Both of my grandmothers were Irish. Nell Leonard, my father’s mother, Her family was from Galway I think. Mary Cahill, my mother’s mother, Her family was from Kerry I believe. There were both third generation Irish-Americans and but I don’t know much of their family history.
I will be spending St. Patrick’s day at the Seniors Center. I have been told there will be a step dancing exhibition.
I will also pick up some traditional Irish Soda bread, made by the local Polish bakery. Can’t get any more American then that. 🙂
I can’t think of anything original to post so I will copy some of what I wrote last your.
How do you plan to spend St. Paddy’s day?
Do you celebrate any holidays from your own ethnic background?
Besides Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas what is your favorite holiday?
1) Irish Toast:
“May your glass be ever full.
May the roof over your head be always strong.
and may you be in Heaven
half an hour before the devil knows your dead”
2) Irish Joke:
On vacation in Europe, Bob noticed a marble column in a church in Rome with a golden telephone on it. As a young priest passed by, Bob asked who the telephone was for. The priest told him it was a direct line to Heaven, and if he’d like to call, it would be a thousand dollars. Bob was amazed, but declined the offer.
Throughout Europe Bob kept seeing the same golden telephone on a marble column. At each, he asked about it and the answer was always the same: a direct line to Heaven and he could call for a thousand dollars.
Bob finished his tour of Europe with a stop in Ireland . He decided to attend Mass at a local village church. When he walked in the door he noticed the golden telephone, but underneath it there was a sign stating: “DIRECT LINE TO HEAVEN — 25 CENTS”
“Father,” he said, “I have been all over Europe and in all the cathedrals I visited, I’ve seen telephones exactly like this one but the price is always a thousand dollars. Why is it that this one is only 25 cents?”
The priest smiled and said,
“Son, you’re in Ireland now. It’s a local call.”
3) Favorite Irish Music videos
A reel by the Chieftains performed in Dublin
Cherish The Ladies – The Back Door
Tommy Makem – Will You Go Lassie Go
The World Through My Eyes 
16 comments
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March 16, 2009 at 7:07 am
danielle
I can’t say that we’ve ever done much to celebrate St. Patrick’s day. The actual story of St. Patrick is a cool one. Although when I say your title I panicked a bit thinking “Is it today?”…as if I was missing out on some celebration! Granted, some Polish-Irish bread does sound tasty.
March 16, 2009 at 10:43 am
Indian Lake Papa
In 2003 we went to Sweden to visit family.. While there we celebrated “mid summer” festival – June 20th e even helped decorate “May pole” and danced around the May Pole with family – many dressed in festival costumes. Very special!
March 16, 2009 at 2:43 pm
edfromct
Danielle, I just thought I would put up my St. Patrick’s day post the day before. I doubt if I will get to a new post tomorrow so I have taken care of two days in one.
There are over 30 public holidays in Hindu India and some muslim countries, like Malaysia, depending how you want to define a national holiday.
Of course for a really devout Catholic every day is some saints day. 🙂
March 16, 2009 at 2:53 pm
edfromct
Papa, I really like the idea of having a festival when the seasons change. I love going to festivals, especially seeing children having fun.
I haven’t beeo to a Spring/May festival in a long time. I wonder if in any part of America Spring is still celebrated by dancing around a May Pole?
The comdian Imogene Coca use to have a funny routine about dancing around a May Pole.
March 16, 2009 at 8:02 pm
lovewillbringustogether
Not doing anything special for St Patrick. Here in Aus The ‘celebration’ is merely an excuse to drink more alcohol to have fun ( it is not possible for an Aussie male to have fun, play sport, drive cars etc without the ever present alcohol) It’s unaustralian not to take beer to a party – snobs might get away with bringing wine – our school-children are encouraging the use of ‘premixers’ or the ‘cooly’ named alcopops – spirits and soda in the one bottle/can – as a stronger alternative. Rare isolated groups in some local regions might indulge in the odd rum and coke over the traditional ‘beeyah’.
That American Polish Irish bread sure sounds interesting 🙂
Our ‘national’ holiday is Australia Day (Jan 26) which commemorates the forming of the first British colony at Botany Bay (Sydney Harbour) in 1788.
