Wednesday, March 17, 2010

St. Patrick's Day

Hey all,

It's Saint Patricks day today so does that mean you're gonna dress up in green, talk about rainbows, gold, leprachauns and luck? Maybe go to a pub and celebrate? Well, I was curious about who Patrick was so I did some research.

Apparently, Patrick was taken captive as a slave to Ireland where he grew in his faith and prayed often, eventually recieving direction and visions from God. He escaped and joined the church, returning to Ireland as a missionary and Christanizing the country, removing pagan practises. So in Ireland, now in days, today is both a national holiday and a holy day. Some people pray for missionaries around the world, while others just celebrate Ireland.

Yet, from such God focused beginnings, what often happens today seems so distant from historical events. (Much like Santa and Christmas eh?). Seems like most holidays start out with such God focused beginnings and then turn into a materialistic celebration (Easter and the bunny, Valentine's Day and sex...). Kinda messed up. Yet, as Christians, knowing the real meaning and truth behind events, we can chose to celebrate accordingly. I personally think it's a shame what these holidays become.

Yet, at the same time, it's not all bad. There is nothing wrong with celebrating the culture and food of a country for one day and enjoying festivities. I've always been fascinated with Ireland.  It's just the secularization and forgetting about God that I don't like.

So, have fun today all but remember that it's God who changed lives so long ago and still does today...

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