St Patrick’s Day is observed on March 17th,
known as an Irish holiday celebrated for the past 1,000 years. It occurs during
the Christian holiday of Lent. Lenten observers
are prohibited from eating meat during this time and the Irish who participate
in the traditions of St. Patty’s Day activities join in with dancing, drinking
and feasting on traditional meals, including Irish bacon and cabbage. The tradition in America is very similar in
the drinking aspect of this day.
Everything is covered in green, from the Leprechaun hats, beads and shamrock garland draped across
everything, to the infamous green beer and pub crawls. You don’t even have to
be Irish to partake in the festivities or the major hangover that follows.
Leprechauns seem to be the popular mascot for this
holiday. Legend has it these feisty little folklore icons are mischievous and
enjoy being practical jokers. Like other fairy creatures, they can be traced
back to the Tuatha De’ Danann of Irish mythology. Apparently they collect gold coins for making
shoes and store them in a pot, hence the “pot of gold” associated with them at
the end of a rainbow. It is said that if a Leprechaun is captured by a human,
they must grant three wishes in order to be set free. I wonder if this is true in Second Life too….
Interview
with a Leprechaun
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