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reetings from Australia.
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St Patrick's Day, the warm side of a stone turns up, and the broad-back goose begins to lay.
Traditional English weather proverb
On the high day of Patrick, every fold will have a cow-calf, and every pool a salmon.
Gaelic saying
The Irish are a fair people; they never speak well of one another.
Samuel Johnson, English lexicographer and critic, quoted by his biographer,
James Boswell, in
Life of Samuel Johnson. Today is Ireland's National Day.
Saint Patrick's, the holy and tutelar man;
His beard down his bosom like Aaron's ran:
Some from Scotland, some from Wales, will declare that he came,
But I care not from whence now he's risen to fame; -
The pride of the world and his enemies scorning,
I will drink to St Patrick, today, in the morning!
He's a desperate big, little Erin go brah;
He will pardon our follies and promise us joy.
By the mass, by the Pope, by St Patrick, so long
As I live, I will give him a beautiful song!
No saint is so good, Ireland's country adorning;
Then hail to St Patrick, today, in the morning!
Traditional Dublin song
Where there are Irish there's loving and fighting,
And when we stop either, it's Ireland no more!
Rudyard Kipling, Indian-born English writer; 'The Irish Guards'
St
Patrick
Saint Patrick, as in legends told,
The morning being very cold,
In order to assuage the weather,
Collected bits of ice together;
Then gently breathed upon the pyre,
When every fragment blazed on fire.
Oh! if the saint had been so kind,
As to have left the gift behind
To such a lovelorn wretch as me,
Who daily struggles to be free;
I'd be content – content with part,
I'd only ask to thaw the heart,
The frozen heart, of Polly Roe.
Irish ballad
May the road rise to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face.
And rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the hollow of His hand. Irish blessing
For the great Gaels of Ireland
Are the men that God made mad,
For all their wars are merry,
And all their songs are sad. GK Chesterton, from
'The Ballad of the White Horse',
1911
… a man known only to very few by name – apart from a handful of psychiatrists (Freud, Jung, et al) and secret policemen – and among those few only to those who plucked his feathers to adorn their own posteriors.
Anton Kuh, writing of Otto Gross, Austrian libertarian psychoanalyst, born on March 17, 1877
There is a world beyond ours, a world that is far away, nearby, and invisible, and there is where God lives, where the dead live, the spirits and the saints. A world where everything has already happened and everything is known. That world talks. It has a language of its own. I report what it says. The sacred mushroom takes me by the hand and brings me to the world where everything is known. It is they, the sacred mushrooms, that speak in a way that I can understand. I ask them and they answer me. When I return from the trip that I have taken with them, I tell what they have told me and what they have shown me.
Maria Sabina, Mazatec shaman, born on March 17, 1898 Source
I was eight years old when a brother of my mother fell sick. He was very sick, and the shamans of the sierra that had tried to cure him with herbs could do nothing for him. Then I remembered what the teo-nanacatl [mushrooms] told me: that I should go and look for them when I needed help. So I went to take the sacred mushrooms, and I brought them to my uncle's hut. I ate them in front of my uncle, who was dying. And immediately the teo-nanacatl took me to their world, and I asked them what my uncle had and what I could do to save him. They told me an evil spirit had entered the blood of my uncle and that to cure him we should give him some herbs, not those the curanderos gave him, but others. I asked where these herbs could be found, and they took me to a place on the mountain where tall trees grew and the waters of a brook ran, and they showed me the herb that I should pull from the earth and the road I had to take to find them...[After regaining consciousness] it was the same place that I had seen during the trip, and they were the same herbs. I took them, I brought them home, I boiled them in water, and I gave them to my uncle. A few days later the brother of my mother was cured.
Maria Sabina, Mazatec shaman, born on March 17, 1898 Source
I am a woman who looks into the insides of things, says
I am a woman who investigates, says
I am a woman who shouts, says
I am a woman who resounds, says
I am a woman torn up out of the ground, says
I am a woman wise in medicine, says
I am a woman wise in herbs, says
I am a woman of light, says
I am a woman of heaven, says
I am a woman who gives life
I am a woman who reanimates
Healing chant of Maria Sabina, Mazatec shaman, born on March 17, 1898. ("Says" refers to the fact that, as Maria believed, they are the mushrooms' words, not her own.) Source
Before Wasson, I felt that the mushrooms exalted me. Now I no longer feel this ... from the moment the strangers arrived ... the mushrooms lost their purity. They lost their power. They decomposed. From that moment on, they no longer worked.
