Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow Nightshade: St, Patricks Day
1631 is the year when St. Patricks Day was started by the Catholic Church. It was introduced to the US by the Irish, where its origin lays and became a joint Irish American connectivity. Well, that is the simple explanation yet there are many other stories attached to this great day of celebration. One such story, which I like, explains the Shamrock flower which is always a main feature of this occasion. Legend is that St. Patrick used the Shamrock, the three-leaf clover, to teach the Christian doctrine of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit in one. The 'Lucky’ four leaf clover is supposed to be a genetic accomplishment as the fourth leaf is not easy to develop as it needs a recessive trait, but it is real if rare. A subject for the botanists.
What about the Leprechauns you might ask. These are supernatural fairies thought to bring good luck and protection to humans. They might also cause you some misery as they enjoy playing practical jokes on people.
Green has significance as the political influence being the colour chosen to wear during the Irish wars with England. ‘For the wearing of the green’ became a slogan of the day and a green flag with a harp was flown. This year, March 16th 2024, Chicago dyed its river ‘Green’ an emerald green in celebration.
I have heard of painting a town red but green!
We didn’t go quite as far as to throw buckets full of dye into the local water ways but instead got together for a Wine and Dine in the country home of a friend. We normally get together with our marking papers, bell for attention and enjoy several courses of lovingly prepared dishes, which are to be seriously paired with a wine chosen to compliment the dish. As we normally start with a glass or three of ‘welcoming you’ wine before sitting down to a day of laughter, chatter, and indulgence the afternoon progresses quickly as the laughter increases, the chatter overlaps, and the wine pairing becomes less serious. The first column on the list is the colour, then the nose (aroma), then the legs (viscosity), then the taste, all measured to add up to 20. Then the food and the pairing with the comments. Eg: at the beginning of the meal a comment would be something like “Full bodied with tones of berries, perhaps chocolate on the palate, very smooth, even velvety”. By the end of the meal the comments are along the line of “that is a dam good wine, maybe has tones of grapes”.
Why is it that so few people are daring, if you will, or simply fun enough to dress up in fancy dress for a special occasion. It is so much more fun to see how everyone has prepared their take on the event. For our St. Patricks day only two people dressed up while the others simply wore green.
So, our two Leprechauns added beautifully to the scene.
Wine and Dine Table
