Hey howdy hey, all!

Of all the 12 months in the year, March is easily my favourite.  December has Christmas, which is pretty sweet, April has Easter, and the other 9 months have… weekends.  But March, excellent, excellent March, is just awesome.  March is when spring starts.  March is when the birthday of one of the greatest minds of our time, one of the most handsome, stunning, amazing, wondrous male specimens ever to grace God’s green earth, falls.  Oh, embarrassing… its me!  Awkward.

But the best day of the best month is St.Patrick’s Day.  I LOVE St.Patrick’s Day!!  The celtic music, the green everywhere, the Irish-ness of it all… pure sweet.  It’s the day I started dating my lovely wife.  And Shamrock Shakes at McDonald’s.  Wait, that made it sound like I started dating both my wife and Shamrock Shakes.  Not true – just the wife, not the shake.  Its okay to love Shamrock Shakes, but not LOVE Shamrock Shakes.  Picking up what I’m laying down?  Duuuuuude.

And the root of it all is the most awesome saint ever, St.Patrick.  Now you may be asking yourself, “Surely you really just love the day, not the saint.”  To you I say that I do indeed respect the saint, and don’t call me Shirley (that NEVER gets old!!).

Apart from being the patron saint of the second best country in the world (Canada, then Ireland, then dunno – I will happily accept bribery from any country looking to hit a solid # 3), there are two big reasons why he is my most respected holy man.

First, St..Patrick is the guy that explained to the Irish the concept of the Holy Trinity by using the shamrock.  Yep – Father, Son, Holy Spirit… 3 leaves, 3 sides of the most righteous One.  It seems such a straight forward concept but for some reason I really connect with that idea, and everytime I see a shamrock it reminds me of God for that very reason.  Its brilliant!

Secondly, the man drove the snakes out of Ireland.  Banished them, kicked them out, made ‘em swim away and to this day there’s not one of those nasty creatures on the Emerald Isle.  For those that know me, you know that I absolutely loathe snakes.  Hate them.  I can’t go to the reptile house at the zoo because they freak me out, or to the reptile section of Petland for the same reason.  I have boycotted campsites due to proximity of snake-age.  This has brought much joy to miserable people in my life who shall remain nameless but choose to hiss, point at imaginary slithery nastiness or wiggle rubber snakes in my general direction.  Oh, you know who you are.  Grrr on you.

So why wouldn’t you love someone that kicks them out of their country?  Now scientists will argue that the Ice Age kept snakes away from Ireland and there was never any for Patrick to kick out in the first place.  Legend says he did.  Science, legend… goin’ with legend on this bad boy.  Sounds way cooler.

Ultimately, I guess that’s it – I have an affinity for a day that celebrates a guy that hated snakes too.  Maybe if Indiana Jones gets a day in June that’ll bump that month up to celebratory status.  So on St.Patrick’s Day raise a glass of something green, celebrate St.Patrick, and have a most excellent time!

Erin Go Bragh!

God bless, may the roads rise up to meet you and the wind be at your back, and happy trails,

Lloyd

1 Comment for this entry