St. Patrick's Day: Trivia, Toasts And More!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!! We'll start this off with a little quiz, and the answers can be found after the history of who St. Patrick was, and how this day came about!! Top 'O The Morning To You!!
First Trivia Quiz:
Question 1: What mythical character did the writer W.B. Yeats like writing about?
A: Leprechauns
B: Fairies and ghosts
C: Trolls
D: Mermaids

Question 2: According to legend, what are leprechauns really?
A: Shoemakers
B: Thieves
C: Midgets
D: Magicians

Question 3: According to legend, where are babies and brides taken when fairies kidnap them?
A: Into the mountains
B: Into fairy mounds
C: Into underground caves
D: Under bridges

Question 4: What does kissing the Blarney Stone do for you?
A: Give you soft lips from the dew on the stone
B: Give you good luck in love
C: Make you less shy
D: Heal warts

Question 5: Why do leprechauns wear green?
A: Because they like the color
B: As camouflage
C: Because they consider it lucky
D: Because it is the only color of dye they know how to make

Question 6: In what city was the first American St. Patrick's Day parade held?
A: Boston
B: New York
C: Philadelphia
D: Washington, D.C.

Question 7: Which two US rivers are dyed green every St. Patrick's Day?
A: American and Colorado
B: Chicago and San Antonio
C: Green and Tennessee
D: Snake and Ohio

Question 8: What was St. Patrick's real name?
A: Miles Shallob
B: Michael O'Shaunessey
C: Marcus Stough
D: Maewyn Succat

Question 9: According to legend, how did St. Patrick drive the snakes out of Ireland?
A: With fire and smoke
B: Flooding the land
C: Pounding drums
D: All of the above

Question 10: Who started the tradition of pinching anyone who doesn't wear green on St. Patrick's Day?
A: Members of the church
B: Children
C: Parents
D: No one knows

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In Dealing with St. Patrick's Day we also must deal with the theological significance of the shamrock, and just what is a shamrock, anyway? So here we go:
The term "shamrock," in modern English, applies to a number of plants related to clover which have three-lobe leafs. The term itself comes from two Irish Gaelic word parts which together mean "little clover."
The theological significance of the shamrock lies in the fact that, according to legend, St. Patrick (A.D. 385-461) used it to illustrate the doctrine of the Trinity to the native Irish. This illustration (like many of those in use today) helped make the Christian concept of the Trinity intelligible to the non-Christians St. Patrick evangelized, contributing to the massive wave of conversions to Christ that occurred under his ministry.
St. Patrick himself was very firm about the doctrine of the Trinity, referring to it repeatedly in his writings. One will remember that the Arian crisis occurred the generation before St. Patrick was born, the First Council of Constantinople (A.D. 381), which defined the doctrine of the Holy Spirit, having been held just four years before he was born, and there were still Arians who were dying out and in need of being combated while St. Patrick was young.
Thus in his Confession, he records an ancient Irish creed of faith in the Trinity:
"[T]here is no other God, nor ever was, nor will be, than God the Father unbegotten, without beginning, from whom is all beginning, the Lord of the universe, as we have been taught; and His son Jesus Christ, whom we declare to have always been with the Father, spiritually and ineffably begotten by the Father before the beginning of the world, before all beginning; and by Him are made all things visible and invisible. He was made man, and, having defeated death, was received into heaven by the Father; and He has given Him all power over all names in heaven, on earth, and under the earth, and every tongue shall confess to Him that Jesus Christ is Lord and God, in whom we believe, an whose advent we expect soon to be, judge of the living and of the dead, who will render to every man according to his deeds; and He has poured forth upon us abundantly the Holy Spirit, the gift and pledge of immortality, who makes those who believe and obey sons of God and joint heirs with Christ; and Him do we confess and adore, one God in the Trinity of the Holy Name" (Confession of St. Patrick 4 [A.D. 452]).
The shamrock is as good a natural illustration of the Trinity as any in use today. However, it has the same kind of limitation that all natural analogies for the Trinity do. While natural analogies succeed in showing that an entity can have embody both the idea of oneness and the idea of threeness, they cannot be pressed beyond this point or they will give an inaccurate representation of God's nature.
If pressed too far, any natural analogy for the Trinity will either result in a modalistic or a tripartite representation of God's nature. For example, some have pointed out that water can assume three forms -- solid, liquid, and gas -- and this illustrates how something can have aspects of both oneness and threeness. But if you press it any father it will yield a modalistic understanding of God's nature where the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are just different modes of God, just as gas, liquid, and solid are three modes of water.
Similarly, while the shamrock, with its three-lobe leaf, also shows that something can embody oneness and threeness, if it is pressed to far it would yield a tripartite understanding of God where the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit would be three parts of God the same way the lobes of a shamrock are three separate parts of its leaf. This would be a false representation of God's nature since God is an ontologically simple being, which means that he has no parts. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are three persons, not three parts. Person and part are two separate ontological categories. He is one Being who is three Persons, not one Being who is three parts. Thus, while the shamrock is a good illustration of the fact that a thing may embody both oneness and threeness, it cannot be pressed to teach a lesson beyond this point.
All natural analogies share this same limitation, for while there are many natural entities that embody both oneness and threeness, none of them do so in the same way that God does. This is because there are no natural entities that are one Being in three Persons. This is as we should expect. God is a supernatural entity -- and an infinite one at that -- and so no natural entities -- and certainly no finite ones (which all natural entities are) -- can model his essence in anything but a very limited way.
Because of its theological significance, the shamrock has become a national symbol of Ireland as an expression of the Irish's faith in the Trinity. Thus, although one often sees four-leaf clovers as symbols of Ireland in advertisements, it is the three-lobe shamrock which is the proper symbol.
The four-leaf clover is a good symbol of luck or good fortune since the mutation which causes the four-lobe leaf structure is rare, meaning that if one sat down in a patch of shamrocks to look for a four-leaf clover, one would be lucky or fortunate to find one. This has been associated in the popular imagination with the proverbial "luck of the Irish." But this is a much more recent development and not the historic symbol of Irish faith.
Regrettably, the Irish have not been so lucky in material terms over the last few centuries due to the incredible persecution and innumerable martyrdoms that they have suffered for their faith at the hands of English Protestants. However, they have been spiritually fortunate in that in their case, as with the ancient Jews and Christians, persecution had a strengthening effect on faith, resulting in the fact that Christianity is far stronger in Ireland than it is in Protestant England, which has become and even more Godless country than America.


