Wearing of the Green

St. Patrick's Day

Lá Fhéile Pádraig, the Irish call it ... the Feast of Saint Patrick. It's both a cultural and religious holiday celebrated on 17 March each year, commemorating the death date of Ireland's patron saint, St. Patrick, (c. 385-461AD) and the arrival of Christianity to Ireland. It's also a salute to Irish heritage and culture and you certainly don't have to be Irish to participate.

According to one historical reference, "St. Patrick was born c.385 AD in Kilkpatrick, Scotland, and his real name was Macwyn. At the age of sixteen he was captured by Irish marauders (but some historians disagree and believe it was British guards) and was made slave of a Druid chieftain." He escaped, made his way to Europe and joined the monastery of St Martin in France where he studied to become a priest and subsequently a bishop. In 432 AD, Pope Celestine I changed Macwyn's name to Patricius and sent him on a mission to Ireland.

There are several legends associated with St. Patrick. Did he really chase the snakes out of Ireland? Literally, no. There probably weren't any snakes in Ireland. Figuratively, the Druids considered snakes sacred, and St. Pat's conversion of folks from paganism to Christianity is considered "driving out the snakes".

Did he use the iconic 3-leaved shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity to new converts? Unlikely, but it's a good myth and does demonstrate quite nicely the concept of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, all part of the one God.

St. Pat is also credited with the creation of the Irish Celtic Cross. He took a familiar pagan circle, symbolic of the sun and moon gods and added a cross. He showed himself willing to adapt pagan practices and symbols to Christian beliefs in order to ease the transition from paganism to Christianity.

Folks celebrate around the world. They drink green beer and eat corned beef and cabbage. In Chicago, they die the Chicago River green and ever since 2009, the north fountain of the White House is dyed green as well.

Since we rarely miss an opportunity to celebrate, how will we spend St. Patrick's Day? Well, there will be no corned beef and cabbage, I'm afraid and there's nary a drop of Jameson's Irish Whiskey aboard nor Bailey's Irish Cream, for that matter. David might bake up a loaf of Irish Soda Bread. Or, if we have a good weather window and we're at sea, the only green we might be wearing is that dastardly shade of green we turn when we're seasick. Whatever … we'll celebrate in spirit. Happy St. Pat's Day!

By the way, what's your leprechaun name? We're Greenie and Bunyon O'Bourbon.

Thanks, Miks!

Valentine's Day - 2015

I hate to interrupt our wonderful trip to Lesotho and leave everyone stranded in the Sky Kingdom,  but Valentine's Day has arrived and … well … it's a holiday to be celebrated no matter where we are or what we're doing. We'll descend the Sani Pass tomorrow, but today … it's all hearts and roses.

Legend has it that Valentine's Day commemorates the day Saint Valentine, a 3rd century Christian bishop was martyred in Rome for marrying Christian couples. I wondered if Valentine's Day was celebrated in other parts of the world and how.

Here in South Africa, I see all the commercial signs of Valentine's Day … heart-shaped boxes of chocolates, Valentine cards, red hearts in the shop windows. It's not as commercial or as big as in the USA, but it's definitely celebrated here. I found this pic on the internet, which is probably more in keeping with Afrikaans valentines.

In Japan, they celebrate Valentine's Day with chocolate, but only women give gifts to men. Chocolates known as “giri choco” are given to all male friends and even bosses, but it has no romantic connotation. Guys aren't off the hook though. A month later on March 14, they celebrate White Day when men reciprocate with chocolates and flowers.

In Italy, they say Buon San Valentino. According to tradition, the first man a girl sees on Valentine's Day will become her husband and they'll be married within a year. I imagine that eligible men don't stray far from their homes on that day unless they're interested in matrimony.

In Denmark, the custom is to send white flowers known as Snowdrops. Lovers send anonymous love notes, gaekkebrev, signed with dots, not a name. If you guess the sender, you're eligible for an egg at Easter. What an incentive!

In Norway, Valentine's Day is associated with love birds and signs of spring. While in Germany, in addition to the more commercial hearts and flowers, a special gift of a pig can be included. Representing luck and lust, the pig can be a picture, a mini-statue or a chocolate shape. Heart-shaped ginger cookies with romantic phrases are also popular.

Dia dos enamorados (Lovers Day) is Brazil's equivalent to Valentine's Day, but it's celebrated on June 12th .  There are musical performances held in addition to the usual chocolates, hearts and flowers.

The Taiwanese celebrate romance twice a year! February 14th coincides with the rest of the world's celebration, but they celebrate it again on July 7th. Men give bouquets of flowers and according to Taiwanese tradition, the color and number of flowers have special meaning … red roses represent “love”, ninety-nine roses mean “love forever”, and108 roses signify a marriage proposal.

Historically, the French claim the first Valentine card. Charles, the Duke of Orleans, reputedly wrote the first Valentine card to his second wife, Bonne d’Armagnac in 1416. He sent her a little poem and signed it  “Your Valentine”.

Enough … suffice it to say, Valentine's Day or some comparable day for celebrating love is observed pretty much worldwide. As for us, we'll celebrate in our own way. We don't need flowers, or chocolates or hearts. Champers would be nice though. And how will you celebrate this year?

Rabbits, Rabbits, Rabbits

This is kind of an off-the-wall blog post, but since February 1st is tomorrow, I thought I'd write it and see if anyone else reading this blog does the “rabbits” thing.

Here's the deal. If the first thing out of your mouth on the first day of the month is “Rabbits, rabbits, rabbits”, you'll have good luck for the upcoming month. I'm not sure when I started doing this. I don't think my mom taught me, but somewhere along the line, I heard about it and did it and taught my little sister, Lin, to do it as well. Here we are 50+ years later and we still do it. In fact, we compete to see who will be the first to remember to say it on the first of every month. At present, I have a leg-up since the first of each month currently arrives here in Durban earlier than it does in Boston. Big sister/dateline advantage!

I always wondered if other people did this, too. When I was in university, some of my fellow students were rabbit fans. I met some first-of-the-month rabbit-ers during my working years and I've even met a few yachties that participate in this odd practice, despite the fact that rabbits are considered bad luck on a boat.

I was interested in the origins of the “rabbits” superstition and was surprised (though not really) that Wikipedia had an article on it and there were several more articles as well. Lots of people do this, evidently. "Even Mr. Roosevelt, the President of the United States, has confessed to a friend that he says 'Rabbits' on the first of every month—and, what is more, he would not think of omitting the utterance on any account." – The Nottingham Evening Post. 27 November 1935

Though the origins of the practice aren't clear, there's been reference to it in literature since  at least 1909. There are variations on this theme, but basically it's all rabbit-oriented. Perhaps because some consider rabbits to be good luck … like a lucky rabbit's foot?

The White Rabbit Theory (really?) postulates that it might be as old as William I. An article in Yankee magazine mentions possible 13th century British origins. Even NPR did a piece on the rabbit tradition. I'm feeling like I'm in good company.

I'm not really sure I've had good luck each month whenever I've remembered to say it, but I haven't had bad luck either and I hate to tempt fate. So … if you're a “rabbits, rabbits, rabbits” advocate, let me know.  If not, tomorrow's the first of the month, give it a try.