in Canada. I admire their bravery and understand some of the desperation that must have driven them to leave their homeland. I hope to visit Ireland to see the places where they lived.
The song that best suited my thoughts today deals with the urge to return to a homeland. Keep safe. Enjoy!
Song of Ireland -- Eddy Rabbitt
No comments:
Post a Comment