St. Patrick's Day

     Today is St. Patrick's Day, and it is a day of celebration throughout the island of Ireland (both in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland).

     Saint Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland - one of the four patron saints of the British – or Anglo-Celtic – Isles (with the other ones being St. Andrew for Scotland, St. David for Wales, and St. George for England).

St. Patrick as depicted on a stained-glass window in the Cathedral of Christ the Light, Oakland, California.  Image Credit: Sicarr via Wikimedia Commons cc

     He was born somewhere in Roman Britain (likely Wales) to a wealthy Romano-British family, whose members were strong and faithful Christians. Patrick himself however, was not an active believer in his early years. At the age of sixteen, he was kidnapped by Irish pirates who took him into slavery in Ireland, where he worked as a shepherd for the next six years. It was during Patrick's time in captivity that he experienced a spiritual awakening and developed a true relationship with God, which eventually led him to escape and return home to his family in Britain. There, he studied Christianity, became a priest, and returned to Ireland as a missionary.

     It was in Ireland that Saint Patrick become known for converting the Irish people from polytheistic paganism to monotheistic Christianity, and supposedly used the shamrock to teach the concept of the Holy Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Ghost). It is said that St. Patrick spent several years evangelizing in what is now Northern Ireland and succeeded on converting "thousands" of people. He is also considered the first Bishop of Armagh and Primate of Ireland.

The three-leaf clover representing the Holy Trinity. Image Credit: George McFinnigan via Wikimedia Commons cc

     It is not known what year St. Patrick died, but he is generally considered have died on March 17, which resulted in the day being named in his honor. He may not have been responsible for converting all of Ireland to Christianity, but he is credited for starting the process, and has been Ireland's patron-saint since around the 7th Century.

     St. Patrick's Day has been celebrated for centuries throughout Ireland and Great Britain. It is a celebration of Irish Christianity (in both the Catholic and Protestant traditions), as well as Irish culture and heritage in general. Public parades and festivals, the wearing of green attire and shamrocks, and church services are hallmarks of most St. Patrick's Day celebrations. There is also céilithe (a traditional Gaelic social gathering, which usually involves playing Gaelic folk music and dancing) and the lifting of Lenten restrictions on eating and drinking alcohol for the day, which has resulted in the infamous tradition of consuming alcohol.

Saint Patrick's Saltire

     However, it was not until the 1903 that St. Patrick's Day became a public holiday in Ireland, thanks to the Bank Holiday (Ireland) Act, which was passed by the UK Parliament when all of Ireland was part of the United Kingdom. It remains a holiday in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, and large festivities are held in Dublin, Cork, and Galway in the ROI and in Belfast, Downpatrick, and Derry/Londonderry in NI. Outside of Dublin, the largest celebrations on the island of Ireland take place in Downpatrick, the city where the revered patron saint is supposedly buried at Down Cathedral.

     In mainland Britain, Birmingham is home to the largest St. Patrick's Day parade in the country, whilst London has held its own parade since 2002. Manchester hosts a two-week Irish festival leading up to the day itself, and the Irish tricolor flies opposite of the Union Jack above the town hall. Other celebrations take place in Glasgow, Liverpool, and Coatbridge - which have large populations of people with Irish backgrounds.

HRH The Duke of Cambridge and Baron Carrickfergus, Colonel of the Irish Guards. Image Credit: Carfax2 via Wikimedia Commons cc

     The Royal family also does its bit to celebrate one of the patron-saints of the British Isles. Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother used to present bowls of shamrock flown over from Ireland to members of the Irish Guards - a regiment of the British Army - whose members largely hail from the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

     In recent years since their marriage, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (Baron and Lady Carrickfergus) have attended the annual St. Patrick's Day Parade at Mons Barracks in Aldershot, Hampshire with the Irish Guards, whose Colonel is Prince William. The Duchess of Cambridge continues the royal tradition of having a senior female member of the Royal family present shamrocks to members of the Guards (including their Irish Wolfhound mascot), which was begun by Queen Alexandra - wife of Edward VII - in 1901.

