Tuesday, February 22, 2011

It's the most wonderful time of the year....

no, no, no.... I'm not talking about Christmas. I'm talking about St. Patrick's Day! It's almost like Christmas in our house :)

It's the time of year that we celebrate our pride in our Irish heritage (even though in our house we do that every day!). It's the one time of year that I make corned beef and Irish soda bread (which is so flippin' good that I don't know why I don't make it when it's NOT St. Patrick's Day!

The day after Valentine's Day is when I start putting up my St. Patty's Day stuff - well, the things that aren't already up lol And you will hear traditional Irish music coming from the house more often than usual. And at night you can find me and Kian reading a book dealing with St. Patrick's day or Irish Fairytales or Myths.

Even though it's a happy time in our house there are so many things to remember about Ireland. I recently watched an episode of "Who Do You Think You Are?" where Rosie O'Donnell traced her roots back to Ireland and discovered that her family was brought over to North America during the Potato Famine. Whenever I thought of the Famine, I just figured our families scrounged for money and bough passage for themselves to immigrate. Through this episode, I realized how ignorant I was to believe that my relatives actually had money! I mean, they couldn't even feed themselves! Rosie discovered that her descendants were living in communal housing for at least a year - 4 children, men and women separated, babies 2 years old and older were separated from parents, and beds were just lined up in one large room. It really looked like concentration camps - sparse, dark, and gloomy. It was pretty much the last stop for those who had no food, no shelter, and needed help to survive. Her family petitioned to go to Montreal after being there for at least a year and the organization that headed up the work houses provided passage for the whole family to immigrate.

With this knowledge I have a new found pride in my Irish blood. The Irish people were tough! They endured through wars, famine, and persecution. They are fighters strong in spirit and will.

I can only hope that I have gained some of their spirit and will through my genes.

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