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March 17 is St. Patrick’s Day

March 17, 2017/0 Comments/in March

St. Patrick

Today is St. Patrick’s Day, the rare religious holiday that everybody celebrates. Everybody.

It’s believed he was born in Roman-ruled Britain in 385 AD. At age sixteen, he was kidnapped by marauders who took him to Ireland and sold him into slavery. Several years later, Patrick had a religious experience in which God told him to flee to the coast, where a ship would be waiting to take him home. When he got back, he became a priest.

Later, he returned to Ireland as a missionary and carried a shamrock, which has three leaves, to help explain the trinity of Father, Son and Holy Ghost. He may have used it to appeal to pagans who worshiped nature or believed in triple deities. One thing is certain: the four-leaf clover has nothing to do with St. Patrick’s Day.

Patrick is said to have converted thousands. The story that he drove all the snakes out of Ireland probably refers to his efforts to rid the country of Druids, members of a religious sect who were often labeled as sorcerers. There have never been any snakes in Ireland, except for those in zoos.

Patrick died of natural causes on March 17, 461. Today, people around the world will celebrate the 1,555th anniversary of his death. The rules governing Lent–prayer, fasting, penance, etc.–are lifted today, which may help explain why St. Patrick’s Day has become associated with parades and parties and drinking to excess.

St. Patrick isn’t officially a saint. The Roman Catholic Church had no canonization process in place at the time. Still, by sheer force of numbers, he is celebrated more than any other saint. His appeal has grown far beyond that of a religious icon; he is a cultural superstar. So raise a glass, sing an Irish Rovers tune at the top of your lungs and, whatever you do, have a happy St. Patrick’s Day!

March 5 is St. Piran’s Day

March 5, 2017/0 Comments/in March

Today is St. Piran’s Day, which honors the death of the patron saint of Cornish tin miners. According to legend, Saint Piran was born in Ireland in the fifth century, traveled to Rome to study the scriptures and was made a bishop upon his return.

The miracles he performed, such as raising soldiers from the dead, caused alarm and bought him a one-way ticket off a cliff with a millstone tied around his neck.

He didn’t sink into the sea but floated upon it to Perran Beach in Cornwall, where he built a chapel among the sand dunes. People from miles around flocked to hear him preach and witness his miracles.

It’s said that he discovered tin in Cornwall when a black stone upon which he’d built a fire leaked white fluid. The Cornish flag of St. Piran pays tribute to this story with its white cross on a black background, signifying tin flowing from the stone and good conquering evil.

According to Reverend William Haslam’s 1844 book, Perran-Zabuloe: With an Account of the Past and Present State of the Oratory of St. Piran in the Sands:

At length…worn out with age and infirmity, St. Piran called his followers around him, and, having addressed them for the last time, desired a grave to be prepared. He then took leave of them, and, descending into it with calmness, his spirit departed on the 5th day of March, about 480.

There is also a folktale that St. Piran’s body was exhumed and chopped up into pieces that were sent to churches for their reliquaries. Other accounts say he lived over 200 years, liked to drink and died by falling down a well. We have been unable to confirm or refute any of these stories.

A highlight of the St. Piran’s Day festivities is the World Pasty Championships. A traditional Cornish pasty is solely composed of beef, potatoes, turnips, onion and seasoning covered in a pastry crust which is crimped on the end and baked. Variations will be allowed during the competition.

Eden Project, an educational charity sponsoring the contest, has devised this Google map of pasty-related noshes around the globe.

The Cornish Pasty Association reports that the pasty became popular with miners in the 1800s. Tinners had no break to come to the surface so their wives had to make something that could easily be carried, held and eaten in the depths of a mine. Some say the crimped edge acted as a handhold, thrown out to prevent fingers covered with poisons like arsenic from contaminating the food. Others argue that pasties were wrapped in muslin or paper so that every bit could be eaten.

