by:  Sean Ryan Donoghue:

What does St. Patrick’s Day mean to me? Who better to answer this question than myself! Being of 100% Irish decent, this question should be relatively easy to answer, no? Of course it is! When you think of St. Patrick’s Day you might think parades, parties, corned beef & cabbage and people in celebration while wearing clothing that makes the amassing public filled streets appear to resemble a sea of green.  Let us not forget the most important part: the beer! But what we truly celebrate on this day is St. Patrick himself, of course.

St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated on March 17^th; his religious feast day and the anniversary of his death in the fifth century. The Irish have observed this day as a religious holiday for over a thousand years. On St. Patrick’s Day, which falls during the Christian season of Lent, Irish families would traditionally attend church in the morning and celebrate in the afternoon. Lenten prohibitions against the consumption of meat were waived and people would dance, drink and feast—on the traditional meal of Irish bacon and cabbage. Continue reading →