Some Fun Facts and a Lovely St. Catrick’s Day to You All!

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There’s not much more fun than photo editing my beautiful ginger cat, Jazmine, for an Irish pose!

So it’s St. Patrick’s Day…or in my world, St. Catrick’s Day. As with many holidays that have become Americanized, it’s strayed a bit from its original roots and evolved more into a general day for anyone, whether you’re Irish or not, to join team green and have some fun. I’m not much into the big parties, parades, drinking, kissing the Blarney Stone, or searching for shamrocks, but I do have a bit of Irish blood in me and I do enjoy dressing in green, being one of my favorite colors. I also love photo editing stuff around my cats to celebrate the day.

Notwithstanding the opportunity to create a cute picture of my Jazmine, there really was a St. Patrick for which the holiday is named. Ironically, however, St. Patrick wasn’t even Irish. He was born in Britain around A.D. 390 to an aristocratic Christian family, and according to folklore, was kidnapped and brought to Ireland at 16. He escaped, reunited with his family in Britain, and, at the urging of a voice he heard in his dreams, he went back to Ireland, became a priest, then spent the rest of his life converting the Irish to Christianity.

One of my early photo-editing attempts! I created this silly picture back in 2012 and didn’t even have the cat-sense to caption it Happy St. Catrick’s Day! What a novice I was back then…

St. Patrick’s Day started out as a celebration where people attended mass to reflect on life and the legacy of St. Patrick, followed by a feast. March 17 is believed to be the day he died and St. Patrick’s Day was relatively tame back then. America is actually responsible for turning St. Patrick’s Day into the big party we know today, stemming from early celebrations that happened in Boston in 1737 and New York in 1762. The celebrations continued to grow as more and more Irish immigrants came to the U.S., especially after the Irish Potato Famine hit in 1845.

Some fun St. Patrick’s Day facts and trivia:

New York City’s St. Patrick’s Day parade is the world’s oldest civilian parade and the largest parade in the U.S.

Chicago is famous for dyeing the Chicago River green every year for its St. Patrick’s Day celebration.

There isn’t an official reason why green is the trademark color of St. Patrick’s Day, but the color has lots of connections to Ireland. It’s featured in the Irish flag, Ireland is nicknamed the “Emerald Isle,” it represents spring, and it’s the color of shamrocks. The wholly American tradition also stipulates if you don’t wear green, you risk being pinched by leprechauns. Ouch! Who would want that? Best to wear green just to be safe!

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Warm wishes and Irish kisses that we all have a day filled with love, luck, and fun!

As far as shamrocks and leprechauns, according to legend, St., Patrick used shamrocks (three-leaf clovers) to explain the Holy Trinity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit while trying to convert people to Christianity. And leprechauns have been around for ages, deeply entrenched in the rich history of Irish folklore. They were said to be shoemakers who socked away their profits in pots at the end of the rainbow, with people having to look for them to get a piece of that gold, and because they’re rumored to bring good luck.

Eating corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick’s Day is also something that is an American creation, originating from Irish immigrants in New York buying the meat from kosher butchers and putting it into a pot with cabbage and potatoes. As a vegetarian, at least I can enjoy half that meal!

Happy Sunday everyone – enjoy the green, but stay safe, too!

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  1. Ingrid King says:

    Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

  2. THANKS FOR THE ST PADDY LESSON! Jazmine, you are the over the top perfect St Patrick’s cat! And we enjoyed your painted cat’s splatters!

  3. Erin the Cat says:

    Now chasing after pots of gold and Leprechauns is a folly, for sure, and there’s a lesson in life in there if ever there was one. Still, if I do find myself at the end of a rainbow I might just have a look around 😉
    Happy St Patrick’s Day
    Irish Purrs
    ERin

  4. Sweet pictures today! Happy St. Patrick’s Day – may the luck of the Irish be with you all!

  5. meowmeowmans says:

    We enjoyed learning a bit more about St. Patrick’s Day. Happy day to you all, sweet pals!

  6. Happy St. Paddy’s Day! Our mom is Irish from her Dad’s side. We enjoyed all the fun facts and wondered how all the festivities began.

  7. jmuhj says:

    As my European ancestry is Irish, I do enjoy the day, though not a member of the religion and basically vegetarian. Green is a favorite color of mine was well, so that part is easy! Happy St. CATrick’s Day to you and your loved ones, and to all!

  8. Athena says:

    Great post!

    Happy St Patrick’s Day!

    Purrs xx
    Athena and Marie

  9. Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

  10. Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
    That is a lovely picture of Jazmine.

  11. Happy St Patrick’s Day ! Purrs

  12. Cats and paint? A recipe for disaster methinks!! Have a wonderful Sunday, and a happy St Gertrude’s Day.

    Marjorie and the Dash Kitten Crew

  13. It’s just a fun reason to begin the celebration of upcoming Spring!
    Happy St. Pats!

  14. We love any reason to celebrate and have fun! Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

  15. Ellen Pilch says:

    Happy St. Patrick’s /Catrick’s Day! XO

  16. alice jena says:

    loved this! hoping you all have many more happy St. Catrick’s Days

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