Maria Sabina, Mazatec shaman, born on March 17, 1898 Source
The trouble with the yanks is, they're over-paid, over-sexed ... and over here!
A popular saying by Aussie men during the days that nearly a million American servicemen were garrisoned in Australia. General
Douglas MacArthur arrived in Brisbane on March 17, 1942 to set up the Allied command for the south-west Pacific.
If you can remember anything about the sixties, you weren't really there. Paul Kantner, frontman with The Jefferson Airplane, born on March 17,
1942
Intelligence gathered by this and other governments leaves no doubt that the Iraq regime continues to possess and conceal some of the most lethal weapons ever devised. USA President George W
Bush; lying in an address to the
people of the USA, March 17, 2003
(Shamrock,
Trifolium repens [seamair bhán],
is
today's plant, dedicated to this saint.)
And will ye be drownin'the shamrock as well? For 'tis
St Patrick's Day, one of the most widely celebrated national and
religious feasts in the world.
St Patrick's day is
celebrated around the world, but you won't be finding the Irish in
their native land drinking green-coloured beer, wearing enormous
shamrocks, or dressing in green from head to toe. They might be
marching in a parade, having a night out, or taking the opportunity to get
away for a long weekend.
Elsewhere,however, this is the day of days
for those with even the slightest claim to Irish blood (and even for some
of those without), a day when all can revel in the pride of association
with that remarkable race of people which has contributed so much to world
culture.
Celebration
of this saint's day reaches its highest fervour in several parts of the
United States, where St Patrick's Day parades havelong been a part of the
multicultural calendar. Irish immigrants made up a large segment of
American society by the nineteenth century, particularly after An Gorta
Mor, the
disastrous Irish potato famine of 1845 - 47, during which time emigration
and death reduced the population of the small island by two million souls.
Even during the preceding century, the homesick Irish naturally gathered
in their adopted countries, such as America and Australia, on the day of
their national patron saint to celebrate their Irishness.
Today
the annual St Patrick's Day parade in New York draws hundreds of
thousands of participants and spectators. Dating back to 1762, this event
is a parade of international fame and significance, in which
Irish-Americans and Irish 'wannabes'let their hair down. The parade in Boston reaches back even further
in time, having first been celebrated in 1737.
America's
oldest Irish society, the Hibernian Society, was founded in 1812 in
Savannah, Georgia. The next year they held their first private procession,
the forerunner of Savannah's famous annual St Patrick's Day parade. In
Savannah, as in other parts of the States, you can close your eyes and
hold your nose to partake in some of the ubiquitous green-dyed beer and
green donuts.
Saint
Patrick was an historical character who was born in an unknown place
called Bannavem, probably in England or South Wales, about 389 CE. His
father, Calpurnius, was a Roman official and deacon of the Christian
Church.
At
the age of 16, Patrick was captured by Celtic raiders and spent six years
as a slave swineherd on an Irish farm, where he learned the Irish
language, until he escaped to Europe. There he studied theology and was
sent by Pope Celestine I back to Ireland to teach the natives about
Christianity.
Landing
at Wicklow in 432, he soon established religious communities and churches,
despite the relentless opposition of the established religion of the pagan
Druids - a religion that in succeeding centuries was fiercely suppressed
...
It is thought that saint Patrick was buried
at Downpatrick (appropriately), with the bones of St
Bridget and St
Columb.
Patrick's
jawbone
Patrick's jawbone was for a long time in
the possession of a humble family near Belfast. Accused people could place
their hand on it and would be struck down by God if they lied. The relic
was said to help women in childbirth. It also cured epilepsy, and
protected against witches and the evil eye.
St
Patrick's Day, Dublin
At daybreak on
St Patrick's Day in Dublin, flags fly on steeples and the bells ring
till midnight. The wealthy traditionally give gifts to the poor, and
shamrocks are traditionally worn in hats. There are dances and sports
featuring the shillelah.
St
Patrick festival, London
In 19th-Century
London, a festival of Irishmen took place every year on St Patrick's
Day, which was also the anniversary of the Society of St Patrick which
aided children of Irish parents.
At the
patron
In old Ireland,
it was traditional for rural folk to hold a patron (pron. pattern), or
fair, on St Patrick's Day, usually a day of singing, dancing and
sometimes fighting.
Patrick's
pilgrimage
Traditionally,
the faithful have made an annual pilgrimage on this day to Croagh Patrick,
the mountain from which the saint banished Ireland's venomous creatures.
