I despise St. Patrick’s Day. I love the connection to Irish culture, but celebrating Irish culture was NOT what “St. Patrick” was all about. In fact, his mission was to do just the opposite.
To dispel the “St.Patrick” myth bullshit, here are some FACTS:
1) Padraic was Roman NOT Irish/Gaelic.
2) No archaeological evidence of snakes has EVER been found in Ireland because Ireland is COLD. Getting rid of snakes in Ireland was a metaphor for getting rid of the indigenous pagan spirituality and converting the Irish pagans to Christianity. Remember, Abrahamic religions have always cast the serpent as a villain, whereas Eastern and enlightened cultures view the serpent as a symbol for knowledge and awakening. It’s no wonder that Christian missionaries feared the pagan spirit then and now.
3) Though Rome was in decline, the church was on the rise. Padraic was sent by the Christian church to convert the pagans/heathens/Gaelic ne’er-do-wells to the state religion of the failing Roman Empire: Christianity. As became typical of the Christian church, their marketing campaign was “Convert to Jesus or die.” Did the church really want to save souls? Of course, not. The first-century Romans actually detested the Irish and Scottish bands of Gaels, as well as the Picts (in what is now Scotland). The Romans built Hadrian’s Wall to keep these rough barbarians from sullying their newly conquered Britannia. Then why were the Irish and Scottish so important to the Roman church a few centuries later? The church needed more people in its clutches to pay tithes and penances to fund its expansion and “crusades” (killing people in Jesus’ name).
Padraic used traditional Gaelic spirituality to correlate the Christian narrative of Iesus’ (Jesus) birth, life, and death, thus conning the Irish into accepting Christianity to go alongside with the indigenous Gaelic beliefs. Thus began the systematic assimilation of a male trinity (supplanting the female trinity of the goddess culture of Ireland) as well as the now prevalent misogynistic patriarchal culture that has overtaken all matriarchal cultures in the Western world.
Remember, Jesus was killed by the Romans, and Padraic (Patrick) was a Roman infiltrator (emphasis on “traitor”) to “convert” Ireland’s pagans from their indigenous spirituality to the indoctrination and assimilation of the patriarchal imperial regime, whose intolerance, misogyny, and hypocrisy are still felt to this day via the anti-woman Catholic Church and even the rise of religious fundamentalism in America.
To learn about the indigenous spirituality of Ireland, watch the BBC program, “Sacred Wonders of Britain,” which looks at the sacred sites, the goddess culture, and the history of the native peoples of the British isles — before Christianity and the Germanic influx ruined it all.
So there you have it. Please stop acting like “Patrick” did something good for Ireland. He didn’t. Patrick was a crucial part of the suppression of Ireland’s indigenous culture. Wake up.
…. and if you’re going to shorten his name, it’s St. Paddy’s, NOT St. Patty’s.
…. and don’t get me started on use of the word “Celtic” to describe anything Irish or Scottish….
Erin (and paganism) go Bragh!
trish
I did not know about the slaughter but I’m not surprised in the least. More than anything else, Saint Paddy’s Day is a rallying point for the Irish in America and–like corn beef and cabbage–we’re ignorant of the deeper roots. This was too good to keep so I had to share it on twitter and facebook.
The deeper roots consist of white-on-white oppression that isn’t PC to talk about, much less complain about. But if we could have an actual conversation about IMPERIAL regimes oppressing anyone and everyone they deemed unworthy to be in their elite club, then we can start to address many problems — particularly the “class warfare” here in America (1% vs everyone else including whites).
Great post, Trish. I think the Irish, like most oppressed groups, have used something that represents their oppression, reclaimed it, and use it as a source of pride. While the history behind this holiday is anything but “Irish” in a true sense, it is used by both the Irish and those of Irish descent to celebrate a heritage and being a part of a truly special origin of which they can be proud, despite hardships and discrimination. Then again, it is used by some as an excuse to get drunk and wear green. But…leave it to Americans (and pub-loving Irish…I’ve spent time there, it’s true!! 😀 ) to make everything a party!