St. Patrick’s Day Traditions

I’m sure this is going to come as no surprise but modern day St. Patrick’s Day traditions are vastly different from what they were when the holiday was created.

The first St. Patrick’s Day was celebrated in 1631 when the church established a feast honoring the late St. Patrick.

St. Patrick had been a Patron Saint of Ireland, there is not a lot of definitive history on him but a few things we do know is:

- He was a roman citizen and was enslaved and taken to Ireland at approximately age 16;

- He was either released or escaped from his imprisonment;

- He then became a priest and returned to Ireland and had great luck in converting the Druid culture into Christians.

- Legend has it he was born named Maewyn Succat and changed his name to Patricius (or as we know him- Patrick) which means “father figure” in Latin.

- His supposed luck with converting people to Christianity is where the “luck” comes into play with modern St. Patrick’s Day traditions.

- He used the three leafed shamrock ☘ to explain the holy trinity to the Irish Pagans.

- He died on March 17th Year 432.

I decided to compile an assortment of traditions for this list as traditional and modern traditions vary quite drastically.

More Traditional:

- Attend church in the morning; and

- Celebrate in the afternoon! (Christian Lent rules were waived and people would eat and drink to their hearts content.);

- Wear blue;

- Enjoy some corned beef, cabbage and bacon; and

- Wear a shamrock.

More Modern:

- Attend a St. Patrick’s Day parade;

- Enjoy a breakfast beer at your favorite Irish pub (Many pubs open at 7am on March 17th)

- Wear green;

- “Drown” a shamrock. (Pop a shamrock into your last drink of the night for good luck.. and hopes of an easy hangover in the morning);

- Take in some Irish step dancing.

Info sourced from:

https://time.com/4261456/st-patrick-day-2016-history-real-saint/

https://www.history.com/topics/st-patricks-day/history-of-st-patricks-day

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Saint-Patricks-Day

https://parade.com/1173388/jessicasager/st-patricks-day-traditions/

Blue Monday- January 16th 2023

“Blue Monday” comes around annually on the 3rd Monday in January. It is considered to be the saddest day of the year, thus its name.

And when you think about it, it kind of makes sense- many of us are getting the post-Christmas bills, it’s cold, it’s dark and we may have started realizing our New Year’s resolutions aren’t going as planned.

Blue Monday started as a PR stunt in 2005 by a British Travel company but did cite some work done by psychologist Dr. Cliff Arnall. There’s still lots of debate over his work but it didn’t stop companies seeing this as an opportunity to jump and sell some stuff.

The big take away from the day is the reminder to take care of your mental health, especially if you are someone who suffers from S.A.D (Seasonal Affective Disorder).

I have compiled a list of things that will hopefully help you get through Blue Monday! Divided into extroverted and introverted activities.

Introverted Activities (my specialty)

- Make your favorite meal for dinner.

- Put in a good workout to get your blood flowing. If you don’t have a home gym or equipment no problem, Youtube is full of working routines with no equipment or go learn your favorite TikTok dance.

- Cuddle up with your favorite person/ pet, a snack and a great movie.

- Sit down with your (possibly failing) New Year’s resolutions and see your progress (OR what you need to do to get back on track);

- As much as we hate it, you may just need to leave the house for a change of scenery. Go for a visit, go window shopping, go out to eat.

Extroverted Activities (grab all 1700 of your friends and goo!)

- Go for a tan for some sunlight;

- Get together with friends for dinner;

- Go for a massage or a spa day;

- Go to the gym;

- As much as you may hate it, maybe you need a night in to relax and recharge. Maybe with a good book or movie.

Some info cited from:

https://nationaltoday.com/blue-monday/

Blog