I am not wearing green today. In recent years I’ve grown increasing disenchanted with this silly, commercialized holiday that serves as an excuse for young men to drink too much Guinness and holler at girls. What began as a religious holiday (in Ireland pubs were traditionally closed on March 17 and everyone went to mass) has turned into a pointless bacchanal.
Not that I’m entirely against pointless bacchanals. But this one has a two-pronged source of irritation for me.
1) The dissipation of any real traditions relating to Irish-American heritage means we’re stuck with shamrock-shaped Peeps and green plastic beads. As an American of Irish heritage, this just makes me sad. One hundred and fifty years after the great Irish immigration to this country, we’ve become so assimilated that we’ll accept anything that’s marketed to us as Irish. (The only true tradition I can see that still holds is the innate love of whiskey.)
2) Aside from the Irish-American aspect of this holiday, the root feast day is something to which I take exception. Quoted on Wikipedia: “As one of the earliest Christian missionaries traveling abroad to spread the Christian faith, Saint Patrick is important because he serves as a testament to the overall missionary legacy of the Church. His example afforded later Christian missionaries the opportunity to assess the best methods to employ when confronting pagan groups abroad. … Patrick’s example would inspire later missionaries to undertake great missions to evangelize abroad in later years.”
Oh great, so not only is he responsible for stomping all over the perfectly wonderful, nature-centered beliefs and traditions of the pre-Christian people in Ireland, but he helped inspire later missionaries to do so all around the world. Got to love proselytizing.
I am proud of my Irish heritage and interested to learn more about them, but I won’t be knocking back a few green-dyed Budweisers at O’Shannahy’s Authentic Irish Pub this afternoon.
Not that I’m entirely against pointless bacchanals. But this one has a two-pronged source of irritation for me.
1) The dissipation of any real traditions relating to Irish-American heritage means we’re stuck with shamrock-shaped Peeps and green plastic beads. As an American of Irish heritage, this just makes me sad. One hundred and fifty years after the great Irish immigration to this country, we’ve become so assimilated that we’ll accept anything that’s marketed to us as Irish. (The only true tradition I can see that still holds is the innate love of whiskey.)
2) Aside from the Irish-American aspect of this holiday, the root feast day is something to which I take exception. Quoted on Wikipedia: “As one of the earliest Christian missionaries traveling abroad to spread the Christian faith, Saint Patrick is important because he serves as a testament to the overall missionary legacy of the Church. His example afforded later Christian missionaries the opportunity to assess the best methods to employ when confronting pagan groups abroad. … Patrick’s example would inspire later missionaries to undertake great missions to evangelize abroad in later years.”
Oh great, so not only is he responsible for stomping all over the perfectly wonderful, nature-centered beliefs and traditions of the pre-Christian people in Ireland, but he helped inspire later missionaries to do so all around the world. Got to love proselytizing.
I am proud of my Irish heritage and interested to learn more about them, but I won’t be knocking back a few green-dyed Budweisers at O’Shannahy’s Authentic Irish Pub this afternoon.
P.S. Did you know? The name Morrisroe originates from County Roscommon, and one theory is it’s an Anglicized form of the Gaelic Mac Muiris Rua ‘son of red Morris.’ I’ve heard other explanations, though. One problem is the name is so rare that it hasn’t been much looked into. One website on Irish genealogical research says, “Historically, the Irish have been very stable geographically. … An even clearer example may be found in the uncommon name Morrisroe. There are only 34 listings for Morrisroe in all of Ireland, and 33 of those are found in just four adjoining parishes along the Mayo/Sligo/Roscommon border.” Most Morrisroes hail originally from the region around Ballaghaderreen, which means “the way of the little oak.” Love it.
1 comments:
I liked this post. Just say NO to missionaries. That is why my sponsored kids around the world are through PLAN and some some horrendous christian fund or whatever you see on tv. That stuff about the history of our last name was interesting. "bacchanal" I had to look up. My vocabulary is lacking. When I read the white text on black background at your blog and then go somewhere else such as your comments page, my eyes freak out. This is why I don't have a black blog even though I love the look.
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