May your blessings outnumber
The shamrocks that grow,
And may trouble avoid you
Wherever you go.

A ST. PADDY’S DAY MEET & GREET

         Join us for a bit of Irish food and fun and come prepared for a rousing game of Hobin’s Dice.  You’ll need 6 pieces of SWAG or any items of interest to geocachers.  The game is typically played with quarters, but this version is especially for cachers.  All ages are welcome to join in the fun!  The game will start at approximately 12:00 PM . . . after you have time to participate in some cacher chat and enjoy some Irish eats and drinks!

         Roxanne, the owner of Tu Re’, is a supporter of Guam Geocacher’s. If you haven’t already, you can pick up the cache found at this location.  The chef has planned a special menu for the St. Patrick’s Day week.  I hope you will support this event and this local business.

What do you know about St. Patrick’s Day?

         The color traditionally associated with St. Patrick was blue, not green and commemorates the arrival of Christianity in Ireland and Saint Patrick (c. AD 387–461), the most commonly recognized of the patron saints of Ireland.

         The day is generally characterized by the attendance at church services, wearing of green attire, public parades and processions, the lifting of Lenten restrictions on eating, and drinking alcohol, which is often proscribed during the rest of the season.  For over 1000 years, the Irish have observed this day as a religious holiday.  Irish families would traditionally attend church in the morning and celebrate in the afternoon. Lenten prohibitions against the consumption of meat were waived and people would dance, drink, and feast--on the traditional meal of Irish bacon and cabbage.

         Though cabbage has long been an Irish food, corned beef only began to be associated with St. Patrick's Day at the turn of the century.

Learning about the cheaper alternative of corned beef from their Jewish neighbors, Irish immigrants living on New York City's Lower East Side substituted corned beef for their traditional dish of Irish bacon to save money.  Today, thousands of Irish Americans gather with their loved ones on St. Patrick's Day to share a "traditional" meal of corned beef and cabbage.

         The shamrock, a sacred plant in ancient Ireland symbolizing the rebirth of spring, became a symbol of emerging Irish nationalism by the 17th century, as the English began to seize Irish land and make laws against the use of the Irish language and the practice of Catholicism.  Many Irish began to wear the shamrock as a symbol of their pride in their heritage and their displeasure with English rule.  As time went on, the shamrock became symbolic in other ways.  In the 19th century it became a symbol of rebellion, and anyone wearing it risked death by hanging. It was this period that spawned the phrase "the wearin' o' the green." Today, the shamrock is the most recognized symbol of the Irish, especially on St. Patrick's Day, when all over the world, everyone is Irish for a day!

         Irish music has always been an important part of Irish life. The legends and history of the Celts were passed from one generation to the next by way of stories and songs.  After being conquered by the English and forbidden to speak their own language, the Irish used music to help them remember important events and hold on to their heritage and history.  Their music is produced with instruments that have been used for centuries, including the fiddle, the uilleann pipes (a sort of elaborate bagpipe), the tin whistle (a sort of flute that is actually made of nickel-silver, brass, or aluminum) and the bodhran (an ancient type of frame drum that was traditionally used in warfare rather than music).

         Though the island nation was never home to any snakes, it has been said that St. Patrick banished all the snakes from Ireland.  This was, in fact, a metaphor for the triumph of Christianity and the eradication of pagan ideology from Ireland.

         The original Irish name for the leprechaun, "lobaircin," means "small-bodied fellow."  This belief in leprechauns probably stems from Celtic belief in fairies that used their magical powers to serve good or evil. Celtic folktales described leprechauns as cranky souls, known for their trickery used to protect their much-fabled treasure.  These cantankerous little people of Irish folklore had nothing to do with St. Patrick or the celebration of St. Patrick's Day, but were a purely American invention.