     In the United States, St. Patrick’s Day is not a federal holiday, but there nevertheless is a strong tradition of celebrating it, especially in towns and cities with significant Irish or Irish-descent populations. The first public observance was organized by the Charitable Irish Society of Boston in 1737, and it involved a worship service and a special dinner.

     Since then, such observances have included large festive seasons with parades, feasts, and religious services. New York City is usually home to the largest St. Patrick’s Day parade, not only in America, but in the world, and typically features 150,000 marchers lead by the 69th Infantry Regiment of New York and including police and firefighting departments, bands, social and cultural societies, civic and government associations, and several other groups and individuals (including the Mayor of New York) marching up 5th Avenue for five hours along a mile-and-a-half route with around 2 million spectators.

The United States Coast Guard Band and Pipe Band Proceeding up Fifth Avenue in New York City during a St. Patrick's Day parade. Image Credit: Public Domain (Wikimedia Commons and Pixabay)

     Elsewhere, there are large celebrations and observances in Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Buffalo, Seattle, Philadelphia, and San Francisco. In Suffolk County, Massachusetts (which includes Boston), the day is officially known by law as Evacuation Day because it commemorates the evacuation of British soldiers from Dorchester Heights following the Siege of Boston during the Revolutionary War, which just happened to fall on St. Patrick’s Day 1776, and the observance of the patron saint’s holiday played a role in the official establishment of the current public holiday.

     In fact, Suffolk County is only one of two places in the United States where St. Patrick’s Day is a legal holiday. The other place is my hometown of Savannah, Georgia.

     The first parade in Savannah is generally recognized as having been organized by the Hibernian Society in 1824. In recent times, the annual parade and celebrations are usually the second largest in the United States after New York and have become globally-recognized – attracting numerous visitors from throughout the country and around the world. In a city with a population of 145,000, anywhere from 500,000 to one million people may participate in the festivities in any given year.

Sailors of the US Navy marching through the streets of Savannah during a St. Patrick's Day parade. Image Credit: Public Domain (Left, Upper Right, Lower Right)

     While the day still has a clear ethnic and religious significance, for most of us who live here (including yours truly), it is a cultural holiday for all to enjoy – white and black, Protestant and Catholic, religious and atheist, etc. – and I must say that as both a participant and spectator, I have yet to encounter hatred or disrespect for any group of people from whatever background. The best part is indeed, the parade, which includes various bands from the city and the surrounding region (especially from local schools), military regiments, social and cultural groups, government and civic organizations, the famous Budweiser Clydesdales, and many other unitsand individuals – some from other parts of the country and overseas.

     The crowds can get to be a bit much for our mid-sized city, but we generally welcome them as our neighbors and friends for the festivities which can spread out over several days, especially if the big day itself falls on or near a weekend. Our historic downtown area buzzes with streams of people getting around and enjoying themselves, particularly on the waterfront facing the Savannah River. Pubs of all kinds – Irish, Scottish, English, Welsh, and all-around British – boom with activity as people tend to gather around for a good time. It is – to say the least – a unique experience to remember.

Throngs of people on River Street in Savannah for St. Patrick's Day.

     Understandably, St. Patrick’s Day is not for everyone for a variety of reasons – sometimes relating to the divide between Catholics and Protestants. However, on the BBC’s website, there is a page containing its archives from previous St. Patrick’s Day observances, with a video (the third one) featuring a reporter asking people on the streets of Belfast in 1978 whether they should get the day off on March 17th.

     Opinions were divided, but at the end of the report, there is a elderly woman who did not explicitly state her view on having the day off. Instead, she acknowledged that St. Patrick was the patron saint, and when pressed on whether he was Protestant or Catholic, she said that “he was neither Protestant, or Catholic, or popery, or anything else”, and that he was simply a man sent by God who loved Ireland – all of it.

     If he were alive in this modern day and age, I’d like to believe that he would extend a hand of friendship to the other patron saints of the British Isles, as well as all people living there - Catholic, Protestant, or whatever else they may be.

     So, Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Happy Georgia Day!

State Flag of Georgia. Image Credit: Xrmap (Public Domain)

     On this day in 1733, the U.S. State of Georgia was established as a British colony under a royal charter issued by King George II of Great Britain and Ireland, in whose honor the colony and state are named.

