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University Daily Kansan / Tuesday, March 17, 1992
ST. PATRICK'S DAY
Twisting Traditions
American partiers ignore Irish piety
By Greg Farmer
Kansan staff writer
In the United States, St. Patrick's Day is celebrated by wearing green, drinking green beer and packing into the bars.
"I'll probably drink large amounts of alcohol," said Chris Thies, Overland Park junior. "I understand a little bit about the meaning of the holiday, but I celebrate American style."
In Ireland, where the holiday originated, the day is celebrated with religious services and family dinners, according to two KU students from the country.
"It is a very quiet, family celebration in Ireland," said James Porter, Belfast senior. "It's not like it is here. For us, it is a day of holy
obligation. Wed don't go as mad as people over here do."
credited with converting many Irish people to Christianity
credited with converting many Irish people to Christianity. Porter said that churches in Ireland held services throughout the day.
But Porter said shamrocks, which are three-leaf clovers, were gathered and displayed. St. Patrick used the shamrock to explain the Trinity to people he was trying to convert.
"We still believe that anyone who finds a four-leaf clover in his nest for a shamrock guarantees himself good luck." Porter said.
"We don't wear green like people in the United States do," he said.
"It's a lot different. Green is the color of the day, but people in Ireland don't go out of their way to wear it."
Shamrocks, saints and shillelaghs
St. Patrick's Day, celebrated on March 17, honors Ireland's patron saint who died on that day in 461.
Shamrock
This small, three-leafed herb appears on the British coat of arms with the English rose and the Scottish thistle
Green, white and orange
Leprechauns
Colors of the Irish flag;
green stands for Catholics; orange for Protestants; white for the faith for harmony
These tiny shooters are one of many Irish fairies; they work day and night mending the shoes of other fairies
Shillelagh
Patrick: Saint and legend
387: Born in Britain to a Roman family; his original name was Maeveen his father, Calinurus, served as a magistrate
- Early 400s: Taken to Ireland as a slave, after six years, he escaped to lejeven where he studied for the priesthood
■ 432: Sent to Ireland as a Christian missionary by Pope Celestine I, who named him Patricius, which means noble in Latin, he introduced Roman alphabet and Latin literature. Christianityized the nation
Familiar legend: Drove snakes from Ireland by beating a drum
**Familiar legend:** Drove snakes from Ireland by beating a drum
SOURCE: "Shammocks, Harps and Shillelaghs," by Edna Barth; "All About American Holidays," World Book, Research and PAT CARR
Knight-Ridder Tribune
He said children were taught from a young age about St. Patrick.
"Myth says that St. Patrick drove all the snakes out of Ireland," Porter said. "I don't know if there were ever snakes in Ireland, but the Irish are taught from a very early age." He added that from Ireland and converted the nation to Christianity.
Porter said celebrations for St. Patrick's Day had developed into a world event.
"I think the St. Patrick's Day celebrations have become celebrations of being Irish throughout the world," he said. "People in other countries go a lot more crazy over the holiday than people in Ireland do."
"It just if being March 17, I may be homesick," he said. "I usually would be home with my family, and that might."
Porter said he was going to celebrate this year with his U.S. friends.
"I'm going to go out and celebrate," he said. "I'm going to drink a little. I'm going to celebrate American style."
Parades, including the Lawrence St. Patrick's Day Parade, mark the holiday throughout the United States.
Mark Byrne, Dublin, Ireland, graduate student, said there were parades in Ireland but not as many as in the United States.
"Not until the last couple of years have parades really been popular in Ireland," he said. "The bars in Ireland don't have more people than usual in them. I just saw green beer for the first time two years ago.
"It seems that the American style of celebration has started to rub off on the Irish a bit."
"Celebrating the holiday is great, but I wish it wasn't considered as just a day to get drunk," he said. "The Irish have always been able to laugh at themselves, but overly frantic for social problem everywhere. I don't think it funny."
Byrne said he wished people around the world would remember the religious significance of the holiday.
The Lawrence St. Patrick's Day parade will begin at 1 p.m. at 501 N. 9th St. and will end at 610 Florida St.
Ireland: bits of historv
Republic of Ireland today
Population: 3.5 million mostly urban
Language: English, Gaelic (Irish)
Religion: 95 percent Roman Catholic
Culture: Famous for its writers storytellers, musicians and painters
storytellers, musicians and painters
History
About 6000 B.C.: First settlers arrive from Europe
About 400 B.C.: Celtic tribes invade
432 A.D.; St. Patrick heils
432 A.D.: St. Patrick begins Christianizing the Irish
About 795: Vikings raid coasts; establish first towns, including Dublin
**About 1100:** Domination by Normans (Northern French) begins
1541: Ireland crowns Henry VIII of England as king
1649: Oliver Cromwell suppresses revolt against England; takes land, political rights from Catholics
1798: Wolfe Tone leads failed rebellion for freedom
1801: Ireland becomes part of United Kingdom
1845-46: Potato famine kills more than 1 million people; forces
1 million to emigrate
Late 1800s: Isaac Butt, Charles S. Parnell begin home rule movement
1916: Patrick Pearse leads Easter rebellion in Dublin against British rule; British troops defeat rebels, execute Pearse, other leaders
1919: Dail (Parliament) meets in Dublin, declares Ireland independent; Irish rebels bring British troops
1921: Irish Free State (26 counties) created as British domination; Northern Ireland (six counties) remains part of United Kingdom
1949: Ireland declares itself a republic.
1955: Ireland becomes member of the United Nations
1973: Ireland joins the European Community
1990: Ireland elects first woman president, Mary Robinson
SOURCE: Embassy of Ireland, Census Bureau, World Book, Research by PAT CARP
SOURCE: Embassy of Ireland, Crown Bureau, World Book Research by PAT CARR
Knight-Ridder Tribune News
Major Fair '92
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