St PATRICK'S DAY IN CANADA

                              A Wee different Than in Ireland

      St. Patrick's Day is time for the wearing o' the green and dodging leprechauns. So, tip your tam o'shanter jauntily to the side, take a wee step forward into the land where Irish eyes are smilin’ for some St. Patrick's Day History.

St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland, and many miracles have been attributed to the bishop, including the driving of the snakes from Ireland. His sainthood derives from his conversion of the Irish Celtic pagans to Christianity. He used the native shamrock as a symbol of the holy trinity when preaching and brought the Latin alphabet to Ireland. March 17 is the feast day of St. Patrick.

     The custom of imbibing alcohol on St. Patrick's Day comes from an old Irish legend. As the story goes, St. Patrick was served a measure of whiskey the mug considerably was less than full. St. Patrick took this as an opportunity to teach a lesson of generosity to the innkeeper. He told the innkeeper that in his cellar resided a monstrous devil that fed on the dishonesty of the innkeeper. In order to banish the devil, the man must change his ways.        

     When St. Patrick returned to the hostelry some time later, he found the owner generously filling the patrons' glasses to overflowing. He returned to the cellar with the innkeeper and found the devil emaciated from the landlord's generosity, and promptly banished the demon, proclaiming thereafter everyone should have a drop of the "hard stuff" on his feast day. This custom is known as Pota Phadraig or Patrick's Pot. The custom is known as "drowning the shamrock" because it is customary to float a leaf of the plant in the whiskey before downing the shot.

     St. Patrick's Day was first celebrated in America in Boston, Massachusetts in 1737, and is now celebrated nationwide with parades and as an opportunity to wear green and consume green libations. One reason St. Patrick’s Day might have become so popular is the fact that it takes place just a few days before the end of winter; one might say it has become the first green of spring. The celebration in Ireland is more of a religious matter. The wearing o' the green is a symbol of Ireland's lush green farmlands.

SOME NOVA SCOTIA TRIVIA

                                                     Fun Tid Bits

A journey through the Canadian Maritimes is rich in cultural diversity, charm, and absolutely gorgeous natural beauty. The historic and picturesque province has many historic villages, a rugged coastline with winding roads, and dense forests. Nova Scotia with its northeastern chunk of land known as Cape Breton Island and Prince Edward Island (PEI) make up Canada’s Maritime provinces. Samuel de Champlain discovered Nova Scotia in 1604. Nova Scotia is Latin for New Scotland. The native people were Mi’kmaq, but commonly called Micmac today, and the two terms are interchangeable.

Yarmouth, a city of 7800, is located on the southern coast of the island where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Bay of Fundy. The city was established in 1761 because of its proximity to New England ports. The Acadian coast runs 70 miles up the west coast from Yarmouth to Digby.

 

St. Mary’s Church is thought to have the tallest wooden church spire in North America. Built in 1903-05, the gray shingled church cost $54,000 to build. Forty ton of rock at the base of the 185-foot tall steeple helps to stabilize it from swaying when strong winds blow in over St. Mary’s Bay. The original steeple was 212 feet high but a 1914 fire destroyed the top 27 or so feet., and that part of the steeple was never replaced.

No one really knows where the altar was intended to go because nearly a century ago some well intentioned soul, simply took it off the dock, went through customs while a customs agent looked the other way, and delivered the altar to the church.

The organ in the church was originally ordered for the university, but when it arrived it was too big for the intended space, so St. Mary’s and St. Anne’s simply switched organs. The church paid the university one dollar for the 990 pipe organ.

Bagpipes and kilts are a common sight in the Maritimes. Each island has its own tartan.

Peggy’s Cove, a quaint fishing village west and a wee bit south of Halifax, with a population of about 60, was established in 1811 when Nova Scotia issued a land grant of 800 acres to six families. Imagine the havoc brought to this picturesque little village when hundreds of media people descended on it after the crash of Swiss Air flight 101 in 1998.

The 1868 wooden lighthouse with a beacon marked the entrance to St. Margaret’s Bay. The present 50 foot high concrete octagon lighthouse replaced the wooden one in 1914. The lighthouse was automated in 1958. During the summer months the local post office occupies space in the base of the lighthouse.

The only restaurant in town did an excellent job getting people in and out. Every picture I've seen about the Maritimes has had a picture of Peggy’s Cove---it is well photographed!

You may want to read post on 10/10: The Order Gd Cheer