As resident Irish(wo)man, I thought I’d give us all a quick bite of the day.

St. Patrick was born in Roman England about 80 years after the Emperor Constantine declared that being Christian would now be tolerated in the empire. His parents were openly Christian, but, like many people his age, he didn’t really feel it and didn’t consider himself to be Christian. While living the privileged life of a (British?) Roman noble, he was captured by Irish pirates and sold into slavery. During the long days of solitude while tending his master’s sheep, he began to pray the prayers of his parents. He began to have visions of his escape and dedication to god. He did escape and joined the priesthood, after which, he requested to be granted missionary status to the pagans in Ireland. While he did eventually get this, his bishops thought he was a nutball.

He was the first Christian to attempt to bring the Good News to the pagans in Ireland. As is common for saints of this period (mid-300s), his history is mixed with legend and allegory. The legend of him banishing all the snakes from the island country by driving them into the sea is an allegory for Christianizing the pagans, for whom the snake (this can be seen in many Celtic myths involving snakes & dragons, including that of King Arthur) was a sacred beast symbolic of the spirit. It may also allegorically describe harsh methods employed, but that is simply my speculation. Even the three-leafed shamrock (literally “little clover”) was already a pagan sacred symbol since three was a holy number for the Celts, too. The use of local symbols by Padraig (the Gaelic spelling of the good saint’s name) to help convert the pagans may very well have informed Christianity in Ireland today. Already believing water to be sacred, baptism was a familiar rite for them, and many of their pagan gods & goddesses became Christian saints (including my favorite, Bride/Brigid) including their legends.

Personally, I think that Irish Christianity (which is a form of Catholicism) is one of the happiest religions I’ve ever encountered. They’re very at peace with their place in the universe & on earth. Maybe it speaks to some primal Irish bit o’ me, but I’d love to spend more time exploring the island’s sacred sights (I’ve kissed the Blarney stone, so you can take the above which however much salt you feel is necessary).

Today, though, do more than just wear green. Be green!

Here are some ideas:
• forget Kyoto
• telecommute! (you can wait until Monday to do that one)
• find alternative ways to get around
‚Ä¢ learn Gaelic (just like French always sounds like you’re making love, German always sounds like you’re swearing, Gaelic always sounds like you’re blessing)
• stop being dependant on foreign oil & start being dependant on local fast food
‚Ä¢ if that’s too pricey, start your own urb garden (if you can’t find good herb plants, start seedlings in (cardboard) egg cartons and when they’re ready to be transplanted, just plant the egg cartons); if you’ve more space than than, try an herb spiral; Jana really beat me to this one, since she’s got her whole veggie garden going
• or become a guerilla and bomb something (if you do it right before it rains, you can use old newspaper to wrap it); a homeopathic bomb looks interesting, too
‚Ä¢ if that’s too militant, recycle! (for SLC)
• plant a tree (or anything green, really, shamrocks if you must)
• buy nothing or if you must, buy used
• bike
• make this your email signature:

Eco-Tip: Printing emails is usually a waste.
to make this tip go viral, add it to your email signature

eh, I’ve run out. Now I have go to drive 70 miles…so these are obviously just suggestions. Please leave additional suggestions in the comments (sorry if this is LA centric, you can Google the pertinent activities followed by your favorite city to get different results)