Happy St Patrick’s Day!

This holiday is a strange tradition in that it’s celebrated widely, but few truly know its origins (ok, so I guess it’s not that strange).

The day is to commemorate Patrick, who was a 5th-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Though his mission and praise is widely accepted in the Christian community (obviously), I wanted to point out a few key things.

Typically, when people think of St. Patrick’s Day, they see it as celebration of Irish pride, acceptance of immigrant culture and supporting diversity. That’s a beautiful avenue to take this holiday through. However, St. Patrick’s Day is actually a day of religious observance, especially within the Catholic Church in Ireland. St. Patrick is credited with the conversion of “thousands” of Irish Pagans to Christianity, steering them away from what appeared to be a life of sin and toil. A little bit of background on the Paganism, shall we?

By now, I suppose a few of you are feeling that Catholic guilt, by even reading on about what Paganism is. I know I did when I first learned of it. But really, what’s the issue with someone holding different beliefs than you, that are more rooted in nature (pun intended)? And that’s perfectly fine – Christians and other mainstream religions are often brought up to equate Paganism with a sense of hedonism, impurity, or without fear of holy reprisal. If that’s what you’re taught, it’s really all you know, right? Well…. let’s reconsider.

Interestingly enough, Paganism is a blanket term for any religion not recognized as “mainstream”. Pagan rituals typically focus on honoring a deity or deities rather than complete devotion; observing natural patterns such as seasonal changes, moon phases and lifetime rites of passage. They feast, honor nature through ceremonies, and incorporate the earth and its offerings into almost everything they do. Sounds harmless, right? Well, it is. Check your pre-conceived notions at the door and do some googling – if you find yourself eye-rolling as you read, you’re denying yourself and your soul the opportunity to learn and see something different.

Much like anything else deemed “abnormal”, or weird, I think we’ve ignored a lot of what originates from Pagan tradition and how a lot of modern religions honor this. Even what we know today, of Saints, religious symbolism within Christianity, isn’t so different. I think everyone has the God-given right to believe what they choose, and no one can take that away from them. What I think is even more important is that you also cannot take that away from anyone else, either. We live in a world with 7 BILLION+ other souls – and the idea that each one can see the same thing much differently is absolutely crazy, isn’t it?

Moral of the story, I am not pro or anti- St Patrick’s Day. Some years I get into it, others I like to honor other sides of the traditions that it comes from. If you do decide to do some research today in honor of St Patrick’s Day. I hope you learn something that moves you, and drives you to be accepting of others. I hope that you can draw some correlation to how maybe we haven’t really lost touch with the roots of this holiday, but are celebrating it in spite of what it started out as. Again – believe what you choose, and be passionate about it. But there’s 7 billion seats at this dinner table, and everyone deserves to be there. Honor yourself by honoring others! 🙂

*note: sources of this information are from my own education on these topics. If you would like to do research, please make sure you are relying on fact-based outlets, educational and scholarly articles, and moderated/unbiased media.

Cabbage, White Bean and Potato Hash (Gluten-Free, Vegan)

prep time: 10 min

cook time: 30 min

Ingredients

• 1 small head of green cabbage, sliced, core and large stems removed
• 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed
• 1 can of white kidney beans (cannellini), drained and rinsed
• 3 large baking potatoes, peeled and cut into ½ in cubes
• salt and pepper, to taste
• olive oil, for sautéing

Directions

1. In a large skillet, add your oil over medium heat. Add onion – sauté until translucent, about 4-5 minutes. Add your potatoes and cover, allowing to steam. Stir every few minutes and sauté until potatoes are slightly soft, about another 10 minutes or so. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper.
2. Turn your heat to low. Add your cabbage and stir to mix – cover and let steam, stirring every few minutes. Once mixture is visibly wilted and browning in spots, add your beans. Stir to mix, and cover. Let cook for 2-3 minutes.
3. Once mixture is thoroughly heated, remove lid and turn heat back to medium to allow the starches in the potatoes and beans to dry. Sauté for another 4-5 minutes and remove from heat. If you prefer crisp, continue to sauté until at your preferred level of browned cabbage and potatoes. Serve and enjoy! (Optional for non-Vegans – crumble some bacon over the top).

🙂

-S