St. Patrick's Day Ottawa

Wikipedia has this to say of St. Patrick's Day, the day that celebrates the coming of Christianity to Ireland.

Saint Patrick's Day (Irish: Lá Fhéile Pádraig, "the Day of the Festival of Patrick") is a cultural and religious holiday celebrated on 17 March. It commemorates Saint Patrick (c. AD 387–461), the most commonly recognised of the patron saints of Ireland, and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland.^[1] It is observed by the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion (especially the Church of Ireland),^[2] the Eastern Orthodox Church and Lutheran Church. Saint Patrick's Day was made an official feast day in the early seventeenth century, and has gradually become a celebration of Irish culture in general.^[3]

The day is generally characterised by the attendance of church services,^[3][4] wearing of green attire^[5] and the lifting of Lenten restrictions on eating, and drinking alcohol,^[5][6][7] which is often proscribed during the rest of theseason.^[3][5][6][7]

Saint Patrick's Day is a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland,^[8] Northern Ireland,^[9] Newfoundland and Labrador and in Montserrat. It is also widely celebrated by the Irish diaspora, especially in places such as Great Britain, Canada, the United States, Argentina, Australia, and New Zealand, among others. Today, St. Patrick's Day is probably the most widely celebrated saint's day in the world.^[10]

I had khaky green green shirt. I put Gilbert's Canucks sweater on him. The green trim is distinctive. I worried though about the Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leaf fans seeing him and feeling jealous.  It was St. Patrick's Day. Andrew had arranged breakfast at Cora's in Kanata with the rest of the nephew's and Tanya.  Andrew arrived in his Paddy t shirt.  After a great breakfast we took Allan along with us to visit dad. Again he enjoyed having Gilbert's company.  Leaving Gilbert with Andrew and Graeme Laura and I went downtown to tour the parliament buildings. The streets were a blaze with green. I liked the Orange in the flag. My maternal grandfather was an Orangeman and marched in Toronto's Orange parade.  Laura's catholic. I'm protestant.  When anyone passed I cheered "Hooray for the Orange and Green".  I figured that's what St. Patrick himself  would have liked. Ireland is united and peace restored to that Christian land..
The Troubles are supposedly over. There's still the IRA sympathizers. No doubt they contributed to Britain granting the country freedom but Canada never had to resort to the kind of terrorist violence the Irish took part in.  Alot of the commonwealth gained independence without so much drama or bloodshed.  Ghandi certainly made his statement. Australia, like Canada, seemed to work things out more maturely.  Unfortunately government commonly only negotiate with moderates when there are extremists forcing them to negotiate at all.
Probably all the violence in Ireland could be explained by the alcoholism there alone.  Alcohol and violence go hand in hand.  A reading of the Alcoholic Republic certainly explains the US revolution as readily as dispute over Tea.  Now even the Irish are trying to get a handle on their drinking problems.  An utter waste all the domestic violence there.
But St. Patrick's Day is a day of celebration of the great celtic nation. I love my own Irish heritage. I'm a product of Scottish and Irish heritage glad for the fay of Celtic blood and the sober frame of mind that goes with the best.
St. Patricks story is one of my favourites and best told in the grand book, "How the Irish Saved Civilization."  I love especially St. Patrick's Breastplate Prayer.

I arise today

Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,

Through the belief in the threeness,

Through confession of the oneness

Of the Creator of Creation.

I arise today

Through the strength of Christ's birth with his baptism,

Through the strength of his crucifixion with his burial,

Through the strength of his resurrection with his ascension,

Through the strength of his descent for the judgment of Doom.

I arise today

Through the strength of the love of Cherubim,

In obedience of angels,

In the service of archangels,

In hope of resurrection to meet with reward,

In prayers of patriarchs,

In predictions of prophets,

In preaching of apostles,

In faith of confessors,

In innocence of holy virgins,

In deeds of righteous men.

I arise today

Through the strength of heaven:

Light of sun,

Radiance of moon,

Splendor of fire,

Speed of lightning,

Swiftness of wind,

Depth of sea,

Stability of earth,

Firmness of rock.

I arise today

Through God's strength to pilot me:

God's might to uphold me,

God's wisdom to guide me,

God's eye to look before me,

God's ear to hear me,

God's word to speak for me,

God's hand to guard me,

God's way to lie before me,

God's shield to protect me,

God's host to save me

From snares of devils,

From temptations of vices,

From everyone who shall wish me ill,

Afar and anear,

Alone and in multitude.

I summon today all these powers between me and those evils,

Against every cruel merciless power that may oppose my body and soul,

Against incantations of false prophets,

Against black laws of pagandom

Against false laws of heretics,

Against craft of idolatry,

Against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,

Against every knowledge that corrupts man's body and soul.

Christ to shield me today

Against poison, against burning,

Against drowning, against wounding,

So that there may come to me abundance of reward.

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,

Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,

Christ on my right, Christ on my left,

Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise,

Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,

Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,

Christ in every eye that sees me,

Christ in every ear that hears me.

I arise today

Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,

Through belief in the threeness,

Through confession of the oneness,

Of the Creator of Creation.

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