Dying
wish
When St Patrick
was dying, he asked his lamenting followers not to grieve, but rather to
rejoice at his easy death, and asked each of them to have a drop to drink.
This is why the Irish have a crathur
on St Patrick's Day... or so it is said. After dining it is traditional
to stay a while over a 'Patrick's pot'.
Scottish
Patrick
In the Scottish
highlands and islands, St Patrick is honoured as much as in Ireland, and
today is considered the first day of Spring. In the Hebrides, a south wind
is expected this morning, bringing Patrick to visit his faithful. In the
evening, a north wind should return him to Ireland.
Paddy's
shamrakh
The trefoil
(shamrock) is called in Arabic the shamrakh.
The Roman Pliny wrote that the serpent is never found near the trefoil and
that the plant was a remedy for snake and scorpion bites.
The
shamrock
Think of St
Patrick and you think of the shamrock, which the ancient Druids used as a
healing herb. When Patrick landed near Wicklow to convert the Irish in
433, he explained the Trinity to the pagans by picking a shamrock and
showing the three leaves on the one stalk, like the three parts of the
Godhead in one.
What
is the shamrock?
The Irish seamrog means little clover, but
the identity of the Emerald Isle's most famous plant has long been
disputed. Some say it was the Wood Sorrell, but these days Irishmen
everywhere will don the Lesser Yellow Trefoil.
Lucky
find
To find a
four-leaved shamrock or clover is considered lucky, but not if you went
looking for it. It must be found by chance.
Plant
sweet peas now
An old Australian custom says you should plant
sweet peas after St Patrick's Day, and always put two seeds in each
drill hole (to be sure, to be sure!). Sweet pea seeds can easily rot so
it's best to double up the sowing.
A Paddy's Day recipe: Beef and Guinness Casserole
Ingredients:
1 pint Guinness
3 pounds stewing beef, cut into cubes
3 tablespoons oil
4 tablespoons butter
2 to 3 onions, peeled and sliced
3 stalks celery, chopped
3 carrots, peeled and sliced
1/2 pound mushrooms, quartered
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 clove garlic, minced
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons minced parsley
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325°F/165°C. In a large pan, heat the oil over
medium heat. Brown the meat, 3 to 5 minutes on each side, then transfer to a
large casserole dish.
Add the butter to the pan and when hot, add the onions and cook for 5
minutes, or until browned. Add the celery and carrots and cook, stirring
constantly, for 5 minutes, or until tender. Reduce heat to simmer, stir in
the flour, cook for 2 minutes, or until blended. Add the
Guinness, garlic, salt, and pepper.
Pour the vegetables over the meat, cover and cook for about 2 hours, or
until the meat is tender. Stir occasionally and check the liquid level. Add
a little more Guinness if the stew seems dry. Adjust seasonings and sprinkle with chopped parsley.
Serves 6.
You'll get more relatively traditional recipes
here.
Kustonu Diena, ancient Latvia To ward against insects, nothing could be planted
on this day. The flour-mill was rotated nine times in the morning,
when sparrows were driven from the homes, to ward against them for
the summer. Spinning linen was forbidden as it attracted wolves.
Embroidering and sewing forbidden, or else worms would infect crops
and moles would dig holes, respectively. Also known as Getrudas Diena
(St Gertrude's Day).
Trefuilnid
Treochair (triple bearer of the triple key), national day of Ireland
Egyptian day (dies egypticus, dies ægypticus or
dies mala), unlucky day in
Medieval Europe. ("But, notwithstanding, I will trust the Lord"
was the associated saying.)
Gertrude (626 -
March 17, 659) was the aunt of the father of the French hero,
Charles
Martel. Gertrude was noted for her devoted care of the poor and
she was reputed to know most of the Bible by heart. In art, she is
represented as being in such rapt contemplation that a mouse is
running up her pastoral staff unnoticed.
Twice in her
life St Gertrude was surrounded by a mysterious light. Once, while
she prayed, a luminous globe descended on her, and the whole church
was lit for half an hour. On another occasion, a ball of fire
settling on her head was witnessed by other nuns.
St Gertrude is
the patron saint of travellers and also is invoked for protection
and for gardening work.
Feast day of
St Joseph
of Arimathea This St Joseph was a rich Jew, probably a member of the
Sanhedrin, who, after the
Crucifixion, put the body of
Jesus Christ in his
own tomb. (Matthew xxvii,
57-60).
