Today is the day to honor my Irish ancestors. My maternal grandmother's grandparents came to America on the 1880's. I also have an Irish great great grandmother on my maternal grandfather's side.
I have my corned beef in the crockpot for later! I made Julie's Caramel Apple Cake. http://dinnerwithjulie.com/2009/03/13/sour-cream-caramel-apple-cake/ I will be making the potatoes and cabbage later.
I don't think we would be eating corned beef in Ireland though.
When I was a little girl, my sister and I would wear green on this day but our mom made us wear a little bit of orange because we are Protestant.
What do you know about Patrick?
From history.com It is known that St. Patrick was born in Britain to wealthy parents near the end of the fourth century. He is believed to have died on March 17, around 460 A.D. Although his father was a Christian deacon, it has been suggested that he probably took on the role because of tax incentives and there is no evidence that Patrick came from a particularly religious family. At the age of sixteen, Patrick was taken prisoner by a group of Irish raiders who were attacking his family's estate. They transported him to Ireland where he spent six years in captivity. (There is some dispute over where this captivity took place. Although many believe he was taken to live in Mount Slemish in County Antrim, it is more likely that he was held in County Mayo near Killala.) During this time, he worked as a shepherd, outdoors and away from people. Lonely and afraid, he turned to his religion for solace, becoming a devout Christian. (It is also believed that Patrick first began to dream of converting the Irish people to Christianity during his captivity.)
After more than six years as a prisoner, Patrick escaped. According to his writing, a voice-which he believed to be God's-spoke to him in a dream, telling him it was time to leave Ireland.
To do so, Patrick walked nearly 200 miles from County Mayo, where it is believed he was held, to the Irish coast. After escaping to Britain, Patrick reported that he experienced a second revelation-an angel in a dream tells him to return to Ireland as a missionary. Soon after, Patrick began religious training, a course of study that lasted more than fifteen years. After his ordination as a priest, he was sent to Ireland with a dual mission-to minister to Christians already living in Ireland and to begin to convert the Irish. (Interestingly, this mission contradicts the widely held notion that Patrick introduced Christianity to Ireland.)
Go here to take an Irish quiz! http://www.history.com/content/stpatricksday/all-things-irish-quiz
2 comments:
Really interesting. Thanks for that history. I have heard before somewhere that Corned Beef/cabbage was probably an American thing and not Ireland. Apparently corned beef was very expensive to get there and would have been available only to the rich if at all. Whatever the story, I LOVE it and really wanted some yesterday when I thought of it.
Corned beef and cabbage is an English dish.
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