St. Patrick’s Day ☘️

 

Warning:

The following blog you’re about to see is made entirely with the color green. Please proceed with caution.

Today’s blog is a very special one for you to enjoy. If you’re into the shamrock spirit, then you are lucky because here comes St. Patrick’s day. It’s the tradition celebration of a national Irish holiday. We’ll get to the bottom of this special event in downtown Lawrence real soon, but first let’s talk about how the holiday is celebrated at first.  Saint Patrick was a 5th-century Romano-British Christian missionary and Bishop in Ireland. Much of what is known about Saint Patrick comes from the Declaration, which was allegedly written by Patrick himself. It is believed that he was born in Roman Britain in the fourth century, into a wealthy Romano-British family. Today's Saint Patrick's Day celebrations have been greatly influenced by those that developed among the Irish diaspora, especially in North America. Until the late 20th century, Saint Patrick's Day was often a bigger celebration among the diaspora than it was in Ireland. Celebrations generally involve public parades and festivals, Irish traditional music sessions such as céilithe, and the wearing of green attire or shamrocks. The participants generally include marching bands, the military, fire brigades, cultural organisations, charitable organisations, voluntary associations, youth groups, fraternities, and so on. However, over time, many of the parades have become more akin to a carnival.

This is what this greeting card from 1907 looks like in this picture.

On Saint Patrick's Day, it is customary to wear green clothing or green accessories. Saint Patrick is said to have used the shamrock, a three-leaved plant, to explain the shamrocks Holy Trinity to the pagan Irish. Roger Homan writes, "We can perhaps see St Patrick drawing upon the visual concept of the triskele he uses the shamrock to explain the Trinity". The color green was further associated with Ireland from the 1640s, when the green harp flag was used by the Irish Catholic Confederation. According to the history of this holiday, Saint Patrick's was perceived as the middle day of spring in the Irish calendar. People expected that weather would be improved following the festival, and farmers would begin planting potato.

Anyway, In 1903, Saint Patrick's Day became an official public holiday in Ireland due to the due to the Bank Holiday Act 1903, an act of the United Kingdom parliament introduced by Irish MP James O’Mara. The first Saint Patrick's Day parade in Ireland was held in Waterford, hundreds of years after the first parade in North America. The week of Saint Patrick's Day 1903 had been declared Irish Language Week by the Gaelic League and in Waterford they opted to have a procession on Sunday 15 March. The procession comprised the Mayor and members of Waterford Corporation, the Trades Hall, the various trade unions and bands who included the 'Barrack St Band' and the ‘Thomas Francis Meagher Band’. The parade began at the premises of the Gaelic League in George's St and finished in the Peoples Park, where the public were addressed by the Mayor and other dignitaries. And on March 17th, most Waterford businesses—including public houses—were closed and marching bands paraded as they had two days previously.

There’s over plenty of St. Patrick’s Day parades here and around the world, especially one in Dublin.

In the U.S., Saint Patrick's Day, while not a legal holiday in the United States, is nonetheless widely recognised and observed throughout the country as a celebration of Irish and Irish-American culture. Celebrations include prominent displays of the colour green, religious observances, numerous parades, and copious consumption of alcohol. The holiday has been celebrated in what is now the U.S. since 1600, with the first parade occurring in 1601. Ever noticed that the Chicago River is dyed the color green every time St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated? You can see that people in boats are checking it out to celebrate it.

There’s a lot more to it than that. After their meeting between Taioseach Albert Reynolds and President Bill Clinton in 1994, the presenting of the shamrocks became a yearly custom. St. Patrick’s Day is also celebrated in many countries around the world such as Mexico, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Scotland, Canada, Australia, Japan, etc.

Have you ever seen a leprechaun riding a bicycle before?

So now you know the history of how St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated. Let’s move on to  what I really like to do when St. Patrick’s day is held in Lawrence. Do you wanna know what I always like to do on that time in March? I’ll tell you, I love to join the St. Patrick’s Day parade every March in downtown Lawrence! That’s right, folks. I really enjoying the St. Patrick’s Day parade by joining it every year. So in case you haven’t heard about it before, here’s some info about it. Since 1988, The Lawrence St. Patrick's Day Parade has dazzled packed crowds in Downtown Lawrence, Kansas, sharing our Irish spirit of charity and good fun. Our parade is always on March 17th, no matter the day of the week.

The Lawrence St. Patrick's Day Parade Committee has been committed for over 37 years to supporting Douglas County Children's organizations. The money raised from our Parade and each of our events, goes directly to those other charities in Lawrence.

The Lawrence St. Patrick's Day Parade is much more than a one-day event. In addition to bringing a bit o' the green to Downtown Lawrence, Kansas, each March, yearly, the Committee runs more than 10 events to raise money for Douglas County area children's charities. Since our founding in 1988, we have donated more than $1.2 Million to charity.

The parade began in 1988 when group of friends of Irish heritage sat in a local pub enjoying a frothy pint. Finbar Collins, Bill Sullivan and Wink Guenther collaborated with local businessmen Wes Kabler, Gene Shaughnessy and Mike Jones to hatch the plan that would become a long-standing tradition in Lawrence

On March 17, 1988, snow and sleet greeted the parade participants, yet the determined Irish spirit prevailed. With Uncle Wesley on his white steed, the floats and parade attendants braved the wicked weather and completed their trek.

