Once again, this is the day in which we all can claim honorary Irish citizenship, whether we are of Irish descent or not. It is claimed that Saint Patrick, a Briton, drove the serpents out of Ireland after gaining freedom from enslavement. More importantly, it is claimed that he brought Christianity to Ireland, although it is rare for just one person to bring any faith tradition to an entire nation. Even with its Christian elements, there’s still a touch of pre-Christian spice left in a holiday that is more Mardi Gras-like in the United States and Canada than it is in Ireland and Ulster (Northern Ireland). Let’s lift a pint of Smithwick’s (some say the ‘w’ is silent) or Guinness or down a shot of Jameson’s and celebrate a nation that survived invasion, thrived during conversion, rebuilt after famine, and continues to keep on keeping on throughout its millennia of existence.
Piglet has breakfast ready at the snack bar: bacon, eggs with green herbs and vegetables (your choice), Irish soda bread with Kerrygold butter, scones with Devon cream (it’s hard to go completely Irish if you’re not an Irish citizen), baked beans, colcannon (mashed potatoes and cabbage; the Brits tend to fry it and call it ‘Bubble and Squeak’, apparently due to how it sounds when it’s sauteéd), sausages, tea, and all the other popular breakfast goodies. Pumpkin is setting up the sound system; I just checked out her playlist, and it seems that she’s planning on starting things off with “Moondance” by Van Morrison.
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