Celebrating St Patrick |
Saint Patrick wasn't much younger than these guys when he was taken as a slave |
Saint Patrick's Day is observed on March 17, the date of his death. It is celebrated both inside and outside Ireland, as both a liturgical and non-liturgical holiday. In the dioceses of Ireland, it is both a solemnity and a holy day of obligation; outside Ireland, it can be a celebration of Ireland itself - and a chance to get pissed.
So what tights are you wearing this St Patrick's day?
At least try some green tights:
Good tights to pass out in |
Now that gets me to the shamrock. Legend (dating to 1726) credits St. Patrick with teaching the Irish about the doctrine of the Holy Trinity by showing people the shamrock, a three-leafed plant, using it to illustrate the Christian teaching of three persons in one God. For this reason, shamrocks are a central symbol for St Patrick’s Day. The shamrock had been seen as sacred in the pre-Christian days in Ireland. Due to its green colour and overall shape, many viewed it as representing rebirth and eternal life. Three was a sacred number in the pagan religion and there were a number of "Triple Goddesses" in ancient Ireland, including Brigid, Ériu, and the Morrigan.
So to sum up:
- Saint Patrick probably didn't teach using a shamrock (earliest date 1726 is rather a long time after his death)
- The Shamrock idea was borrowed from paganism. The way Christianity borrowed the ideas of Christmas, Jesus as a god, Jesus' virgin birth, Jesus' resurrection and all that sort of stuff.
- Still, shamrocks make a nice pattern on tights.
Not that the shamrock is even a good symbol of the trinity. It sort of makes the godhead look like a set of Siamese (conjoined) triplets. Perhaps this is not so far from the orthodox doctrine. Gregory Thaumaturgus. in his Ekthesis tes pisteos composed between 260 and 270, writes:
"There is therefore nothing created, nothing subject to another in the Trinity: nor is there anything that has been added as though it once had not existed, but had entered afterwards: therefore the Father has never been without the Son, nor the Son without the Spirit: and this same Trinity is immutable and unalterable forever "By the way I hope you guys are wearing shamrock (or at least green) tights too, I'm sure as a good catholic St Patrick wouldn't mind.
Tights or socks and leggings? |
Must have been one St Patrick missed. |
Well fed for his migration. |
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