Recipes for St. Patrick’s Day
Woot! Woot! Party over here (and there)!
In America, we tend to celebrate lots of different things. Among them are sports, music, cinema, food (there’s a different food holiday almost every day), and patron saints like Valentine and Patrick!
It was only a few weeks ago when we paid homage to St. Valentine, patron of love, on Valentine’s (Palentine’s/Galentine’s) Day, and St. Patrick is next on our list. By now, you’ve most likely put one of the golden rules of holiday prep into action and replaced your pink and red heart décor with green shamrocks, leprechaun images, and pots of gold (not real, of course!). But that’s not where it ends.
Now, because St. Patrick’s is not just about beer, whisky, corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, and other traditional Irish foods, your menu will need to expand a bit. St. Patrick’s is a day full of celebrations and desserterias can easily fit into the mold of all the excitement St. Patrick’s Day is known to bring. And why not? The story of Maewyn Succat–St. Patrick’s birth name– is equally as exciting…
Some might call it lucky!
Much like the fourth leaf on a four leaf clover is said to represent luck, Maewyn would come to experience a stroke of it after several years of hardship.
It is reported that at just 16 years old, Maewyn was captured by Irish pirates form his native home of what is modern day Dumbarton, Scotland, formerly Roman Britannia. Maewyn was forced into slave labor in Dalriada, Northern Ireland as a shepherd and farm laborer for six years until…
What the FUDGE?!
That’s what Maewyn’s captors must have been feeling when they realized he had escaped. The story suggests that Maewyn had a vision that instructed him to escape Dalriada via a ship that would be waiting for him on the coast. It is said that Maewyn convinced the sailors to allow him to board the ship, which they agreed, and off to freedom Maewyn sailed.
Now it’s time to mix it up!
During his captivity, Maewyn had become more devout and reliant on his Christian faith, which is said to have helped him get through the turbulent times. After escaping, Maewyn studied and entered the priesthood, during which time he took on the name Patrick, which means “father figure,” in place of Maewyn. Patrick was eventually ordained as a bishop.
And ’round again…
Though initially not confident in his ability to fulfill the task, Patrick answered an undeniable call to return to Ireland nearly 30 years following his escape. There, Patrick embarked on missionary work that has since gone down in history, consequently earning him sainthood despite not being formerly canonized (it is said that during the first millennium, there wasn’t a formal canonization process at all, therefore, most saints from that period were given the title if they were either martyrs or seen as extraordinarily holy).
There you have it, a bit of insight into why March 17th, the said anniversary of St. Patrick’s death, is why we should get ready to see a lot of green (and eat some too!)