550: Patrick's Boxing Day

So, what were we celebrating with St. Patrick's Day? Is it a celebration of the life and times of St. Patrick, born in Roman Britain, c.387, died some time later, somewhere in Ireland - patron saint of Ireland, Nigeria, Montserrat, New York, Boston, Murcia, engineers, paralegals, and Melbourne. Or is it a celebration of that form of Irishness largely invented as a marketing tool for brewers and landlords, around the time when they took the English word crack, meaning a good time, and pseudo-Gaelicised it into craic.

So, is St. Patrick's Day a celebration of a saint but that shows no sign of celebrating the saint, or is it a celebration of a national stereotype? Perhaps, like Christmas, it is a mostly secular celebration that due to popular demand is ignoring its tedious Christian heritage. (Aside: next time someone accuses me of trying to take the Christ out of Christmas by writing xmas, I think I'll accuse them of trying to force the Christ into yuletide or trying to take the Saturn out of Saturnalia.)

Conclusion; I just don't know what St. Patrick's Day is supposed to be. Is it one of those weird things that America has fiddled with and then punted back to us, like that thing they call Halloween.

I wrote all that ^^^ on Sunday during Patrick's Boxing Day, Hangover Day, and felt it too combative, tiresome, arrogant and aimless to post. Then I just forgot about it. There was too much lying about in my dressing gown to be done. Now, many days later, I've just decided to whack it up there on the internet for all the imaginary people to read. No further comment. Aside: there is further comment, and it is this: St. Patrick's Day was bloody good crack.