First and foremost, I'm neither Catholic nor Irish.
Second, I don't partake in drunken revelry for no apparent reason.
Lastly, and this might be the biggest one, I don't approve of evangelism.
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| "I haaaaaave EXerCIIIIIIzed the DE-MONS!" |
Historically, St. Patrick was the son of a couple of Roman Catholics who lived in Britain in the 4th or 5th Century AD. When he was about 16, he was kidnapped and spirited away to Ireland, where he lived as a slave for about six years before escaping back to his family. He came back years later, after having gone through priest school, and he converted Ireland to Christianity and did something with snakes. He died on March 17th some time in the 5th Century.
According to fossil records, there haven't been snakes in Ireland for a very long time, and by "long time," I mean "approximately 15 thousand years." There are no snakes on Ireland, Greenland, Iceland, New Zealand, or Antarctica (the last one seems obvious). The reason is that any snake residing there would have been killed during the last ice age, since snakes are cold-blooded and unable to survive in an area where the ground stays frozen all year round.
"But what about after the ice age?" you might be asking. "Ireland is pretty nice nowadays. Why don't snakes just move in now?"
Well, they can't. Ireland is an island, and so far, there haven't been any snakes who have successfully swam there. Swum? Swam? Swum just looks weird.
In fact, no terrestrial snake has ever swam/swum anywhere to establish a new land-based habitat. That's why Ireland, Greenland, Iceland, and New Zealand are snakeless; they might be able to support serpent life in modern times, but the last time there were land bridges connecting any of them to snake-filled lands, it was simply too cold for them to survive. So when Patrick was ministering in Ireland, there were no slithery snakes anywhere, and hadn't been for a very long time.
So, what's with this "driving the snakes out of Ireland" business, then? Was St. Patrick a big fat holy liar?
No, he wasn't a liar with his pants constantly on fire. The predominant religion in the British Isles before the invasion of the Romans was Druidism, which had been brought by the Celts when they migrated to the islands from mainland Europe.
One of Druidism's most powerful symbols was that of the serpent. Unlike Christianity, where the poor snake is depicted as evil and even the actual Devil himself, Druidism revered the serpent as a symbol of rejuvenation or rebirth due to its habit of shedding its skin. In many old Pagan or shamanistic religions, the serpent was also a symbol of wisdom.
In Ireland especially, the cult of Crom Cruiach was known for its worship of snakes. Many Celtic goddesses identified with snakes. For an island with no snakes, snakes sure were popular.
"Driving the snakes out of Ireland" was a metaphor for driving the Druidic religion out of Ireland. St. Patrick made converts of hundreds of Celtic druids. Some people say it was peacefully, some people say it wasn't. I don't know, I wasn't there. I'm inclined to believe that there were probably a lot of the Druids who were converted against their will or at the threat of torture or death, but that's just me.
So yeah, that's why I don't like or observe St. Patrick's Day. I have a problem with religiocide (that's not a real word, but you get my drift). I think people should be able to worship how they want, and as long as it's not hurting anyone (no human sacrifices, please), it shouldn't be anyone's business. St. Patrick himself was probably a nice enough guy, but I still respectfully disagree with his actions against the Druids in Ireland.
I also think he'd be upset to hear that his holiday is fraught with leprechauns.
credit: the pic of the televangelist Kenneth Copeland is from cbsnews.com.
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