St. Patrick's Day is celebrated annually on March 17th on the day the beloved patron saint of Ireland is believed to have died in 460 A.D. The Irish have observed this religious holiday for thousands of years. The Irish are famous for spinning exaggerated tales, so despite the infamous stories traditionally attributed to St. Patrick, only a little is actually known about his life.
St. Patrick was born in Britain, at the age of 16 he was captured by Irish raiders who attacked his family's estate. He was transported to Ireland where he was held captive for six years, living a solitary, lonely life as a shepherd. During this time he became a devout Christian, embracing his religion for solace. From his writing, we know that a voice, which he believed to be that of God, spoke to him in a dream, urging him to leave Ireland. He did. Walking nearly 200 miles, Patrick escaped to Britain and undertook seriously religious training.
After 15 years of study, Patrick now ordained as a priest was sent to Ireland to minister to Christians and to convert the Irish who were pre-dominantly pagans, to Christianity. Patrick was familiar with the Irish language and culture from his years of captivity so he chose to incorporate Irish ritual and symbols into his teachings rather than to eradicate Irish beliefs. The Celtic cross with the powerful Irish symbol of the sun superimposed onto the traditional Christian cross is one such example.
During the prohibition period in America the prohibitions were lifted for one day of dancing, drinking and feasting on meat during the Christian season of Lent. Today St. Patrick's Day celebrations abound but certainly decidedly less religiously.
The respectful thing to do on St. Patrick’s Day (tomorrow Friday) is wear green, drink green beer and eat corned beef and cabbage to honour Ireland!
A fabulous new concept, radio controlled boats, was inaugurated as the last race of the Heineken regatta. Unfortunately the weather was not very kind, however the very windy onshore conditions made for fun and exciting times for the racers.