     Georgia was founded by General James Edward Oglethorpe, who had arrived with a group of British settlers on the same day. They made peaceful contact with the Yamacraw Indian tribe under its chief, Tomochichi, with whom Oglethorpe worked to secure land for the establishment of Georgia and its first city and capital, Savannah.

Georgia State Capitol Building which houses the Georgia General Assemby in Atlantia. Image Credit: Ken Lund via Wikimedia Commons cc

      It was established under the royal charter for two reasons: to provide an alternative route for Britons who had landed in debtors prison - which was the brain child of Oglethorpe as a Member of Parliament and philanthropist- as well as to create a "buffer" colony to protect the other southern provinces, such as South Carolina from the Spanish in Florida. The philanthropic aims of Oglethorpe and his associates were expressed in the Georgia's original motto: non sibi sed aliis, a Latin phrase which means, "Not for themselves, but for others."

The Avenue of Oaks on St. Simon's Island. Image Credit: Bubba73 (Jud McCranie) via Wikimedia Commons cc

     Originally governed by a board of trustees, Georgia outlawed slavery in part because Oglethorpe was against the practice and wanted the colony to prosper from the efforts of free men, and for this reason, Georgia stood apart from the other colonies in North America. However, with the booming slave-based agricultural trade in South Carolina, the anti-slave laws were repealed, and Georgia took on the character and economy of its neighbors. It became a Royal colony under the direct authority of the Crown in 1752.

     Georgia was the last of the thirteen British North American colonies that had been established along the Eastern Seaboard. Along with the other colonies, it declared independence in 1776, and became the fourth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution. It seceded from the Union in 1861 to become part of the Confederacy during the Civil War, and was the last state to be re-admitted nearly ten years later.

View of Downtown Atlanta. Image Credit: Arashboz via Wikimedia Commons cc (Public Domain)

     Today, Georgia is known as the Peach State and the Empire State of the South, and its current motto is Wisdom, Justice, Moderation. It is the 24th largest state in the Union by area (the largest east of the Mississippi River), as well as the eighth most populated, and its capital and largest city is Atlanta. It is also geographically diverse - from containing the Blue Ridge Mountains in the northern part of the state (which is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain chain), to the Piedmont plateau in the central area, and finally the flat coastal plains along the Atlantic Ocean.

     Notable Georgians include Martin Luther King, Jr. (civil rights leader), Jimmy Carter (39th President of the United States), Jackie Robinson (baseball player), Samantha Power (UN Ambassador), Ted Turner (media magnate), Clarence Thomas (Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court), Juliette Gordon Low (founder of the Girl Scouts), writers Alice Walker and Flannery O'Connor, and musicians such as Johnny Mercer, Ray Charles, and Jason Aldeen.

River Street in Savannah - Georgia's first city. Image Credit: Aude via Wikimedia Commons cc

     Georgia is also home to several leading institutions of higher learning in the States - including the University of Georgia (UGA), the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), Morehouse College, Spelman College, and Emory University. It counts tourism, media, agriculture, logistics, and manufacturing among its industries, and is also home to the headquarters of fifteen Fortune 500 companies, including Delta Air Lines, Coca-Cola, and Home Depot.

     Georgia also plays host to the global headquarters of the Cable News Network (CNN) and the world's busiest airport - Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta. In addition, the former state capital city (and my hometown) of Savannah is the fourth-busiest and fastest-growing cargo container port in the United States, behind Long Beach and Los Angeles in California and New York/New Jersey.

A large container ship entering the Port of Savannah. Image Credit: US Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah District via Flickr cc

      In 2015, it ranked tenth in the nation among state economies with a gross state product (GSP) of $493.4 billion and if it were a stand-alone country, Georgia would be the 28th largest economy in the world.

     With regard to its relation to the United Kingdom, there's a British consulate located in Atlanta which serves Georgia and the neighboring states of Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, and North and South Carolina. Furthermore, two Georgia cities are officially "twinned" with two UK cities as part of Sister Cities International Alliances: Atlanta with Newcastle-upon-Tyne and LaGrange with Craigavon, County Armagh.

     And that is but a brief overview of my home state of Georgia on it's 283rd birthday!