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The history of st patrick day essay
The history of st patrick day essay
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With the main focus of St. Patrick’s Day being that is the celebration feast for the patron saint of Ireland, it was actually the immigrants from Ireland to North America–particularly Boston and New York–that first propagated the annual event. It was in 1737 that the first St. Patrick’s day parade was held in Boston, Massachusetts. Following Boston was New York City’s parade in 1762. From there many traditions were created, one being that Chicago has dyed its river green since 1962. This tradition was first formed by Steven Bailey, a man who thought that he could dye the entire lake green, which would then run down the Chicago River eventually making it to the Irish Sea. Bailey saw it as a gift to Ireland, although it never truly made it there. Along with Green rivers, food, faces, clothes and even beer where representing the shamrock Emerald. The color green, in assumption with the Shamrock’s tint, became the color of St. Patrick’s Day according the Western world, even though over in Ireland it was customarily blue. While targeting tourists, Ireland adopted the color green (Britannica 2013).
Traditionally in the second half of the 19th century, St. Patrick’s Day celebrations were very minimal and there were rarely parades. If there were any parades or festivities at all, they were predominantly controlled by temperance societies, and religious groups. Seeing military men in uniform marching down the Dublin streets was not a desirable sight for the public of Ireland. The most important event for St Patrick’s Day was held for the privileged Anglo-Irish members at the Dublin Castle. In 1950, the first major attempt to revive Irelands St. Patrick’s Day celebrations (King and Sisson 2011). While revisions were made, no changes effect...
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Included within the anthology The Penguin Book of Irish Fiction,1[1] are the works of great Irish authors written from around three hundred years ago, until as recently as the last decade. Since one might expect to find in an anthology such as this only expressions and interpretations of Irish or European places, events or peoples, some included material could be quite surprising in its contrasting content. One such inclusion comes from the novel Black Robe,2[2] by Irish-born author Brian Moore. Leaving Ireland as a young man afforded Moore a chance to see a great deal of the world and in reflection afforded him a great diversity of setting and theme in his writings. And while his Black Robe may express little of Ireland itself, it expresses much of Moore in his exploration into evolving concepts of morality, faith, righteousness and the ever-changing human heart.
Meagher, Timothy. “The Columbia Guide to Irish American History.” Columbia University Press- New York, 2005
Saint Patrick’s Day is a story of history versus legend, according to randomhistory.com. Saint Patrick is known as the patron saint of Ireland because of his service across Ireland in the fifth century (theholidayspot.com). Without Saint Patrick’s background/childhood, Saint Patrick being a good bishop, or how Saint Patrick’s Day has come to be nothing would be known about him or Saint Patrick’s Day on March seventeenth.
The life of Irish immigrants in Boston was one of poverty and discrimination. The religiously centered culture of the Irish has along with their importance on family has allowed the Irish to prosper and persevere through times of injustice. Boston's Irish immigrant population amounted to a tenth of its population. Many after arriving could not find suitable jobs and ended up living where earlier generations had resided. This attributed to the 'invisibility' of the Irish.
There is particular consideration given to the political climate in this story. It is incorporated with social and ethnic concerns that are prevalent. The story also addresses prejudice and the theme of ethnic stereotyping through his character development. O'Connor does not present a work that is riddled with Irish slurs or ethnic approximations. Instead, he attempts to provide an account that is both informative and accurate.
In order to legitimise a regime or cause, traditions may be constructed around historical or mythological events, people or symbols that reinforce the image required to focus people’s conception of the past. People can be encouraged to invent a cohesive view of their shared ‘traditions’ by what could be called cherry picking bits of history.
Irish American Magazine, Aug.-Sept. 2009. Web. The Web. The Web. 06 May 2014.
Three questions now burn in our heads; when, where, and why. Before Native Americans became slurs of a name for sport teams, such names were in use. According to Crowe, “the term ‘redskin’… first recorded in the late 17th century, referred not to the natural color of a tribe’s skin by their use of face and body paint. Later, the term distinguished between Indians of India from the Americas and grew into a label assigned...
Mardi Gras is celebrated once a year prior to Lent beginning. In the early 1700’s , French Colonist brought Mardi Gras to America. It flourished in New Orleans, as well as other Southern states. Mardi Gras is classified as a legal holiday in the state of Florida and Alabama, as well as 8 counties throughout Louisiana. Numerous well to do families would leave their rural estates to spend their winter months in New Orleans. During this time the families would throw extravagant parties and masked balls. In 1781, the first Mardi Gras celebration addressed problems that arose from slaves wearing mask. The United States gained power over Louisiana and in 1806 the city council made the decision to ban mask from being worn. However, in the mid 1820’s the ban was lifted and costumes and mask could now be worn. The first Mardi Gras parade took place in 1837 and became an yearly tradition. Mardi Gras is a never ending party. It is well known for its vibrant parades. The colors are : Gold, Purple, and Green. Gold symbolizes “Power”, Green signifies “Faith” and Purple stands for “Justice” People travel from all over to get in on the fun, from the huge parades to the explosion of lights, the...
Since the time of the first civil rights marches in 1968 to the year of 1994, over 3,500 have died and over 35,000 were injured from fighting. “Robberies, bombings, assassinations, and terror tactics spread to engulf Great Britain and the Irish Republic, greatly decreasing the common person's sense of security and impinging on the populace's personal freedom,” (Hancock 1998). Between the years of 1969-1970, the Provisional Irish Republican Army was able to finally re-establish itself, which was the result of the frustrations rising from the Catholic population instead of the continual ethnic hatred. “This discrimination has a long historical record, datin...
Ronsley, Joseph, ed., Myth and Reality in Irish Literature, Wilfrid Laurier University Press, Canada, 1977
Religion in James Joyce's Dubliners Religion was an integral part of Ireland during the modernist period, tightly woven into the social fabric of its citizens. The Catholic Church was a longstanding tradition of Ireland. In the modernist spirit of breaking away from forces that inhibited growth, the church stood as one of the principal barriers. This is because the Catholic faith acted as the governing force of its people, as portrayed in James Joyce’s Dubliners. In a period when Ireland was trying to legitimize their political system, religious affiliations further disillusioned the political process. The governing body of a people needs to provide a behavioral framework, through its constitution, and a legal process to make delegations on issues of equity and fairness. When religion dominates the government that is in tact, it subjects its citizens to their religious doctrines. In terms of Catholicism in Ireland, this meant that social progress and cultural revolutions were in terms of what the church would allow. The modernist realized that this is what paralyzed the Irish society of the times. In the stories of Dubliners the legal system is replaced by the institute of religion, and it is the presence and social context of the Catholic Church which prevents the Irish community from advancement. ...
McCann et al. Belfast: Institute of Irish Studies, 1994, 95-109).
Pollen, John Hungerford. "St. Ignatius Loyola." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 7. New York: Robert Appleton Company,1910. 23 Mar. 2014 .
Tovey, H and Share, P. (2002). Sociology of Ireland. 2nd ed. Dublin: Gill & Macmillen.