Wednesday, March 13, 2002
|
Wednesday, March 13, 2002 |
|
Get in the spirit with St. Patrick's Day events By MICHAEL
BOYLAN St. Patrick's Day is this Sunday and people all over the world will be getting into the spirit of the day. They will be wearing their green, twirling shamrocks or perhaps wearing t-shirts or pins that say, "Kiss me, I'm Irish." St. Patrick's Day is now a secular holiday but its origins are in the church. St. Patrick was born in 385 A.D. and became the second bishop of Ireland. He spread Christianity throughout the country and helped build schools and churches. Rumor has it he drove the snakes out of Ireland, but snakes were not native to the land, so this may have been a metaphor for driving out paganism. The shamrock, one of the symbols of St. Patrick's Day, is believed to have been used by St. Patrick to explain the Holy Trinity all existing together. St. Patrick died on March 17, 461 at the age of 76. St. Patrick's Day has been celebrated every year on that date ever since. The holiday came to the United States in 1737 and was first celebrated in Boston, Mass. There a few large events in the Atlanta area to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, including the 121st annual St. Patrick's Day Parade. The parade, Saturday, March 16, is at 1 p.m. and travels down E. Paces Ferry Road from its intersection with Maple Drive. It will feature 24 major floats and more than 200 units. Grand marshals will be Irish heroes of the 9/11 tragedy, including members of the New York Police Department, the Fire Department of New York and the New York Port Authority. Other groups involved in this year's parade will be marching bands, members of the Georgia National Guard, the Georgia Renaissance Festival, Girl Scouts, clowns, members of local civic groups, Civil War re-enactors and bagpipe players, as well as the Klingon Assault Group (that's right, Klingon, like on Star Trek) and the Star Wars 501st Stormtrooper Legion. The other main event of the weekend is Celtic fiddler Liz Carroll's performance at Spivey Hall Sunday at 3 p.m. She was named Traditional Musician of the Year 2000 by Irish Echo. Her album, "Liz Carroll," was chosen as a select record of American folk music by the Library of Congress. Carroll is different from most traditional fiddle players in that she composes the majority of her music. Tickets are $25. Phone 770-961-3683 or visit www.spiveyhall.org. If none of these events appeal to you, slap on some green clothes and crank up a U2 or a Pogues album and enjoy the spring weather.
|
