St.Patricks day

[cowsmanaut]

it was supposed to be on the 15th this year, but it appears I'm one of the few people who knew about it. Some Irish bishops decided to move it to the 15th instead of the 17th this year to prevent conflict with "holy monday"... but it seems the rest of the world is ignoring that and going on as usual

so.. yeah.. Happy saint paddy's day!

[beowuuf]

By 'avoiding holy monday' what they actually mean is 'putting the piss up on the right day', yes?

Anyway, happy st patrick's day!

[Gambit37]

I find it rather bizarre that most of the people who celebrate St. Patrick's Day are usually not religious, didn't know who St. Patrick was or what he did and have no idea why they are celebrating this prime number day in March. It's just an excuse for a piss up for most people, like most other religous festivals that have been taken over by secular fun.

Weird.

[beowuuf]

Not weird, greetings cards and resteraunts are looking for any excuse to have days each month

Well, plus the american immigrants wanted to acknowledge their irish roots with patrick's day

Burns night doens't seem as big

[Gambit37]

I'm quarter Irish and grew up as a Catholic and my parish church as a child was St.Patricks so I will always associate this day with religious activity. I guess I just can't get my head around the commercialisation of it, the same way I detest the same about Christmas and Easter.

For the record, I'm no longer religious -- but my mystified state about the above remains.

[Sophia]

I'm mystified that you're mystified.

[MitchB1990]

Not weird, greetings cards and resteraunts are looking for any excuse to have days each month

Well, plus the american immigrants wanted to acknowledge their irish roots with patrick's day

Burns night doens't seem as big

Haha wow last place I thought I'd here about Burns, My mom works at a living history museum and we celebrate by having a burns dinner! we eat haggis too I'm both alittle Irish and Scottish, a weird Combination but happy St. Pattys day

[cowsmanaut]

Hey now.. not so weird a combination! I'm the same..

As for the alteration of holidays and lost meaning. One could say the same of any of the holidays. Easter changes dates every year, Christmas is not in fact the birth of christ as he was born in summer, and in fact christmas in winter solstice.. and back to easter.. where the hell did the rabbit and multi-coloured eggs come from?.. And St.Patrick... what's with the bloody leprechaun and 4 leaf clover? etc etc etc... There is nothing but distorted meaning and intent for EVERY holiday we celebrate..

What I find amusing really, is just the fact that those with the only right to alter the holiday at all.. made an attemtp (the Irish Bishops) and not a damned person paid any heed as Google had it's 4 leaf clover up on it's website today, and people were walking around with their little green hats downtown, and so on and so on..

The world is oblivious to all around it and to just about anyone I mentioned the change in date to here, basically said that the bishops could go "F themselves"... yet.. it's their holiday.. It's a religious holiday... it's an IRISH RELIGIOUS HOLIDAY... it's not happy leprechaun day...

It's much the same as sitting there using the the wrong side of a hammer to bang in a nail and a carpenter comes along and tries to explain how to use it and instead get's told off for interfering

oblivious...

[Ameena]

Regerding eggs and bunnies, is that kind of stuff not just tied in with the beginning of Spring, therefore new life etc?

[beowuuf]

Haha wow last place I thought I'd here about Burns,

Lol, an american thinks the last place they would hear about burns night is from a scot on a UK website??? That's scary

Yeah burns night is still big over here, we don't drop our haggis and mouse obsessed poets. I've even had our house twice now hold a burns night - though with vegetarian haggis so not quite the same!

[beowuuf]

Yup, they's just tied another religeous festival into a pagan one. Christmas, with all its pagan symbolism for a start

I notice no one mentioned the obvious one - mother's day, mothering sunday as it was known, the day servants used to go to their MOTHER CHURCH and be allowed a servant's holiday back to their homes - nothing to do with greetigns cards for parents! Yet now we have have both mother's and father's day!

[Gambit37]

Yep, the Mother's day one really bugs me too -- especially as it was hijacked by Hallmark and the "greetings card" industry as a whole. All the other's (Father's day, etc, etc) similarly were inspired by Mother's Day.

Valentine's is the worst though. I pointedly do nothing for my GF (if I have one at the time) on that day as I won't be told by someone else when to show my affection, plus all the restaurants double their prices. Luckily, I now have an intelligent, equally cynical GF who agrees with me.

[Sophia]

I pointedly do nothing for my GF (if I have one at the time)

Do you still have one the day after?

Well, seriously though, I agree with you. It's pretty meaningless, and a lot of people buy into that crap... probably to ease some guilt complex about not being affectionate enough the other days fo the year.

At least it's based on an actual holiday, instead of just pulling one out of the air. They do that, too.

[beowuuf]

I have talked to a scurulous person who would occasionally arrange to have a fight around valentine's day for that very avoidance reason!

[Gambit37]

Do you still have one the day after?

If my decision for no larks on St.V's day made a girlfriend leave me, she wouldn't be missed. Anyone that shallow is best avoided.

When I was younger I did in fact do stuff on that day, but age and experience plus my girlfriend at the time of St.Vs in 2001, changed me. (Well, she turned out to be mad: threw her toys out of the pram because I wouldn't see her on valentines days, despite the fact I was travelling to my Grandmother's funeral! Crazy, crazy girl!)

I have talked to a scurulous person who would occasionally arrange to have a fight around valentine's day for that very avoidance reason!

Now THAT is bad behaviour!

