By Roger James
Religion is the cornerstone of so many people's lives here in America that it is hard to ignore the constant battle between the secular portions of the country and the religious. While not holding the vast members it once held in the past, the Catholic Church is still one of the forerunners of religious influence. Since most of the holiday's we celebrate trace back to Catholic origins, it's not hard to understand why they get so upset about the gradual taking-over of those holidays as mere drunken celebrations. Take Saint Patrick's Day and the hoard of revelers in crazy Irish tshirts for example.
The Catholic Church holds Saint Patrick in especially high esteem. The entire island nation of Ireland was once dominated by a Celtic people who worshipped their own ancestors and a multitude of gods that demanded sacrifice and war. Saint Patrick was a holy man who traveled back to Ireland after escaping captivity there solely for the purpose of converting the population. Now, Ireland is mostly stalwart Catholics because of him. If you were Catholic, wouldn't the drunkenness and goofy Irish tshirts bother you?
It was a slow and gradual change, but St. Patrick's Day is fully considered a day in which to gather with friends and drink heavily. Perhaps national stereotypes played a roll as did media influence, but no one sees St. Patrick's Day merely as a religious holiday any longer. If you were to ask most young people what St. Patrick's Day is all about, they would most likely give a hoot and a laugh before they told you it was about whiskey, green beer, and Irish drinking t shirts.
While I know for a fact that Catholicism would love nothing more than to throw the brakes on and halt the progress into secular debauchery that St. Patrick's Day is hurtling towards, I fear that the train is now officially out of control. Stopping kids from going out and throwing back green beer in those cheap Irish tee shirts is not possible any more. The church would have to instill something resembling reverence, and we are certainly no longer a reverential people.
Don't let me stop you from having an awesome time with your beer and your whiskey and your Irish green tee shirts on Saint Patrick's Day. I have no real opinion one way or the other on how you should celebrate the holiday. I do, however, strongly recommend that you do just a tiny bit of research about the origins of the holiday itself before you start slamming down shots. I would love it if one or two people in the country actually paid lip service to the reason for the season...so to speak.
About the Author:
You can find an extensive selection of fresh Irish shirts (http://www.funnyirishtshirts.com/DUBLIN-YOUR-PLEASURE-T-SHIRT-FUNNY-IRISH-T-SHIRTS-FOR-ST.-PATRICK%27S-DAY.HTM) by visiting our web pages. To shop our online catalog of amazing Irish shirts (http://www.funnyirishtshirts.com/WORLD%27S-TALLEST-LEPRECHAUN-T-SHIRT-FUNNY-IRISH-T-SHIRTS-FOR-ST.-PATRICK%27S-DAY.HTM) , check out the links on our home page right now.
Religion is the cornerstone of so many people's lives here in America that it is hard to ignore the constant battle between the secular portions of the country and the religious. While not holding the vast members it once held in the past, the Catholic Church is still one of the forerunners of religious influence. Since most of the holiday's we celebrate trace back to Catholic origins, it's not hard to understand why they get so upset about the gradual taking-over of those holidays as mere drunken celebrations. Take Saint Patrick's Day and the hoard of revelers in crazy Irish tshirts for example.
The Catholic Church holds Saint Patrick in especially high esteem. The entire island nation of Ireland was once dominated by a Celtic people who worshipped their own ancestors and a multitude of gods that demanded sacrifice and war. Saint Patrick was a holy man who traveled back to Ireland after escaping captivity there solely for the purpose of converting the population. Now, Ireland is mostly stalwart Catholics because of him. If you were Catholic, wouldn't the drunkenness and goofy Irish tshirts bother you?
It was a slow and gradual change, but St. Patrick's Day is fully considered a day in which to gather with friends and drink heavily. Perhaps national stereotypes played a roll as did media influence, but no one sees St. Patrick's Day merely as a religious holiday any longer. If you were to ask most young people what St. Patrick's Day is all about, they would most likely give a hoot and a laugh before they told you it was about whiskey, green beer, and Irish drinking t shirts.
While I know for a fact that Catholicism would love nothing more than to throw the brakes on and halt the progress into secular debauchery that St. Patrick's Day is hurtling towards, I fear that the train is now officially out of control. Stopping kids from going out and throwing back green beer in those cheap Irish tee shirts is not possible any more. The church would have to instill something resembling reverence, and we are certainly no longer a reverential people.
Don't let me stop you from having an awesome time with your beer and your whiskey and your Irish green tee shirts on Saint Patrick's Day. I have no real opinion one way or the other on how you should celebrate the holiday. I do, however, strongly recommend that you do just a tiny bit of research about the origins of the holiday itself before you start slamming down shots. I would love it if one or two people in the country actually paid lip service to the reason for the season...so to speak.
About the Author:
You can find an extensive selection of fresh Irish shirts (http://www.funnyirishtshirts.com/DUBLIN-YOUR-PLEASURE-T-SHIRT-FUNNY-IRISH-T-SHIRTS-FOR-ST.-PATRICK%27S-DAY.HTM) by visiting our web pages. To shop our online catalog of amazing Irish shirts (http://www.funnyirishtshirts.com/WORLD%27S-TALLEST-LEPRECHAUN-T-SHIRT-FUNNY-IRISH-T-SHIRTS-FOR-ST.-PATRICK%27S-DAY.HTM) , check out the links on our home page right now.