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Storytime Tapestry Newsletter

The newsletter devoted to spreading love and cultural awareness around the world.

March 17, 2006

Today??冱 announcements

I wish you a Happy Saint Patrick??冱 Day for all my Canadian and American readers.

"May you have a "Happy Saint Patrick's Day To You All!".

OR - In Irish Gaelic:

Beannachtai na Feile Padraig oraibh! {BAN-uhkh-tee nuh FAY-luh PAW-rihg O-rihv)

= Happy St. Patricks Day to You All!

Hart Dowd

Now onto the good stuff!

Today??冱 Queue Stories

~**~**~

St. Patrick??冱 Day

Hartson Dowd

March 17^th is the day when those of us who are of Irish ancestry (and even many who are not) celebrate St. Patrick??冱 Day, a day for the ???wearin o??? the green.???

My father was of Irish background and he reveled in the celebrations of this day. He was often seen wearing a bright green tie or suspenders for the occasion.

Many people assume that the Irish wear green on St. Patrick??冱 Day because Ireland is called the ???Emerald Isle.??? In fact, the real reason has been nearly forgotten now. Hundreds of years ago, the people of Ireland burned green leaves and boughs in the spring. The ashes were then spread over the fields in the belief that this would make the land richer. Those who wear green on this day are honouring this ancient custom.

One of my father??冱 favourite Irish proverbs is also beloved by me:

May the road rise to meet you; may the wind be always at your back, may the sun shine warm upon your face. May the rain fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of his hand.

** I Am An Irishman!**

My name is Hartson O'Doud.
I'm told I stand out in a crowd.
.....Now THAT I don't mind.
.....For I'm easy to find.
On St. Pat's Day my head's in the clouds.

March seventeenth I always wear green.
So that I'll be easily seen.
.....I insist to be fed,
.....Irish stew n' soda bread.
And I dance Irish jigs in between.

One day I met a lass named O'Splane

Who soon, to O'Doud, changed her name.

??ｦ..We've been happily wed.

??ｦ..My! How the time's sped!

And St. Pat's day has ne're been the same.

Irish blessings I send on this day:

May your troubles and pain go away.

??ｦ..Forget things that are sad.

??ｦ..Remember. Always be glad

For friends who've stayed with you always.

???A limerick should brighten your day

Be witty, perceptive and gay.

A neat little verse

Will do nothing worse

Than banish your bad blues away!???

~**~**~

St Patrick's Day - March 17th.

Hart Dowd

In a myriad of venues all over the world ordinary life comes to a complete standstill on March 17^th, St. Patrick??冱 Day. People rummage through their cupboards and wardrobes for items of emerald green. From New York to Bangkok and Boston to Tokyo, the Irish and their friends of every hue want to celebrate their Irishness. Shops and street traders have a field day selling fancy hats, scarves, music, balloons, T-shirts and badges with all kinds of witty, naughty or nutty slogans to get us in the spirit. Badges with VIP ??� very Irish person, RIP ??� real Irish person, or HIP ??� happy Irish person.

St. Patrick??冱 Day is celebrated everywhere on March 17^th by both Irish and non-Irish people. Parades, the wearing of the green, and an Irish feast are all customary on this day. A typical American favorite ???Irish??? dinner is corned beef and cabbage. An Irishman will probably tell you that he??冱 never heard of this boiled beef with cabbage, but he??冤l gladly eat it with you nevertheless. Corned beef and cabbage was actually created by immigrants in New England, it is a variation of the famous New England Boiled Dinner. Another favorite meal is one that is all green ??� yes tinted green with food coloring.

Some Irish Facts:

The Emerald Isle is one of the largest islands in the world. It is located west of Great Britain. Heavy rain creates the lush, fertile green land. Several lakes and rivers reside in Ireland; the longest river is the Shannon.

Ireland??冱 capital is Dublin. Its area is 27,136 square miles. Its languages are English and Gaelic. March 17 is the National Day and The Soldier??冱 Song is the National Anthem. The Irish flag has three vertical stripes: green, white and orange. The green represents the Gaelic and Anglo-Norman population, orange for the Protestants (supporters of William of Orange), and white for the union and lasting truce between the two.

The Shamrock, which resembles a three leaf clover, is the national flower of Ireland reputed to having been used by St. Patrick to illustrate the Trinity {Father, Son, Holy Spirit}. Green is associated with Saint Patrick??冱 Day because it is the color of spring.

Leprechauns are also associated with this holiday, although I??冦 not sure why, for Leprechauns of legend are actually mean little creatures.

