{"id":1919,"date":"2015-03-04T14:47:06","date_gmt":"2015-03-04T22:47:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/?p=1919"},"modified":"2016-10-14T16:57:17","modified_gmt":"2016-10-14T23:57:17","slug":"whats-so-special-about-st-patricks-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2015\/writing\/whats-so-special-about-st-patricks-day\/","title":{"rendered":"What’s So Special About St. Patrick’s Day?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The

The Greens of Ireland<\/p><\/div>\n

Ah, I love the Irish. I toured Ireland with my husband, Robert, in 2009 to visit my first cousins, who, prior to that, I hadn\u2019t met.<\/p>\n

I fell in love with the land and its people. St. Patrick\u2019s Day is celebrated now world-wide, wherever the Irish are and where the people who love them live.<\/p>\n

March 17th, the day Saint Patrick died, commemorates the arrival of Christianity in Ireland. But why celebrate his death? Because in the Christian religion, that\u2019s the day he began living with God, his Father in Heaven. According to the church, that’s when\u00a0true life begins.<\/p>\n

\"DSCN8571\"

The Three-Leafed Shamrock photo by Diana Stevan<\/p><\/div>\n

On St. Patrick’s Day<\/span><\/a> <\/strong>many wear\u00a0 shamrocks and\/or green clothing\u00a0(known as\u00a0the “wearing of the green”).<\/p>\n

It is believed that St Patrick\u00a0used the shamrock, a three-leaved plant, to tell the story of\u00a0the Holy Trinity to the pagan Irish.<\/p>\n

I loved Ireland so much that I incorporated a lot of what I saw into my debut novel, A Cry From The Deep<\/strong><\/span>, <\/em>where half my story takes place.<\/p>\n

In the following excerpt from my prologue<\/strong>, which takes place in 1878<\/strong>, Margaret O\u2019Donnell prays to St. Patrick, thanking him for his help.<\/p>\n

““`<\/p>\n

While her father went off to arrange a rowboat, her grandmother braided some fresh primroses into Margaret\u2019s long auburn hair. She couldn\u2019t see the ocean from where she sat, but the thought of James waiting for her on the ship was enough to make her squirm.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, Margaret, you\u2019re goin\u2019 to make your old granny cross if you don\u2019t put a stop to your movin\u2019. I can\u2019t promise you a handsome head if you keep twitchin\u2019 this way and that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry, Granny, I\u2019m too\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know, child. You don\u2019t have to tell me,\u201d said the old woman as she wove in another primrose.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll I can say is the good Lord\u2019s been lookin\u2019 out for you. Goodness knows what you would\u2019ve done if he hadn\u2019t come back.\u201d<\/p>\n

What she would\u2019ve done was marry Barnaby Athol, the middleman for their landlord, to keep from starving in the future. After she\u2019d accepted his offer, she\u2019d prayed to St. Patrick, telling the saint it wasn\u2019t Barnaby\u2019s withered leg that repulsed her, rather it was his mean ways with his tenants. She silently thanked the saint for bringing James back.<\/p>\n

““`<\/p>\n

And may the luck of the Irish be with you<\/strong>.<\/span> Any comments or shared stories are always appreciated.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ah, I love the Irish. I toured Ireland with my husband, Robert, in 2009 to visit my first cousins, who, prior to that, I hadn\u2019t met. I fell in love… <\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[88,4],"tags":[609,343,78,648,686,687,685,684],"class_list":["post-1919","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-life","category-writing","tag-a-cry-from-the-deep","tag-debut-novel","tag-diana-stevan","tag-ireland","tag-irish","tag-shamrock","tag-st-patrick","tag-st-patricks-day"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1LuVB-uX","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3177,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2017\/life\/musings-about-the-irish\/","url_meta":{"origin":1919,"position":0},"title":"Musings About The Irish","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"14 \u0411\u0435\u0440\u0435\u0437\u043d\u044f, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"As St. Patrick\u2019s Day comes around again, I think about the Irish and their beautiful country. Half my debut novel, A Cry From The Deep, is set in Ireland, from Galway to Donegal to be specific. Years back, my husband and I spent a month touring around the country, starting\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Travel"","block_context":{"text":"Travel","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/travel\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Irish","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/P1020054.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/P1020054.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/P1020054.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/P1020054.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/P1020054.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2733,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2016\/travel\/jelly-bean-houses-and-other-delights-in-st-johns-newfoundland\/","url_meta":{"origin":1919,"position":1},"title":"Jelly Bean Houses and Other Delights in St. John’s, Newfoundland","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"4 \u041b\u0438\u043f\u043d\u044f, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"First Impressions Last month, I took a break from my writing and travelled back east with my husband Rob. 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