Tradition says
St Joseph of Arimathea, Christ's uncle, was imprisoned for twelve
years and kept alive by the Holy Grail. On his release by the
Emperor Vespasian, he brought the Grail, as well as the spear that
wounded Christ (see March
15), to Britain where he started the conversion of the Britons
and founded the Abbey at Glastonbury, where he is buried.
The Glastonbury thorn The thorn tree at Glastonbury grew when Joseph of Arimathea stuck his staff in the ground at Glastonbury, and
always bloomed on Christmas Day. Or, so it is said.
Joseph was a tin man Tradition says that St Joseph of Arimathea was a tin trader who
followed ancient Phoenician tin trade routes to Britain, which is
historically feasible. In Cornwall, an old saying amongst miners is
"Joseph was a tin man". It has even been said that he took his
nephew, Jesus, to Glastonbury in England on one of his journeys. Joseph is thus also the
patron of tin miners and tin smiths.
Camp Fire Girls Founder's Day, USA The
Camp Fire Girlsorganisation
was founded on March 17, 1910, byLuther Gulick and his wife Charlotte (formally
announced in 1912).
Fallas fire festival,
Valencia,
Spain "Annual festival in Valencia, when giant sculptures are
burnt in bonfires across the region. The tradition (according to Christians) is thought to have
originated in ancient times from carpenters burning unwanted wood at
the start of spring. In the Catalan language, fallas means 'fire'." Source:
Earth, Moon and Sky
1808 Bishop
Frederic
Barker (d.
April 6,
1882), English-born second
Anglican Bishop of Sydney. About 195.5cm (6'
5") tall and a teetotaller, his name was jokingly given to the
largest glass of beer sold in late-19th-Century Sydney. He was a
graduate of Jesus College, Cambridge, and British Archbishop
John Bird
Sumner recommended him for the Diocese of Sydney. Barker was of
frail health and was persuaded that "the comparative leisure of a
Bishop of Sydney should encourage him to accept". He arrived in
Sydney in 1855 and gave 27 years of service. His achievements
include the foundation of
Moore Theological College and of The Church Society (now the
Home Mission Society) in 1856, and the completion of St Andrew's
Cathedral in 1868. Under his guidance, The Clergy Widows and Orphans
Fund was established in 1867, and the Clergy Superannuation Fund in
1876. He left Sydney in March,
1881, to visit England, but his health
failed there and he never returned, dying soon after. Barker's
Evangelicalism has left a strong imprint on the Sydney Diocese. His
wife's father, John Harden, was a friend of
William
Wordsworth and his circle.
Pictured: Henry Slade in 1876;
click image to open contemporary cartoon in a new window
At the peak of
the medium's fame, a magistrate sentenced Slade, under the Vagrancy
Act of 1838, to three months'
imprisonment with hard labour. The conviction was nullified on
technical grounds, whereupon Slade hastily departed for the
Continent before a fresh summons could be issued. Slade had arrived
in England on
July 13
the same year for a series of 'spiritual' demonstrations, at the
invitation of
Helena
Blavatsky and
Henry S
Olcott, co-founders of the
Theosophical Society.
In
1885, Slade was tested in
Philadelphia by the medium-busting
Seybert
Commission and was caught in obvious fraud.
"The exposure by the Seybert Commission
was preceded by J. W. Truesdell's revelations. In Bottom
Facts of Spiritualism (1883), he claimed to have caught
Slade in cheating and narrates an amusing incident. He had
discovered a slate with a prepared message in the séance room.
He stealthily added another message of his own: 'Henry, look out
for this fellow; he is up to snuff – Alcinda.' He says that he
enjoyed Slade's discomfiture when, at the appropriate moment,
the unrehearsed message came to light."
Source
During the last years of his life, Slade
fell victim to
alcohol
addiction, and, in 1905, died penniless at the
Battle Creek Sanatorium (Phelps Sanitarium) atBattle Creek,
Michigan, USA,
to which he had been sent by American
Spiritualists.
It has been said that in his prime, he had been worth US$1
million (an extraordinary amount in the 19th Century) as
a result of the money he earned from his 'supernatural powers'.
1846Kate
Greenaway, English illustrator of children's books such as Mother
Goose (1881), Little Ann (1883), and The Pied Piper of
Hamelin (1889). The
Kate
Greenaway Medal was established by The (American) Library
Association in 1955, for distinguished illustration in a book for
children.
reetings from Australia.
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