Today is St. Patrick's Day, the day they say everyone is a little bit Irish. Many towns and cities have parades and special dinners. Those of Irish heritage are quite proud on this day. I'm half Irish in heritage, so I qualify for Irish pride on this day.
Stories abound about St. Patrick who was actually not Irish at all. He hailed from Wales, born in the 4th century. Irish men often came to Wales and kidnapped young men, taking them back to Ireland to be laborers. This happened to the young man who became St. Patrick many years later. After more than a decade being held and working in Ireland, he escaped to his own country, but he said a voice told him he was to return to Ireland and turn that country into a Christian nation. He heeded the voice, but went to France first to study in monasterys there before he went to Ireland to carry out his mission. Of course, there is more to the story once he went back to Ireland.
Is this story all true? Or is it merely legend? It might be worthy of some research to find out. When we read or write about the origin of a holiday, we should try to separate fact from fiction. Leprachauns and the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow? True or false?
Writers can make good use of the history and legends of St. Patrick's Day, as well as other holidays. You can write a factual article or use it as the basis for a fiction story. An article giving instructions about preparing for and having a party to celebrate the holiday would be welcomes by many a magazine.
An article using St. Patrick's Day as a springboard to searching your ancestry would be another possibility. So would one that centerd on the foods connected with the Irish as well as the green beer many places offer on this day.
Make a list of the things this holiday brings to mind, then see if a story, article, or poem comes to mind. My short list would include:
A. the color green
B. leprachauns
C. rainbow and pot of gold
D. St. Patrick
E. parades
F. Irish foods
By Nancy Julien Kopp March 17, 2023
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