This Thursday, March 17, 2022, dawns the holiday known as "St. Patrick's Day", merely a day for wild celebratory behavior, such as the imbibing of green liquor beverages, donning the green clothing lest you get pinched, and fun school festivities and dances. But, have you ever stopped to think what this day is truly all about and why do we celebrate in such fashion, or abstain?
So, for starters, who is this guy and how and why ever did he get this date named after him? The man who would become the infamous Patrick was born Maewyn Succat, in either Scotland or Wales, as a Roman citizen. Much of his life remains unknown in the shadowy distant past. However, it is a fact of history that he was kidnapped and brought to Ireland in slavey when he was 16 years old, by what he described as Irish pirates. While he was there, he ignited his faith as a Catholic, believing that his kidnapping was punishment for his unbelief. Because of this, he spent much of his time in prayer during these hard years which brought him a vision of being a stowaway on a British ship. Following this vision, he found his way back to his homeland and his family.
Once returned home, he began studying Catholicism in earnest, eventually traveling to a French monastery. It is believed that he may have changed his name to Patrick when he was ordained but others say that name might have been given to him upon his death. Studying in the monastery led to his becoming a Bishop which led him to the belief that he needed to return to Ireland to bring the salvation of Jesus Christ to the lost Irish souls.
The reality of having the original Irish religion, Celtic Paganism, eradicated from Ireland and thus celebrated leaves a definite sour taste to those, like me, who favor the Pagan religions today. It can seem ironic that the many Saints decreed throughout the history of Catholic canon resemble the many gods and goddesses of the Celtic and Pagan religions. Indeed, it is known that much of the Christian holidays are taken from the celebrations of the old religions, such as Christmas and Easter.
Furthermore, with the righteous removal of statues built to honor the "heroes of the confederacy" in 2020, the pain of celebrating such a day for a Pagan feels akin to raising statues honoring slavery in the United States. A bit of solace can be found in that, like Christmas and Easter, the holiday of St. Patrick Day has become a commercialized tradition. Thus, for my part, as a former fundie Christian and now born-again wiccan, proud Irish descendant, I hang the traditional commercialized version of St. Paddy's day, as I once did as a child, yet still hold the understanding of the true history and suffering caused by one forcing another to conform to the ways they deem as correct.
As a former fundie, I can say that I behaved in ways, through voice and action, that wounded those I love and who were undeserving based on what I was taught to believe, because of this, I feel compassion for those imposing controlling ways as those who feel imposed upon. Nuance is more true than black or white, we all have reasons why we inflict, usually based on our own past wounds.
In humility, I feel it important to admit my weaknesses and imperfections, thus, once done I find the true joy in living a life more beautiful.
I celebrate for the childhood traditions I once so loved as well as to honor not the genocide of a religion but to lift up the homeland of my heart, Ireland.
I welcome your comments and thoughts on this subject.
Research done for this blog came from:
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