Second Trivia Quiz (Irish):
Question 1: What popular Irish dish is made from shredded cabbage, onions, mashed potatoes, and butter?
A: Mulligatawny
B: Shepherds' Pie
C: Colcannon
D: Fairy Porridge

Question 2: What is a shillelagh?
A: A walking stick
B: An Irish ballad
C: The Celtic spelling of "Sheila"
D: None of the above

Question 3: What instruments do the oldest-known Irish stone carvings show people playing?
A: Fiddles
B: Harps
C: Flutes
D: Bagpipes

Question 4: What food are the Irish believed to have brought to America?
A: Oatmeal
B: Pancakes
C: Waffles
D: Dry cereal

Question 5: What instruments did the clergy condemn in Ireland in the early days?
A: Harps and lutes
B: Fiddles and violins
C: Pianos and organs
D: Fiddles and bagpipes

Question 6: Where does the city of Cork get its name?
A: From the manufacture of cork for wine bottles
B: From the name of an ancient Celtic ruler
C: From the word "cork" as a synonym for marshes
D: None of the above

Question 7: What does the circle in the middle of the Celtic cross represent?
A: The sun
B: The moon
C: Eternity
D: Unity

Question 8: What is the city of Waterford best known for?
A: Ships
B: Fishing
C: Crystal
D: Mining

Question 9: What does the prefix "Mac" mean?
A: Son of
B: Father to
C: Born of
D: Mother to

Question 10: What is the ratio of pubs to people in Ireland?
A: 1 per every 100
B: 1 per every 350
C: I per every 750
D: I per every 1,100





St. Patrick's Day is known as a day of celebration and festivities, but very few people know the true story of St. Patrick and who he really is. By tradition, he is a patron saint of the Catholic religion because of the captivity that he went through, the time of solitude and his great faith, and eventually the number of people that were converted to know God through him. It is legend that he heard angels and they helped him in his decisions. All in all, he is known as the patron saint of good luck and blessings to the Catholics in that era up until the 21st century.