Mostly an excuse for a barbie and the obligatory beer (it’s the middle of our Summer) In my state we have had a massive fireworks show held on that night over our river in the middle of our city and up to 400,000 people come for a giant party to watch – it runs for 30 minutes and is set to music by a local FM radio station simulcast. Despite the numbers and the fact large numbers have spent all day in the sun drinking there are relatively few arrests or problems. Testimony to the fact we seem to have a high tolerance for alcohol – and the fact we have such low gun ownership. 😯
i think Australia has a slightly unique system of ‘holidays’, in that our ‘second tier’ ones ( after Christmas, Easter, Aussie day) are commonly celebrated at different times in different states!?
Do Americans do this? Would Veterans Day be celebrated with a day off on a different day on the East Coast states to those of the West for example?
Western Australia has a long weekend for ‘Foundation Day’ (foundation of our state) while no other State celebrates this. Other states will take a weekend off ( including the Monday) for other reasons at other times so they tend to ‘even out’.
This tends to make it somewhat inconvenient when doing business interstate.
<B
March 16, 2009 at 10:22 pm
edfromct
Love, I use to think Foster’s was another name for Austrailian. 🙂
I had not realized that there were so many regional brands of beer until I looked it up on Wikipedia – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fosters_Beer
In the US all national holidays are on the same day. The South was the only region that had some of it’s own holidays dating back to our civil war.
Just about every one of our 50 states do have their own holidays, but the national ones all fall on the same date.
We Americans move around so much these regional differences are dying out.
With your different holidays and regional beers I am beginning to wonder what you aussies agree on? 🙂
March 17, 2009 at 8:43 pm
lovewillbringustogether
Fosters = Aussie hahaha! 😀
i could see how that could happen.
What do we agree on? ( Certainly not what is the ‘best’ Aussie beer!) 😉
That OZ is Godzone country 🙂 (and we still have a whinge or two about bits of it!)
Sidenote: My state is so big that we can’t even agree on some of our own state holidays (we have it incorporated into some bylaws that one particular holiday i read about is honoured with different days off in three separate regions of the one state!)
Yes – we are just that weird down here! 🙂
<B
March 17, 2009 at 9:31 pm
edfromct
Love I was only in Australia for a week or so in 1965, I think, on R&R from Viet Nam. All I remember was beaches & beer.
You Aussies don’t need a holiday to have a party, perhaps the most party happy people I have ever meet. 🙂
March 18, 2009 at 12:05 am
tam
How do you plan to spend St. Paddy’s day?
i dont wear green. i lean on my green eyes and 1/4 or so irish in me to get me by.
Do you celebrate any holidays from your own ethnic background?
im french, irish and greek. what on earth would i celebrate? hmmmm…would be interesting….
Besides Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas what is your favorite holiday?
my birthday. it should be a holiday.
seriously.
March 18, 2009 at 12:42 am
edfromct
Tam, your French side could celebrate Bastille Day on July 14th, of course that’s just 10 days after our Independents Day. Most Greek holidays are religious, but their Independents day is March 25th.
Tam’s Day does have a nice ring to it but do you really want 300 million Americans reminding you how old your are getting? 🙂
March 18, 2009 at 8:31 am
mandythompson
For the record, I wore green yesterday! 🙂
And would LOVE to see you stepdancing, Ed!!!
March 18, 2009 at 2:20 pm
edfromct
Mandy, have you included at least one Irish song in your song writing challange?
The only step dancing I do is on the toes of my partners. 🙂
March 18, 2009 at 3:08 pm
tam
“but do you really want 300 million Americans reminding you how old your are getting?”
heavens NO! mandy does that enough already!
😯
March 18, 2009 at 8:39 pm
lovewillbringustogether
Tam – i thought your eyes were hazel – not boring green 🙂
Ed – you know Tam well, Sir 😉
<B
March 19, 2009 at 10:46 am
tam
yes love, they are hazel. in my book…thats close enough to green on st. pats day 😀
i told a friend that the first person who pinches me is gonna get sucker punched.
…everyone made it through the day safe.
phew!
March 19, 2009 at 10:59 am
edfromct
Tam, only elderly aunt’s are allowed to pinch people. My aunt Aggie did that all the time, even when I was 30. 🙂
St. Paddy’s day does bring out the Irish in you. 🙂