St. PATRICK, SNAKES,
AND IRELAND
G'day folks,
March 17 is St Patrick's Day or the Feast of Saint Patrick, a cultural and religious holiday celebrated every year in Ireland and by Irish communities around the world.
The celebration marks the anniversary of Saint Patrick’s death in the fifth century and represents the arrival of Christianity in the country.
Celebrations to mark the event long ago spread across the world from the
"Emerald Isle". New York, for example, is noted for its extravagant
parades and marching bands on this day – a tradition said to date back
to 1776. Such is the enthusiasm that in recent years up to 300,000
marchers and two million spectators have brought the "Big Apple" to a
virtual halt.
Boston, too, is noted for its spectacular parades with floats, marching
bands, live music, and dyed green beer! Bostonians got in on the act
even before New York, when in 1737 the newly formed Charitable Irish
Society organised its first parade to honour St Patrick.
Not to be outdone, Chicago dyed its river green on March 17 in 1962 –
the start of a new tradition. There has even been a parade on the
streets of Moscow since 1992.
So what is known about St Patrick? Well, for a start, it is not certain
that he was Irish, claims having been registered that he was born in
Wales or Scotland!
Wherever his roots, the history books show that in the late fourth or
early fifth century he was captured by pirates, sold into slavery and
kept in bondage for six years in Ireland. Breaking away from his chains,
as it were, he escaped to France where he became a monk. By about 432
he had become a bishop and returned to Ireland as a missionary.
According to Catholic scholars he arrived there in 433 and soon met the
chieftain of one of the druid tribes, who tried to kill him. After an
intervention by God, Patrick was able to convert the chieftain and went
on to preach the Gospel throughout Ireland. He preached there for 40
years, converting thousands of people and building churches across the
country.
He died in 461 at Saul, where he had built the first Irish church and is believed to be buried in Down Cathedral, Downpatrick.
Today, there are no snakes in Ireland and that, according to legend, is
thanks to St Patrick. The priest John Colgan began work on a six-volume
Irish ecclesiastical history in the 17th Century, including the lives of
the saints. In it, he tells how Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland
by luring them to the sea where they were drowned.
Colgan relates that he accomplished this feat by beating a drum, but he
did so with such fervour that he knocked a hole in it, putting the
success of the miracle in jeopardy. Fortunately, we are told, an angel
appeared and mended the drum.
Patrick then rendered the Irish soil so obnoxious to serpents that to this day they die immediately on touching it. Scientists say this is all bunkum and that snakes have never been seen on the island of Ireland. How would they have got there?
Scholars in their turn believe that the snake story is an allegory for
St Patrick’s eradication of pagan ideology. American classics professor
Philip Freeman says that since snakes often represent evil in
literature, "when Patrick drives the snakes out of Ireland, it is
symbolically saying he drove the old, evil, pagan ways out of the
country and brought in a new age."
The saint's true name was Maewyn Succat. That obviously lacked an Irish
ring and he later became known as St Patrick, named after his place of
burial.
Clancy's comment: Go, St. Patrick! He obviously missed Australia. Here we have some of the most venomous snakes in the world. Just sayin' ...
I'm ...
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