St. Patrick was a Christian missionary who converted
Ireland from paganism. He lived from the late 4th century A.D. to the mid 5th
century A.D. The legend says that St. Patrick miraculously drove (snakes) from Ireland by banging a drum . The snakes may
represent paganism, driven out of Ireland. To explain the doctrine of the Trinity, St. Patrick
compared a (shamrock) (similar to
a three-leaf clover) with its three leaves to the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost
combined to make the holy Trinity. From that time the shamrock has been the
symbol of the land. Irishmen wear it in their hats on the saint's day. March 17th is the anniversary of the death of Saint
Patrick. In Ireland, St. Patrick's Day is a holy, religious time with praying,
singing and dancing. Saint Patrick's Day has been celebrated in the United
States since the middle of the eighteenth century.
Ireland's nickname is "The Emerald Isle" because
the grass on the hills is so green. Everyone wears the colour green on St.
Patrick's Day to honour The Emerald Isle. Some of the biggest St. Patrick's Day
parades are in Chicago, Illinois, New York City, and Savannah, Georgia. The
city of Chicago celebrate by colouring their river green!
The (leprechan) is
Ireland's national fairy. Leprechauns are represented as shoemakers and are
often drunk. They are guardians of ancient treasures left by the Danes and keep
gold coins in pots that they hide at the end of a (rainbow). If you catch
a leprechaun, he will promise you (pots of gold) if you
let him go free. The (Blarney Stone) is a
stone set in the wall of the Blarney Castle tower in the Irish village of
Blarney. Kissing the stone is supposed to bring the kisser the gift of
persuasive eloquence. It is difficult because you must lie down on your back
and bend your head backwards and downwards
Let me
introduce myself. My name is Valentine. I lived in Rome during the third
century. That was long, long ago! At that time, Rome was ruled by an emperor
named Claudius. I didn't like Emperor Claudius, and I wasn't the only one! A
lot of people shared my feelings.
Claudius
wanted to have a big army. He expected men to volunteer to join. Many men just
did not want to fight in wars. They did not want to leave their wives and
families. As you might have guessed, not many men signed up. This made Claudius
furious. So what happened? He had a crazy idea. He thought that if men were not
married, they would not mind joining the army. So Claudius decided not to allow
any more marriages. Young people thought his new law was cruel. I thought it
was preposterous! I certainly wasn't going to support that law!
Did I
mention that I was a priest? One of my favorite activities was to marry
couples. Even after Emperor Claudius passed his law, I kept on performing
marriage ceremonies -- secretly, of course. It was really quite exciting.
Imagine a small candlelit room with only the bride and groom and myself. We
would whisper the words of the ceremony, listening all the while for the steps
of soldiers.
One
night, we did hear footsteps. It was scary! Thank goodness the couple I was
marrying escaped in time. I was caught. (Not quite as light on my feet as I
used to be, I guess.) I was thrown in jail and told that my punishment was
death.
I
tried to stay cheerful. And do you know what? Wonderful things happened. Many
young people came to the jail to visit me. They threw flowers and notes up to
my window. They wanted me to know that they, too, believed in love.
One of
these young people was the daughter of the prison guard. Her father allowed her
to visit me in the cell. Sometimes we would sit and talk for hours. She helped
me to keep my spirits up. She agreed that I did the right thing by ignoring the
Emperor and going ahead with the secret marriages. On the day I was to die, I
left my friend a little note thanking her for her friendship and loyalty. I
signed it, "Love from your Valentine."
I
believe that note started the custom of exchanging love messages on Valentine's
Day. It was written on the day I died, February 14, 269 A.D. Now, every year on
this day, people remember. But most importantly, they think about love and
friendship. And when they think of Emperor Claudius, they remember how he tried
to stand in the way of love, and they laugh -- because they know that love
can't be beaten!