This day will culminate in the Trelawney Shout. At 9 pm in pubs across Cornwall, participants will sing the Cornish anthem, The Song of the Western Men, written in 1824 by Robert Stephen Hawker. Brush up on the lyrics and raise a glass to St. Piran and the men and women of Cronwall.

Happy St. Piran’s Day!

February 22 is World Thinking Day

February 22, 2017/0 Comments/in February

Today is World Thinking Day. It doesn’t mean we get to lay off thinking the rest of the year. It doesn’t mean the Earth is a sentient being. What is it? Read six (very short) paragraphs to find out.

In 1899, Robert Baden-Powell wrote a field manual for fellow British soldiers called Aids to Scouting. The following year, he was declared a war hero for his bravery in conflict and the book became well-known. It was especially popular with boys, who staged elaborate games based on his instructions about observation and tracking.

After learning of this, Baden-Powell formed the Boy Scouts in 1907. The next year, he published Scouting for Boys, a guide stressing the importance of good deeds and morality. He set up a central office, which registered new Scouts and designed a uniform. By the end of 1908, there were 60,000 Boy Scouts.

In September 1909, 10,000 Scouts attended the first national Boy Scout rally at Crystal Palace in London. Many girls showed up, claiming to be members. Baden-Powell founded the Girl Guides, also known as Girl Scouts in many countries, as a separate entity in 1910, eventually appointing his wife Olave to run it.

The Girl Scouts held its first conference in Oxford, England in 1920. It was held every two years until 1954 and every three years since. The 36th World Conference is scheduled to take place in Tunisia in 2017.

At the fourth World Conference in 1926, delegates met at Camp Edith Macy in Briarcliff Manor, NY, a facility owned by the Girls Scouts of the USA. Participants decided to dedicate a day to thinking of their counterparts around the world and expressing thanks to the organization that brought them all together.

They called it Thinking Day and chose February 22 as the date for its annual observance because it was the birthday of both Robert Baden-Powell and his wife, Olave Baden-Powell. It’s since become known as World Thinking Day and millions of girls celebrate it.

Is all this new knowledge making you crave some cookies? There’s an app for that. The Girl Scout Cookie Finder is available on iOS and Android. Who says history can’t be delicious?

Happy World Thinking Day!

February 5 is World Nutella Day

February 5, 2017/0 Comments/in February

Today is World Nutella Day. It seems pretty straightforward, right? In 2007, fangirl Sara Rosso declared February 5th a holiday to honor the delicious chocolate hazelnut spread. Nutelladay.com became a place for people to celebrate, swap recipes and share tales of devotion.

As of May 2013, the World Nutella Day Facebook page had 40,000 likes. That’s when Ferrero, maker of Nutella, sent Rosso a letter demanding she shut down nutelladay.com and cease all activities relating to the product.

Rosso had been careful to stress that she had no affiliation with the manufacturer. Earlier that year, the site had noted. “Ferrero S.p.A. is not officially involved with World Nutella Day, nor are the organizers compensated by Ferrero in any way for organizing it; World Nutella Day is truly a labor of love for the tasty treat.”

Apparently, Ferrero didn’t appreciate the free publicity. It ending up receiving much, much more: the story was covered by Bloomberg Business, Time, Adweek, Huffington Post, Observer and Gawker, among many others. The company scrambled to retract its demand and make nice with Russo, asking her to continue running the site.

All’s well that ends well—for a while. Ferrero quietly took control of nutelladay.com. Today the site thanks her for starting the holiday and building a global fanbase, then states “In 2015, Sara transferred World Nutella Day to Ferrero (the makers of Nutella) to help it live on and grow for years to come.

“So for 2016, we searched for a new Chief Nutella Ambassador—someone with Sara’s delicious devotion—to help us lead the fans for this upcoming World Nutella Day.” They chose a 21-year-old college junior who bought her first jar of Nutella when she was a freshman. So she’s fairly new to the love of Nutella. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

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