St. Patrick was a real live person born in the time around 400 AD in Roman Britian, when the British Isles were still under the domain of the Romans. He was born with the name Maewyn. His name wasn't changed until he was in the monastery. His father was a soldier in the army, and Patrick also reports him to be a deacon, civil official, and a town councilor, who was a son of a Romano-British priest. The family was Christian, but they weren't extremely religious, some historians even say Patrick was agnostic in his childhood.


According to his most famous work, the Confessio, Patrick was captured along with many others when his village was attacked, and he was taken to Ireland as a slave. Patrick was under the authority of a druid high priest and his family and here he learned the native Celtic language which he later used to communicate, and help those to be converted.



After 8 years in captivity, he escaped at the age of twenty-two, and legend has it that an angel directed him to spend twelve years in a monastery near Paris, France, where he adopted the name Patrick. It was during this time of captivity that Patrick found God and developed the habit of praying throughout the day to strengthen himself and to be closer to God. It is recorded in the Confessio that he would often pray up to 100 times a day. One night, while in the monastery, he said he heard many voices that were calling him back to Ireland to help the remaining slaves. At this time he was somewhere in his mid thirties and so he answered the callings. He became one of the first Christian missionaries in Ireland.


He was confident in the Lord, and he journeyed far and wide, baptizing and confirming with untiring zeal. Indeed, Patrick was successful at converting Ireland to christianity . And he even made important converts even among the royal families. For 20 years he had travelled throughout Ireland, establishing monasteries, schools and churches, which would aid him in his conversions. He died on March 17th.


You can see how originally this was a Catholic holy day, but today St. Patrick's Day has evolved into more of a secular holiday. Or, rather, 'be Irish Day '. Speculation as to why this holiday is so popular could be the coming of spring that occurs within just a few days.


The answers to the First Trivia Quiz at the Top:

Question 1: What mythical character did the writer W.B. Yeats like writing about?

A: Leprechauns
B: Fairies and ghosts (Correct Answer)
C: Trolls
D: Mermaids

Question 2: According to legend, what are leprechauns really?

A: Shoemakers (Correct Answer)
B: Thieves
C: Midgets
D: Magicians

Question 3: According to legend, where are babies and brides taken when fairies kidnap them?

A: Into the mountains
B: Into fairy mounds (Correct Answer)
C: Into underground caves
D: Under bridges

Question 4: What does kissing the Blarney Stone do for you?

A: Give you soft lips from the dew on the stone
B: Give you good luck in love
C: Make you less shy (Correct Answer)
D: Heal warts

Question 5: Why do leprechauns wear green?

A: Because they like the color
B: As camouflage (Correct Answer)
C: Because they consider it lucky
D: Because it is the only color of dye they know how to make

Question 6: In what city was the first American St. Patrick's Day parade held?

A: Boston (Correct Answer)
B: New York
C: Philadelphia
D: Washington, D.C.

Question 7: Which two US rivers are dyed green every St. Patrick's Day?

A: American and Colorado
B: Chicago and San Antonio (Correct Answer)
C: Green and Tennessee
D: Snake and Ohio

Question 8: What was St. Patrick's real name?

A: Miles Shallob
B: Michael O'Shaunessey
C: Marcus Stough
D: Maewyn Succat (Correct Answer)

Question 9: According to legend, how did St. Patrick drive the snakes out of Ireland?

A: With fire and smoke
B: Flooding the land
C: Pounding drums (Correct Answer)
D: All of the above

Question 10: Who started the tradition of pinching anyone who doesn't wear green on St. Patrick's Day?