[cowsmanaut]

"I won't be told by someone else when to show my affection" but you will allow them to cause you to "pointedly" not show affection on that specific day

There is nothing wrong with celebrating with everyone else. As long as you have a good time. I'll still eat a chocolate egg on easter even though I know it has nothing to do with the original holiday

They just happen to sell them at that time of the year

My Father and step mom decided one year that christmas was off, from then on. That some of the money they would spend on presents was instead going to help someone in some other country and they expressly did not want presents. I think that lasted two years and the eventually went back to doing things for xmas. The result was that others felt akward talking to them at that time and so instead of having people to hang out with, they stayed at home doing nothing

I Don't think that Xmas should be so focused on commercial purchases.. but I enjoy the getting together to enjoy the company of family and friends..

anyway..

[Gambit37]

"I won't be told by someone else when to show my affection" but you will allow them to cause you to "pointedly" not show affection on that specific day

Word twister! I don't mean that I won't be affectionate per se, but that I specifically will not take someone out on that day for a St.Valentine's Day meal just because that is what The Industry and Society expects me to do.

There is nothing wrong with celebrating with everyone else.

I think there's a very big difference between a religious festival bringing people together in mutual worship and a greetings-card created day telling us to remember to show our love for our partner.

but I enjoy the getting together to enjoy the company of family and friends..

Well, that's exactly the point of all of this isn't it? Why do we need 'named events', whether religious or secular, to be some kind of catalyst for enjoying time with our friends and family? We should be doing that anyway.

[cowsmanaut]

we should, but we don't. So think of it as a reminder to said friends and family to share some time with you.. without those holidays, they would not, that is in many cases, have the free time from work to spend with you or others.. so those greeting card days... some of them.. afford us this chance. The other ones.. well they are just silliness that has been manufactured to amuse and sell cards.. but so be it.

I must say that, hallowe'en which is in itself a very commercial holiday is one of my most favorite days. It's a chance to wear my art as opposed to it being a stationary thing on a page or computer screen. I get to be come something different or help others do that. The chance to decorate my place with oddities that on any other day would seem plain odd. I tried the whole goth thing.. it's just not the same every other day of the year.. people treat you normally on hallowe'en and like a freak any other day..

so, some holidays likley will appeal to different people.. a rabbit lover may favor that one day of year that bunnies are very popular..

moo

[Sera]

a bit belated from me, but happy st paddy's for yesterday. :3

[oh_brother]

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Well, I know it actually is tomorrow but I probably won’t be on the forums then (I get a day off work! Yippee!).

And St.Patrick... what's with the bloody leprechaun and 4 leaf clover?

Btw it is not a four leaf clover, it is a three leaf shamrock. Or at least it should be a three leaf shamrock (according to legend St. Patrick used the three leaves to explain the Trinity…although that does not make much sense, I am sure people could have understood the concept of “three” without the need for an example) so it still does have some resemblance to the original meaning. The leprechauns I will give you have nothing to do with a 5th century saint, and neither does Guinness or green beer.

Anyway I will be celebrating by sleeping in late, watching a parade and possibly drinking some Guinness. I hear the Irish tourist board have stepped up their efforts this year (in a desperate attempt to get the country some badly needed extra cash) and things like the London Eye are going to be lit up in green.

[Bit]

Skull!

[beowuuf]

Lol, you can't run away! You need to do a St Patrick's day jig for a certain little gnome!

And lol, the london eye lit up in green? Not going into london until thursday, but will be sure to warn my friend about that!

[oh_brother]

Lol, I will dance on him soon enough, don't worry!

And yeah, just Googled it and they are really going crazy...London Eye, Empire State building and Sydney Opera house are all going green, plus lots of other displays in Germany, India (!), China (!)...they must really be getting desperate for tourists.

All further examples of the earlier topic of commercialisation of holidays. In fact it is unashamedly commercial, according to a newspaper article "It is aiming to make the St Patrick’s celebrations one of the biggest consumer events in Britain in the first three months of this year."

Although I cannot complain, because I am not attending any religious service. Or rather I can complain, but it is very hypocritical.

[Chaos-Shaman]

happy holidays, heh, everyday is a holiday, just not all happy, Happy Dungeon Master Day, that is the best one. peace

[cowsmanaut]

Four leaf clovers are supposed to be good luck. Just as the little green bastards are supposed to be good luck too if you can catch one.. or at the very least give you wishes, or a pot of gold. It's all weird. And for those who might think 4 leaf clovers don't exist.. I have one here. It was a gift to my wife when she claimed they didn't exist, so I spent a few hours hunting in a clover patch

[Chaos-Shaman]

yeah, i've got a patch of em in me backyard, 5 leaf and 6 leaf every so often, don't know how lucky they are, heh, isn't believing in luck kinda pagan, anywho, i believe in luck

[cowsmanaut]

I think the 6 leaf is the "Oh lord I need luck bad!" kind of clover.. you know, the one you whip out when all else fails

[Chaos-Shaman]

hahahaha, that very well could be cowsmanaut. i made the mistake of using some weed spray on my backyard, just some spots, left a small patch of clovers thank goodness, cause man did things ever mess up after i did it, and i won't do it again.

[cowsmanaut]

yeah, the way weedspray works is it kills any broad leaved plants. So clover.. bye bye The way they do it is that it's poison for plants, and has to be absorbed by their leaves.. so the bigger the leaf, the more will settle and absorb.. meaning grass which is thin leaved gets away with a slight tummy ache

[Chaos-Shaman]

heh, i'm adding fertilizer to them this year, just in case.