An Irish Blessing to take with you today: ???May your blessings outnumber the shamrocks that grow, and may trouble avoid you wherever you go.???

In 16^th century Ireland, Sir Walter Raleigh began cultivating the potato on his property, which rapidly gave way to the potato cuisine. The Irish Famine of 1846-50 took as many as one million lives from hunger and disease, and changed the social and cultural structure of Ireland in profound ways. The Famine also spurred new waves of immigration, thus shaping the histories of the United States and Canada as well.

Readers will notice that there seems to be a tendency in Irish cooking toward one-pot dishes, and to simple cooking methods like grilling. This has to do with the main factor which influenced the way the Irish kitchen looked for many years: the availability of fuel ??� turf, coal or wood was always plentiful here. The Irish kitchen was essentially the house??冱 fireplace, where the fire itself burned and the stone or brick hearth over which hot coals could be raked to heat the hearth, and then pushed back again. Since there was plenty of fuel, people could either bake at their own hearthside, or right in the fire, in covered containers ??� pottery at first, in the most ancient days, and then later, iron. One of these containers, called the Bastable oven, it was what a North American might call a ???dutch oven??? ??� a three-or-four-legged pot with an unusual concave cover. You would sit the pot right in the middle of the coals of the fire, rake them up around it, and pile more coals on top. This produced a beautiful even heat that baked or roasted from all sides at once, and was excellent for baking bread or cooking a stew or roasting a chicken ??� almost anything. Probably ninety percent of Irish cooking, for some hundreds of years, was done in pots like those, and Irish cooks became incredibly versatile with them. Other things might be cooked directly on the hearth, once it had been heated by coals raked over it and then brushed back. The ???farl??? kind of soda bread, for example, would bake well there. So would oatcakes. Also fresh fish, filleted, would be laid on the stones to sizzle. A somewhat later development was the ???bakestone???, a flat round iron plate that hung over the fire by a semicircular handle from a hook called a ???crane??? the bakestone could be raised or lowered to control the heat.

Food was considered one of the main signs of courtesy to one??冱 guest: you gave the best you had, whatever you had ??� whether it was a great feast form a full larder and kitchen, or a few boiled potatoes and some buttermilk to wash them down with. Any stew could be stretched; any bread cut a little thinner, to make the ???stranger in the gate??? welcome. That tradition, in particular, is possibly the greatest heritage of Irish cooking.

A Taste of Ireland...Soda BreadThere's an ancient Irish proverb that says one should serve only "the newest of food and the oldest of drink." This illustrates exceedingly well the Irish attitude toward baking and distilling or brewing.

In old Ireland, the woman of the house made a variety of breads and cakes which she baked every day in a bastible or pot oven beside the open fire. Whatever she created - from griddle cakes to barm brack, it was seen as a sign of great respect to offer her guests bread that was still warm and uncut.

Soda bread first appeared in the 19th century, when baking soda was introduced as a leavening agent. Combined with flour and buttermilk, as well as salt, it's very easy to make. Served, still warm from the oven with, as the Irish say, "lashings of butter", the aroma and taste are unique to Ireland and it's become the established favorite with tourists and locals alike. As for the cross that usually appears on the top, you may be surprised to learn that it isn't a religious symbol at all. In the old days, it was simply a practical method of dividing the baked bread into four quarters; for large appetites, one quarter might be served as a single portion.

I've seen and tasted dozens of variations for soda bread, including one in which raisins are added to a white flour mixture. The end result is sometimes called "spotted dog".

Soda Bread
Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons caraway seeds - optional. A friend who lives in Cork tells me that caraway seeds are strictly personal taste and are not normally used in traditional soda bread recipes.
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk.

Method:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly grease, then flour baking sheet. In large bowl, mix flour, baking soda, salt and optional caraway seeds. Mix in buttermilk to form dough into ball. You may need to add a little more buttermilk. Turn out onto lightly floured surface and knead until dough holds together, about 1 minute.

Shape dough into a 6-inch round. Place on prepared baking sheet. Cut 1-inch deep X across top of bread, reaching almost to edges. Bake until bread is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped on bottom, about 40 minutes.

Transfer bread to rack and cool. If not serving right away, wrap loaf in tea towel to prevent it from drying out too much. If not eaten in entirety, wrap well in foil or plastic wrap to keep as moist as possible.

Enjoy!

As the annual St. Paddy's madness descends upon us once more the advice for the Irish party season remains the same.

Seek convivial company and good music, avoid green beer like the plague.