A: Members of the church
B: Children (Correct Answer)
C: Parents
D: No one knows

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Here are some Irish Toasts And Blessings For You To Use:
May your pockets be heavy and your heart be light, may good luck pursue you each morning and night.
May the roof above us never fall in, and may we friends gathered below never fall out.
A trout in the pot is better than a salmon in the sea.
As you slide down the banister of life, may the splinters never point in the wrong direction.
A friend's eye is a good mirror.
May you live as long as you want, and never want as long as you live.
He who loses money, loses much; He who loses a friend, loses more; He who loses faith, loses all.
May the Lord keep you in His hand and never close His fist too tight.
May your neighbors respect you, trouble neglect you, the angels protect you, and heaven accept you.
May the sound of happy music, and the lilt of Irish laughter, fill your heart with gladness, that stays forever after.
May the frost never afflict your spuds.
May the outside leaves of your cabbage always be free from worms.
May the crow never pick your haystack,
and may your donkey always be in foal.
May the hinges of our friendship never grow rusty. And our ale never turn musty.
St. Patrick's Day is an enchanted time -- a day to begin transforming winter's dreams into summer's magic.
"Maybe it's bred in the bone, but the sound of pipes is a little bit of heaven to some of us." ~ Nancy O'Keefe
"There is no language like the Irish for soothing and quieting." ~ John Millington Synge
When Irish eyes are smiling
When Irish eyes are smiling
Sure it's like a morning spring.
In the lilt of Irish laughter,
You can hear the angels sing.
When Irish hearts are happy,
All the world seems bright and gay.
And when Irish eyes are smiling,
Sure, they steal your heart away.
Irish Blessings
May the road rise up to meet you,
may the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and the rain fall soft upon your fields,
and until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.
May you have: A world of wishes at your command. God and his angels close to hand. Friends and family their love to impart, and Irish blessings deep in your heart!
May the Irish hills caress you. May her lakes and rivers bless you. May the luck of the Irish enfold you. May the blessings of Saint Patrick behold you.
May you have warm words on a cold evening, a full moon on a dark night,and the road downhill all the way to your door.
May your pockets be heavy and your heart be light, and may good luck pursue you each morning and night.
May your blessings outnumber the Shamrocks that grow, and may trouble avoid you wherever you go.
May you enjoy the four greatest blessings:
Honest work to occupy you.
A hearty appetite to sustain you.
A good woman to love you.
And a wink from the God above.
May you live a long life, full of gladness and health. With a pocket full of gold, as the least of your wealth.
May the dreams you hold dearest, be those which come true. The kindness you spread, keep returning to you.
May the friendships you make, be those which endure; and all of your grey clouds, be small ones for sure.
And trusting in Him, to Whom we all pray; May a song fill your heart, every step of the way.
May the Lord Bless You
May the LORD bless you and keep you;
May the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
May the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace. (Numbers 6:24-26)
Ode to the Shamrock
There's a dear little plant that grows in our isle,
'Twas St. Patrick himself, sure, that sets it;
And the sun of his labor with pleasure did smile,
And with dew from his eye often wet it.
It grows through the bog, through the brake, through the mireland,
And they call it the dear little Shamrock of Ireland.
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The answers to the second trivia quiz (Irish):
Question 1: What popular Irish dish is made from shredded cabbage, onions, mashed potatoes, and butter?

A: Mulligatawny
B: Shepherds' Pie
C: Colcannon (Correct Answer)
D: Fairy Porridge

Question 2: What is a shillelagh?

A: A walking stick (Correct Answer)
B: An Irish ballad
C: The Celtic spelling of "Sheila"
D: None of the above

Question 3: What instruments do the oldest-known Irish stone carvings show people playing?

A: Fiddles
B: Harps (Correct Answer)
C: Flutes
D: Bagpipes

Question 4: What food are the Irish believed to have brought to America?

A: Oatmeal (Correct Answer)
B: Pancakes
C: Waffles
D: Dry cereal

Question 5: What instruments did the clergy condemn in Ireland in the early days?

A: Harps and lutes
B: Fiddles and violins
C: Pianos and organs
D: Fiddles and bagpipes (Correct Answer)

Question 6: Where does the city of Cork get its name?

A: From the manufacture of cork for wine bottles
B: From the name of an ancient Celtic ruler
C: From the word "cork" as a synonym for marshes (Correct Answer)
D: None of the above

Question 7: What does the circle in the middle of the Celtic cross represent?

A: The sun (Correct Answer)
B: The moon
C: Eternity
D: Unity

Question 8: What is the city of Waterford best known for?

A: Ships
B: Fishing
C: Crystal (Correct Answer)
D: Mining

Question 9: What does the prefix "Mac" mean?

A: Son of (Correct Answer)
B: Father to
C: Born of
D: Mother to

Question 10: What is the ratio of pubs to people in Ireland?

A: 1 per every 100
B: 1 per every 350 (Correct Answer)
C: I per every 750
D: I per every 1,100
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I hope you enjoyed this bit of history, and some trivia fun. May your St. Patrick's Day Be Fun!! And May the Irish Blessing Grace Your Life:
May the road rise to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face.
And rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.

And finally as the end line of the Old Irish Toast says "May you be in heaven half an hour, before the devil knows you're dead,"!!
Happy St. Patrick's Day!! :)