Mar 16, 2010

Irish Legend revealed

I've been saving this story to share with ya'll that I found in my '09 Spring Celebrate magazine by Phyllis Hoffman.  I showed ya'll several pages from it HERE .

But, First..allow me to show ya'll some cutie patooties that were decked out in green this past week for a field trip to the Battleship of Texas and San Jacinto Monument park.
They wore me out but Ya'll should have heard them belly-aching about how tired, sore and worn out they were after the 3 mile hiking we did during the trip to see everything. lol

There is more to St. Patrick's Day than just the color green. 
You may have heard the legend of St. Patrick driving the snakes out of Ireland, but this is widely believed to be false.  So, who was the real St. Patrick, and what did he do for Ireland that was so special that he merits his own holiday?  His major claim to fame is that he spread Christianity to Ireland. 
I love this vintage St. Patrick's day postcard it really "drives home" the idea of him bringing the good news to Ireland, does it not?  Or, of taking a trip to Ireland for a Tour.
Back to the story..At the tender age of 16, the British born Patrick was captured by Irish raiders and taken back to their native country, where he spent 6 years in captivity.  He escaped back to Britain, but shortly thereafter, he had a dream in which an Angel told him to return to Ireland as a missionary.  
(Can ya just hear him, "Ya want me to do WHAT??)
After 15 yrs of religious study, Patrick returned to Ireland as a Priest, where he ministered to the few existing Christians already in the country and converted thousands of pagans.   On March 17 we celebrate the anniversary of St. Patrick's death in the 5th century, and for hundreds of years, the Irish have observed St. Patrick's Day as a religious holiday~A day of celebration that offered a momentary break in Lenten fasting.  It wasn't until the mid~1900s that the Irish govt. began a campaign to use St. Patrick's Day as a way to increase tourism to Ireland.
 
May brooks and trees and singing hills
Join in the chorus too,
And every gentle wind that blows
end happiness to you.
~Irish Blessing

Well, for all I know...I may owe St. Patrick for converting my family to Christianity.  This is my sweet and precious grandma, Julia Kelly Moyen...Irish Lassie much loved!
xox, DeniseMarie

Cuisine Kathleen has been so excited about this meme!
It shows because I was #58 to post to her party...
2nd Annual St. Patrick's Day Blog Crawl
come take a look see!! 

15 comments:

  1. Thanks, Denise! That was great! The boys look stylin'! :)
    My gkids march in the parade and complained how long it was and tired they were..The oldest is 8 and the youngest just turned 2, but he was in the stroller...
    Thanks so much for joining in, and I hope you enjoyed the blog crawl!
    Slainte'!

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  2. Fantastic!!~ I love the vintage cards too....and those boys, way cute! I love little guys all looking tough LOL!~ Happy St. Pats!

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  3. Thanks for the story and you have a Very Beautiful Irish Nana.

    Willow

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  4. Happy St Patrick's Day from N Ireland :)

    No idea if it is Patrick we need to thank for no snakes - but there certainly aren't any here!

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  5. They are cutie patooties! Love the picture of the Irish countryside.

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  6. The little lads are precious!

    I've always loved hearing the stories and learning about St. Patrick (coming from an Irish Catholic family that was a lot!) and I've got to get myself to Ireland one of these days for a nice long visit. However, my husband's afraid I'll want to move there just to get away from snakes!!! It's a thought;0)
    Thanks for sharing this lovely post.
    Holly

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  7. Thank you for your visit to my blog and your encouraging comment! I actually had a little more toruble than I posted...my first dish (that was "perfect") got broken...but thankfully I found a substitute! :)Please feel free to visit anytime. I hope to have other PB/Ballard projects posted.
    I enjoyed reading the Irish history on St. Patrick. What a blessing to have a Godly Grandmother!
    Sharon

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  8. Thanks for the info on St. Patrick. I never really knew much about him.

    D

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  9. ♣ Happy Saint Patrick's Day!♣

    I'm glad you enjoyed my post to show why there are so many people of Irish descent that live in the USA --they were survivors, and with the grace of God flourished and overcame adversity.

    It was a reason they begun celebrating St. Patrick's Day many years ago in the USA, to show thankfulness to the saint --it was not a big holiday in Ireland until recently, as you noted. Loved your post!

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  10. What a great post. I love learning now things. Thanks.

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  11. Glad I found your blog!
    Love reading your post and the photos are great too!

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  12. Thanks for sharing this story! I must have learned it at some point or another but it has somehow lost itself in the recesses of my memory. Love the photos!

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  13. Hi Denise Marie, that is such a nice picture of Ireland with the pastures and sheep. You are so blessed to have your grandmother so near by. All of my grandparents have gone to heaven already. I like the pink tennis shoes you have on, I may have to get me some next time I go shopping.

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  14. by the way, thanks for sharing the St. Patrick's story, I didn't know the story about him.

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  15. Thanks for the clarification on St. Patrick, Denise. It was very interesting to know the real history. The vintage post cards are so lovely! Those boys look adorable in their camp t-shirts! I had to LOL @ their grumbling!

    Thanks for your visit and your sweet comment. Sounds like you've got a whole lot of china! Summer is a good time to mosaic ;)

    Have a lovely weekend!

    Cheers!
    Tina

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Be blessed! You make my life more full of JOY!