Hartson Dowd

The Mysterious Saint Patrick, Patron Saint of Ireland

Carol Roach

Some theories chronicle that Maewyn Succat (Celtic for Clever in War), was born near the modern city of Dumbarton, in Scotland around the 373 A.D. However, the origin of Saint Patrick is still a mystery yet to be solved. Much of what we do know about Patrick comes from his own 'Confessio' (confessions) or 'magnum opus'. The Confessio tell us much about his humble beginnings through his religious journey and prepares us for an understanding of how he became the Patron Saint of Ireland.

In direct opposition to the above theory for his birth place, in the magnum opus, Patrick stated that he was from Brittani?ｦ, though it is still not clear if that would be the Roman Province of Britain, or Brittany in France. However there is still other information that will also dispute this claim as well.

Maewyn was a sixteen-year-old boy who was captured by raiders from Hibernia, later to be known as Ireland. He was made a slave, first by the Irish King Niall of the Nine Hostages when he went into Britain and France, raiding with his Scot (The Dal Riada tribe) and Pict (from Caledonia) allies. He spent much of his young life tending sheep in the Slemish Mountains. Patrick was sold to a Druid of Del Raida from the house of Miliue or Milchu, in modern day Altrium, Ireland, around 403 A.D.

Before his capture he was a heathen. During his capture he learned the (Celtic) customs of the land and added to his already Latin knowledge base. He began a better relationship with God when he heard a voice telling him that his ???ship was ready??? and to return to his own country. After returning home, he entered a monastery in Gaul and studied under St. Germain, bishop of Auxere.

Maewyn again heard voices telling him to return to Ireland and essentially convert the pagans. In 403 A.D., according to the Muirchu writings in the seventh century, he arrived at Wicklow and made his way along the coast, by sea, landing at the mouth of the River Slaney. He converted Dichu, an Irish chieftain and set up his first church. Other accounts state that his mission to convert Ireland to Christianity occurred in 430 A.D. He continued to defeat armies and convert the populace over a period of thirty years.

He was imprisoned twice for his belief and by the time of his death he had baptized tens of thousands to Christianity and had established hundreds of churches.

It was Pope Constantine, who gave him the name Patricius which later evolved into Patrick, after he became bishop.

Patrick died in Ireland on March 17, 460 A.D.(some accounts say 461).

St. Patricks Day is celebrated annually in various countries. It is interesting to note that the First Saint Patrick??冱 Day Parade did not originate in Ireland but in New York City on March 17, 1762.

~**~**~

Living History

Carol Roach

As a child I loved history, actually I excelled at it, but generally speaking the subject was not engaging for most of my peers. Teenagers simply could not connect to what happened in the past while trying to live in the present.

As an adult, my best friend became an historian. She would often talk about ???living history.??? That concept did not hit home until today. It was in fact, my son who taught me the true meaning of ???living history??? in every sense of the word.

Our last name is Roach; it is an Irish name. The roach is a fish which swims in the English Channel. I read that it is the most abundant fish in Europe. My son, a Canadian boy, did not know anything else about his Irish roots, a continent away.

In light of the upcoming holiday, I decided to do a little research on St. Patrick, the Patron Saint of Ireland. From the research, my son and I both received a true ???living history??? lesson of the greatest magnitude. Much of the conversation went like this.

???Maewyn Succot, who is that????

???He was Saint Patrick, before he was made bishop and renamed by Constantine.???

???Wait til I get back on my Final Fantasy game, I am going to test those Irish dudes and see how much they really know.???

???Well that could be a problem in and of itself. History is not always accurate, and we must take bits and pieces and put it together. That is a major reason why there are so many theories about things.???

???Like what????

???Like the story of St. Patrick which is still steeped in a lot of mystery. There are several theories about his life. One account historians rely on is from his own personal writings, called ???Confessio,??? or Magnum Opus.???

???Magnum Opus, hey they use that name in Final Fantasy too.???

???Just goes to show you that even your online games can teach you some history doesn??冲 it. The young Maewyn was captured from his home in Britain, or Brittany.???

???You mean St. Patrick wasn??冲 from Ireland????

???No he was captured at sixteen and made into a slave by raiders from Hibernia, which is now Ireland.???

???Hibernia,??? hey that is the street, where all those Irish gangs live. No wonder they all live there.???

???The young Patrick, tended sheep in the Slemish Mountains. He was still a heathen at that time. But he learned the Irish Celtic traditions very well. Later, he lived in a Druid home until one day he heard a voice telling him that ???his ship had arrived??? and he must return to his homeland.???

???His ship was in.??? Didn??冲 they already make that movie????

???No, that was ???if you build it, they will come.??? But you??决e right both guys heard voices. Anyhow, he believed these voices were from God and when he returned home, he entered a monastery in Gaul and learned more about God. Guess what, he heard another voice again telling him to return to Ireland and convert all the pagans to Christianity.???

