Pinch Me, I’m Irish by Cher’ley

 This Blog  by Cher’ley Grogg

Don’t pinch me, I’m not Irish. St. Patrick’s Day is just another day to celebrate, and I never miss the opportunity to have a celebration or a feast. For Christians, St. Patrick’s Day commemorates the arrival of Christianity in Ireland.

Drinking green beer, eating cabbage and corned beef, and looking for shamrocks are all fun things to do. But, my favorite St. Patrick’s Day activity when I was a child (and maybe now too) was pinching the people who didn’t wear green. I looked high and low for anyone who forgot to wear green, and of course found a few. Basically, the wearing of green was to make a person invisible to leprechauns who would run up and pinch anyone who was not wearing green, so, I being a little imp,  imitated the leprechauns. The cabbage and corned beef actually started out as cabbage and bacon, but bacon was so expensive in the United States,  they changed it to corned beef. The drinking of the green beer, well…what can be said about that?

Do I feel lucky?

In the springtime, my mother and would sit for hours in a clover patch searching  for a four leaf clover, she could spot them so quickly that  I would be in awe. Eventually we would tire of searching for the Shamrocks, and if we were lucky enough to find a four-leaf clover ,  we’d take our treasure inside  and press it in a big book for good luck. Legend says that each leaf of the clover means something: the first is for hope, the second for faith, the third for love and the fourth for luck.

Some Fun St. Patrick’s Day facts:  

  • My brother-in-law was born on St. Patrick’s Day, which is March 17,  and that is the same day that St. Patrick died in 461 A.D. 
  • The first St. Patrick’s Day parade was held in Boston in 1737 
  • Many young people dye their hair green on this day 
  • Many bars in the United States served green beer to celebrate St Patty’s Day 
  • 34 million Americans have Irish ancestry that is  almost 9 times the population of Ireland which is 4.1 million people 
  • If You come to visit me in West Virginia perhaps we will go see the town Mount Gay-Shamrock, West Virginia

 

Hearts, Stars, and Horseshoes
Clovers and Blue moons

Pots of gold and rainbows,
And the red balloon

That’s the luck of me lucky charms! 
Their magically delicious!

Writing instructors say you should never use luck to solve your mysteries, but should a writer use luck in his stories?

How has luck affected your life? How do you celebrate St. Patrick ’s Day? And for an extra bit of luck– name the US River that is dyed green for St. Patrick’s Day.

Stamp Out Murder”.

The Secret in Grandma’s Trunk” This is an especially good book for your Tween Children and Grandchildren.

Fans of Cher'ley Grogg,AuthorAnd please join me on my Facebook Fanpage, that’s managed by one of my most faithful fans: Cindy Ferrell