It was a special day all around as Alan Johnson and Terri Wilson exchanged wedding vows while balancing atop their float! The weather didn’t cooperate, but the Irish spirit and the charity of the community was not dampened. That year the Fraternal Order of Police donated $800 to The March of Dimes on behalf of the parade. The following year they doubled their donation, this time giving Cottonwood $1800.

Also, By 1990, the Committee was set on the idea of running our parade as a charitable event, with the charter that all money raised is for local children's organizations.

Our first parade route was from The Flamingo (in north Lawrence) to the Jet Lag Lounge (on 6th and Florida). In year two, we moved to our current route, starting in South Park and ending at the Flamingo. Our parade is family friendly, and passionate about making sure even the youngest in our audience is dazzled by more than 100 floats riding down Mass Street.

Since I’m always more than lucky to celebrate it in Lawrence, now would be a perfect time for me to join the parade for St. Patrick’s Day once again when it’s time to move back to Lawrence. In the meantime, let’s flashback on how I got the chance to join the parade in the first place. See it all started out when I got to the front entrance of Americana Music Academy in 2013. We got together and as the parade float started moving, the fiddling band started playing some good Irish music. And I even got to wave hi to the people while I was at the top of the float. Everyone in downtown Lawrence was celebrating St. Patrick’s Day at the right time and wore green. I gotta tell you that it was really great when I had so much fun at the parade. You know something, I really would be happy if I can join the parade once again. It’s gonna be thrilling and spectacular when I’m with the fiddlers of Americana Music Academy. And who knows what the parade might do next in downtown Lawrence. I’m telling you, it’s gonna be really great like always.

Then after the parade’s complete, I head on down to a place called Dempsey’s Pub for a burger. But as you know, there’s plenty of ways to celebrate the rest of St. Patrick’s Day here in Lawrence. There’s concerts by cover bands such as Sellout, live music from Carswell & Hope which you already know, and so much more.

Before I joined the St. Patrick’s Day parade, I watched it with my family at downtown Lawrence once, and I loved it. Then, we watched it for a special time with C-Tran that year, I think. I’m not sure, but I’m just saying on that one too.

Here are some pictures to prove it.

Now I have some more I wanna talk about. So I’m gonna talk to you about this show that I remember watching in school when I was a kid. That thing I saw was Riverdance.

The tradition of the Irish master worth. The ultimate celebration of Irish culture.

When I was in music dance, my music teacher Ms. Sue Evans got together to watch the dance show on videotape. And do you know what I think of Riverdance? It was inspiring and spectacular. A triumph! Astonishing! Stupendous! In fact, it was so good, I really smiled! It made me wanna dance to it.

Irish Dancing hit the big time back in 1994, when one small but spectacular interval act during that years Eurovision Song contest suddenly burst on to the stage. A short but rousing Irish dance routine brought the audience to their feet and the phenomenon of Riverdance was born. Riverdance is rooted in a three-part suite of baroque-influenced traditional music called Timedance. Timedance was composed, recorded and performed for the Eurovision Song Contest of 1981 which was hosted in Ireland. It was also performed at first during the Eurovision Song Contest in 1994. Cool, huh! And what a triumph it is for this show! I also wonder if maybe during St. Patrick Day, we can watch the show downtown for a special occasion. Because to be honest with you, that might actually work.

Also for a special time, maybe I can go to Johnny’s Tavern and get some dinner there. Maybe Carswell & Hope will perform there. A St. Paddy “dinner and a show” might be really cool. Johnny’s has the best wings in town. But you already knew that, didn’t you.

As you may know, I’ve been going to the St. Patrick’s Day parade every March with my family, my friends, and even by myself when I’m always independent. And as I come back for the parade, I’ll always be willing to join. And as always, I’m joining Americana Music Academy and good folks there for the next float every year.

Like I said in my Facebook post back in 2017, the luck in my shirt is to go green.

Oh! And if you ever heard about the Shamrock Shake at McDonald’s, then I also remember that one I had once. It tasted like mint and vanilla mixed together.

And there was also that time after the parade I went down to Mass Street Soda to get a green colored soda. It tasted really good, especially when you have the word ‘Luck’ on your shirt which matches the color. The four leaf clover spells out a “good luck charm” on every shirt I wear during that holiday. Cool, huh.

And I always remember one other thing I know. Don’t be late, and don’t do what you did last time. You know the part where I remember when it started raining a little bit. Never rain on your parade! That was probably be my other motto to think about. Well anyways, that’s probably about all for today.

Remember kids, always wear green during St. Patrick’s Day and don’t forget to get to the parade on time or early so you don’t miss out. I know I won’t miss out as much as we do. Have a happy St. Patrick’s Day and we’ll see you next time.

Go green!

This has been a special Lawrence Kansas blog and is dedicated to all the participants and guests who are involved in the St. Patrick’s Day parade every March. No animals or parade floats were harmed in the writing of this blog.