Saint Patrick's Day

Today is March 17th, best known for being the day which honors the patron saint of Ireland - Saint Patrick. It's an excuse for everyone to forget that the Irish were once the most despised immigrant group in the country while they drink green beer, wear green clothes and "Kiss Me, I'm Irish" buttons, talk with fake brogues, plaster shamrocks on every available surface, march in parades, and generally act silly.

Irish pubs across the US jack up their prices and schedule special events to generate additional business from all the Irish wannabes.

And there are, of course, appropriate cartoons ...

Enjoy St Patrick's day. If St Patrick isn't your style, there are a  number of other saints who are celebrated on March 17th ... according to Catholic Online, they are

St Jan Sarkander (he was martyred in 1620 during the Bohemian Revolt against the Hussies ... uh, Hussites);

St Paul of Cyprus (martyred for opposing the Byzantine emperor's edict against the veneration of icons ... had he been alive today, he could probably have been murdered by the so-called "Islamic State" for the same reason);

St Ambrose of Alexandria (one of the rare saints who died a natural death, he was a sponsor of the theologian Origen, who described him as a man of "excellent literary and scholarly tastes);

St Gertrude of Nivelles (patron saint of travelers, gardeners, and cats, and against rats and mental illness ... I think I'm going to order a St Gertrude's Medal to protect myself here in DC);

St Joseph of Arimathea (the man who asked Pontius Pilate for the body of Jesus, and donated the tomb in which he was buried); and,

Blessed Peter Lieou (a Chinese martyr, beatified in 1900, but not yet fully canonized a saint).

Well, saints or no saints, I hope you have a good day. If you can't be saintly, at least go easy on the green beer today, or you could end up with a red face in the back seat of a black-and-white driven by the boys in blue.

More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo