Holidays, salutes, special days, are a strong part of our world.
Ordinary and humdrum occur, however, are by no means special. Necessary perhaps, forgettable.
St. Patrick’s Day does not carry world-wide significance, however, offers a more social environment than truly religious. Yet, religion is a part of the day and its significance going back to 1601 and 1762. St. Patrick died March 17, 461.
All special days and holidays have historical perspectives and the more we take the time to understand, the more well-rounded we are and the better off we are. Some holidays are fully intertwined into our culture. Think Fourth of July, Christmas, Labor Day. Each is special. Each has significance, and each offers differences, patriotic and secular, religious and secular, and secular and work-oriented.
Our culture revolves around special reasons for the holidays and includes traditions, purely secular, and purely religious. We should embrace the holidays each in a special way.
St. Patrick’s Day started strictly as a religious holiday, however, few today would treat it as a religious holiday.
Celebration of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday February 12 to the December holidays, including the Christmas season, are important. A secular comment could view the Christmas season, most of December, as important, because in the current December days, retail merchants make money to sustain businesses the rest of the year.
Abraham Lincoln is important because the United States was kept as one country with a sense of prevailing unity to do good deeds historically, in spite of the what the naysayers try to make us believe about ourselves.
Embrace the holiday, each one, because each offers significance, and we can live up to the values, and make our lives and our country better.
We do not need to be Irish to embrace St. Patrick’s Day, however, see the best in it.