Irish Blessing

Irish blessings have a long history in Ireland. They have served as protections from harm, bringers of good luck, and personal blessings for individuals and families. The Irish blessing is deeply entwined with Ireland’s cultural and spiritual heritage, offering comfort, hope, and wisdom. As a Christian, I don’t believe in luck, but I fully understand blessings. I believe all blessings come for our Father above. My favorite Saint Patrick’s Day blessing is “May your blessings outnumber the shamrocks that grow, and may trouble avoid you wherever you go.” Being part Irish, I also love Saint Patrick’s Day, which is not just about green beer, Corned Beef and Cabbage, or pinching those who forget to wear the traditional green. Saint Patrick was a real person and the patron saint of Ireland. Taken there as a slave, he became a priest bringing Christianity to Ireland.

In fact, in Ireland, the day is not a party day. It’s actually a religious holiday, similar to Christmas and Easter. Things have changed some over the years, and these days you can find Saint Patrick’s Day parades, shamrocks, and green Guinness beer in Ireland, but it’s mostly there for the tourists who think that is the right way to celebrate the day. The Irish people know the truth, however. Until 1970, Irish laws mandated that the pubs be closed on Saint Patrick’s Day, making it very different from the American way of celebrating the day. It just like our oven Independence Day, which doesn’t mean the same thing to the Irish either. Every nation has its own tradition, and its own way of celebrating them. For that matter, even the different families celebrate the tradition differently. In fact, in Chicago, they actually dye the Chicago River green for the holiday, and inevitably, someone has to take a dip into the green water to celebrate the day. The river really is a cool sight in emerald green.

Some people don’t do much, besides making sure they have some green on, and some like to almost hide their green, because if someone pinches you, and you have green on (in plain sight, of course) the rule is that you get to pinch them back. In our house, when I was growing up, we loved the pinching game for not wearing green, and we might just as easily pinch someone who fooled us, by wearing the tiniest bit of green, making us prime candidates for that revenge pinch. No matter how you celebrate, here’s wishing you a blessed and happy Saint Patrick’s Day!!