Because of my Irish/Scottish blood background, I have always just naturally appreciated the emphasis on Celtic/Irish music and legend that appears around March 17th, but never really thought too much about the history of this celebration.  Today, I got a lesson in history.

Patrick was captured as a small boy and lived as a "slave" in Ireland, tending sheep all alone in the hills.  Because he had no one to talk to, he prayed.  When he was returned to England, he continued this contact with his version of religion and, being the time it was, he naturally gravitated to the Catholic Church as the accepted form of religious practice within his circle at that time.  He experienced a vision in which he was instructed to return to Ireland and preach/convert the Irish pagans to Christianity as practiced by the Catholic Church.  The
date and celebration of this became St Patrick's Day, which was set aside as a day to celebrate the "driving out of the snakes" from Ireland and Patrick's part in this. "The snakes" were not reptiles in the land, but all forms of Pagan/Druid/Heathen worship that did not conform to the Catholic dogma.

In spite of all the efforts of Christian "churchianity", the old ways were never completely obliterated. Even those who professed Christianity held strongly to many of the old ways. What with religion totally caught up and intertwined with politics in Ireland, it is actually difficult to separate the two.  It is easy to understand why the two differing sides in Ireland's continuing war differentiate and define themselves with religious terminology.

It is believed by many that St Patrick's Day has always had almost an anti-establishment celebratory factor about it.  There have been, and are, many who recognize this day as a celebration that the Old Ways could never really be destroyed.  Many of the symbols associated with St Patrick's Day, such as the shamrock, were originally a part of the Old Ways and are recognized as such today.  It is also a day to celebrate one's ethnic heritage without considering the religious significance of the origins of this day.

So, for me, I suppose I will forevermore be reminded on this day of attempts to destroy the Old Traditional Spirituality, and truly celebrate the fact that Spirit is still in control.  Spirit has seen fit to speak to the hearts, minds and souls of many who do not and will not forget, nor will they be forced to place their Spirituality inside any confinement, any square box or building of human design.  This is also a day for me to honor, to remember, and to sincerely appreciate the yearnings and the influences of our ancestors upon our souls.  Spirit has drawn so many of us to recognize and awaken at a soul level to the fact that there is indeed so much more to true Spirituality than any confines can hold or control.
 

(contributed by Wiyaka)
 
 
 
 

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