???Were there battles????

???Yep plenty of them, but Patrick won, and Ireland became Christian. He baptized tens of thousands of people and he was responsible for building hundreds of churches throughout Ireland until he died in 460 A.D.???

???Cool???

???And you know the first St. Patrick??冱 Day parade was not even in Ireland, but took place in New York City on March 17, 1762.???

???So what, I don??冲 go to parades.???

???Well you did at one time. Remember when we took Sparkey and he peed on that man??冱 shoe????

???No!???

???Oh well you were too young to remember anyway, but you did have fun!???

Poetry Section

~**~**~

Wearin??� the Green

Debra Shiveley

He lay back wearily upon pillows piled high,
His once bright eyes dull with pain.
A weak smile pulled at his lips as shaking hand
Cleaved through once abundant hair,
Now thinned by toxic treatments.

"Now listen to me, Dotter.
There??冱 things ya be needin??� ta know,
About where yer people come from -
And land so green, it would tear yer heart.
Dotter, stop yer cryin??�! We must be partin??� soon.
And if ya be wantin??� to remember me - I can tell ya the way.

So hush. Hush. Hush.

Dotter, remember your roots!
And every year - be wearin??� the green!
Wear it with pride, girl - yer head held high
For it??冱 poets ya come from,
Aye and great men and women too,
Who would not be held down!

And don??冲 ye be, girl. Don??冲 ye be.

Dotter
?ｩ 2004 Debra Shiveley Welch
I miss you Da

Debra - Mitakuye oyasin - We are all related.

Author of "A Very Special Child" - An Adoption Story - http://www.whodathunk.org

I firmly believe that I have received the same child I was meant to receive whether I gave birth or adopted. The same soul, the same entity was meant to be mine from the beginning of time. Debra Shiveley Welch "A Very Special Child"

We love our life on the lake where birds and animals of every description abounds www.merribuck.com

"Making the decision to have a child is momentous -- it is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body. Elizabeth Stone."

~**~**~

Limerick

Debra Shiveley

Oh Shamrock, so lovely and green,
My fairy has picked you quite clean.
She gave you a snap,
And then just like that,
I??况e the loveliest bouquet I??况e seen.

Debra Shiveley Welch

2005

~**~**~

Readers Feedback

Another Dance With You, Dad - How very beautiful Maria! Great job!.......Mary M. Dees

What a beautiful story! Old Spice by Jodi Flesberg Lilly was so full of a daughter's love for her dad and I could feel that. I still have mine, though he is soon to be 89. Makes me cherish him more. Thanks. Sharlett Hunt

I always enjoy Bill Walker's words of wisdom. His Hate Mail is an example of his thoughtful caring in everything he writes. It is true that the government should do something about these rich insurance companies stealing people's money and then refusing to pay for a loss such as Leah had. It makes me sick too, that there is such dishonesty and nothing is being done about it. God bless, Sharlett

Oh, Woman.....By Linda Danek - Oh what a feeling Linda! Wonderful,Wonderful! Mary M. Dees

'These Feelings Within My Heart' - A lovely expression of love for one's child. Well done Debra Shiveley. - Gabrielle Morgan.

Prayer Requests and Updates

Senior Writers

Chief writer: Sharon Bryant

Agee, Vance; Apted, Violet; Baker, Kathy; Batt, Al; Berry, Nell; Blaine, Pamela; Boda, Ginger; Buhagiar, Victor; Cassady, B.J.; Cavalera, Robyn; Crider, Mark; Deming, Barb; Doherty, Maria; Gilbert, Robert, Jr.; Goodier, Steve; Braun-Haley, Ellie; Harris, Kathy Anne; Hunt, Sharlett; Hymes, Christina; Jacobson, Gary; Kiser, Roger Dean; Kerens, Claudia; Kevin, Tim; Jenkins, Pamela; Liles, Norma; Lily Jodi Flesberg; Lock, Joyce; Marlor, Janice Bumbalough; Mazzella, Joe; Morris, Deepak; Ojeibge, Georgewaters; Petry, Dianna Doles; Roberts, Susan; Shiveley, Debra; Shaw, Bob; Sims, Richard; Streidel, Saskia; Swarner, Ken; Vaknin, Sam; Verhoeff, Jan; Walker, Bill; Walker, Joe; Warner, Gordon, K; Walsh, Sue; Weymouth, Barbara J.; Whirity, Kathy;

Wainland, David; White Robert;

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Thelma Hartselle - Co-Founder, Moderator

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