Irish Holiday Food Cooking International Guide
Irish Holiday On Saint Patricks Day
By Patrick D Kelly
In Ireland, the most devout Christians celebrate the feast day
of Saint Patrick with morning mass and a quiet family dinner of
lamb stew and bread. Here in America, we dress up in our best
green sweaters, line up with thousands of others along city parade
routes and proceed to the nearest bar for a dinner of corned beef
and cabbage, with a pint of Guinness to wash it all down.
To some, this Irish holiday is a sacred tradition that should
not be exploited with the moniker "Everyone’s Irish on St.
Patty’s Day!" To others, March 17th is a celebration of the
culture of Ireland and a clinging onto of symbols that remind
the homesick of their motherland.
The Origins Of Eating Corned Beef And Cabbage On St Patricks
Day
The corned beef and cabbage dinner is widely perceived as a quintessential
part of the Irish holiday, but scholars say that this dish has
nothing to do with Ireland. While the Irish have been known to
enjoy a beef stew or a cabbage dish here and there, corned beef
only attached itself to St. Patrick’s Day at the turn of the century.
Irish immigrants from New York City’s Lower East Side began eating
corned beef instead of Irish bacon to save money, thanks to the
advice from their Jewish neighbors. The early colonists were said
to enjoy corned beef because it was well-preserved in salt and
easier to transport.
Emigration Of The Irish Across The World
Today, the Irish holiday becomes a celebration of what it means
to be Irish, but people tend to celebrate in different ways. During
the Irish famine of 1845-1850, over 1 million people died of starvation
and disease, while hundreds of thousands of others emigrated to
communities around the world, including the United States.
Unfortunately, the Irish did not receive a warm welcome in America,
land of the free. "They had these signs: ‘No Irish Need Apply’"
explains Jim Farrelly, an Irish professor at the University of
Dayton in Ohio.
Celebrating All Things Irish
At first, the Irish would just take any job they could get, but
over the years, their communities thrived and they became more
economically secure. As a result, Saint Patrick’s Day became "a
day in which they celebrated their Irish-ness, and also their
success and their American-ness," explains Ninian Mellamphy,
a professor at the University of Western Ontario.
In the book, The Wearing of Green: A History of St. Patrick’s
Day, Mike Cronin and Daryl Adair assert: "Towards the end
of the Twentieth Century, Irish society underwent dramatic changes
owing to the influences of modernization and globalization."
Everyone Joins The Irish To Celebrate
They argue that the modernization of laws regarding abortion
and divorce, as well as the diversification and globalization
of Irish traditions greatly opened the world’s eyes to the Irish
holiday.
While the first American St. Patty’s Day was celebrated by Colonists
in the 1700s, the celebrations have gotten more and more extravagant
due, in large part, to the popularization of Irish bands like
U2, as well as the exportation of Irish pubs and Irish beer like
Guinness.
Irish Celebrations Are Welcomed Across America
Unlike the past, when the Irish people were discriminated against
as "stealing jobs," the Irish now have well-established
communities across America. The slowing of immigration from the
motherland, coupled with the ongoing peace process between Northern
and Southern Ireland, has facilitated Irish pride.
"St. Patrick’s Day festivities abroad are no longer assertive
markers of Irish-ness in often hostile environments, but are instead
self-congratulatory events that are both tolerated and actively
embraced by non-Irish communities."
About the Author:
Patrick D Kelly has written a number of articles on food and cooking
including Irish
Recipes, Crock
Pot Soup,
Vegetarian Crock Pot,
Sabatier Knives,
Wood Bread Box,
Black and Decker Coffee,
Kitchen Equipment.
Keep a lookout for more articles on this website.
Did You Know?
What is the legend or history of Saint Patrick’s Day?
There are lots of legends and folklore attached
to Saint Patrick’s Day. One of the most widely known legends is
that St. Patrick drove out all of the snakes from Ireland and
it is why you cannot find native snakes there now.
There are also legends attached to the
beloved shamrock which is a 3-leaved clover. The legend states
that St. Patrick introduced the shamrock to the natives of Ireland
as a symbol of the Holy Trinity of God, The Holy Spirit and Jesus
Christ.
More modern tales involve the wearing of
green to symbolize good luck. If you wear a bit of red with the
green then you are to receive a kiss. If you do not have any green
on at all…you get a pinch.
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