St Patrick's Day - March 17

The Rose of Tralee. Lyrics by C. Mordaunt Spencer; music by Charles W. Glover. The song was originally published in London circa 1845.

The pale moon was rising above the green mountain; the sun was declining beneath the blue sea when I strayed with my love to the pure Crystal fountain that stands in the beautiful vale of Tralee.

She was lovely and fair as the rose of the summer yet 'twas not her beauty alone the won me Oh, no! 'twas the truth in her eye ever dawning that made me love Mary, the Rose of Tralee

The cool shades of evening their mantle was spreading, and Mary, all smiling, was listening to me, The moon through the valley, her pale rays Was shedding when I won the heart of the rose of Tralee

Though lovely and fair as the rose of the summer yet 'twas not her beauty alone the won me Oh, no! 'twas the truth in her eye ever dawning that made me love Mary, the Rose of Tralee.

The Holiday

St. Patrick's Day began in Ireland as a Catholic holiday, but over the years--particularly in the last twenty--it has become a festival as much as a holy day. In America, St. Patrick's Day is celebrated with parades and feasts of corned beef and cabbage, and with revelry.

To the Irish in Ireland, however, the day is first a feast and holy day, celebrated
with a week-long tradition of festivities. Attending mass on St. Patrick's Day is very common. But there's no influence to drink more because of the holiday. In Ireland, St. Patrick's Day is treated like any other saint's day. Family get-togethers are very important, and it's not unusual for a family to gather for a special meal. While corned beef and cabbage is an American tradition; in Ireland, family meals more likely feature bacon or a roast chicken.

Who was St. Patrick?

Saint Patrick is considered to be the patron saint and national apostle of Ireland. He is credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland in the second half of the 5th century.

Before the end of the 7th century, Patrick had become a legendary figure. One legend says that he drove the snakes of Ireland into the sea to their destruction. Another, is that of the shamrock, in which he explains the concept of the Holy Trinity, three Persons in one God, to an unbeliever by showing him the three-leaved plant with one stalk.

Patrick was born in what is now northern England or southern Scotland. While a teenager, he was kidnapped by Irish raiders, and enslaved for six years. Hearing a message from God, he escaped his captors by traveling 200 miles to the Irish coast. He boarded a ship to return to England. But, pirates attacked this ship. He was again enslaved. This time, it was for two months. After escaping these captors, he is believed to have traveled and studied on the Continent. He returned to Britain as a priest. He remained there until a voice came to him in a dream begging him to return to Ireland. He traveled throughout Ireland, baptizing and confirming with untiring zeal. Throughout his life, he lived in danger of martyrdom.