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( 12/23/2012 wh )

The Luck 'O the Irish; The wearing of the Green; St Patrick

Only days left until St. Patrick's Day - March 17th 2005

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Ever wonder where the term Luck 'o the Irish, or Irish Luck, came from? If so, then read on for a liitle history/legend about Saint Patrick's Day and Irish Luck.

Saint Patrick:

The whole thing started with Saint Patrick. Actually, Saint Patrick was not Irish. He was born around 373 A.D. in either Scotland (near the town of Dumbarton) or in Roman Britain (the Romans left Britain in 410 A.D.). His real name is believed to be Maewyn Succat (he took on Patrick, or Patricus, after he became a priest). He was kidnapped at the age of 16 and sold into slavery in Ireland. During his 6-year captivity (he worked as a shepherd), he began to have religious visions. He finally escaped (after voices in one of his visions told him where he could find a getaway ship) and went to France, where he became a priest (and later a bishop). When he was about 60 years old, Saint Patrick returned to Ireland to spread the Christian word. It's said that Patrick had an unusually winning personality, and that helped him win converts.

Shamrocks:

Shamrock (Irish Seamrog or Seamroy for "little clover") is the common name for any of several trifoliate (3 leaf) clovers native to Ireland. The shamrock was originally chosen as the national emblem of Ireland because of the legend that Saint Patrick used the trefoil plant to illustrate the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. Most shamrocks, particularly the small-leaved white clover, have been considered by the Irish as good-luck symbols since earliest times. Before the Christian era it was a sacred plant among the Druids of Ireland because its leaves formed a triad.

Throughout history, the number three is one of the numbers considered special or magical. This superstition has persisted in modern times among people of many nationalities. In the modern Western World, the rare finding of a four leaf clover is said to double one's good luck.

The trefoil in Arabia is called Shamrakh and was sacred in Iran as an emblem of the Persian triads. As the number three was sacred in the Celtic and other religions, it is thought that Saint Patrick must have considered this in choosing the three leafed plant to demonstrate the three-in-one nature of the Christian Ttrinity of the Father, the Son and The Holy Spirit. A group of his followers came to him and admitted it was difficult for them to believe in the Holy Trinity. Saint Patrick thought for a moment. He stooped down and plucked a leaf from the Shamrock growing at his feet. He held it before them and said, "Behold the living example of the Three-in-One." From that day forward, the Shamrock has been revered throughout Ireland!

The mystique of the Shamrock (white clover plant) continues today since there is not a clover plant that produces four leaflets. A fourth leaflet is a rare occurrence! One leaf is for HOPE, the second for FAITH, the third for LOVE, and the fourth for LUCK! Having had a bad time with Great Britain over the years, the Luck 'o the Irish, obviously is a misnomer. It seems that Irish luck is strictly related to four leaf clovers.

Saint Patrick's Day

Saint Patrick's Day is celebrated on March 17th, to honor and celebrate the death anniversary of St. Patrick the patron saint of Ireland. St. Patrick's day is celebrated with parades and marching bands. People eat corned beef, cabbage and Irish soda bread. Some people sing and dance the Irish jig. The shamrock leaf is a symbol of St. Patrick and Ireland. St. Patrick used a three leafed clover to explain the concept of the Trinity (father,son and holy spirit). Many people wear green on this day. Green symbolizes the color of spring, Ireland and the shamrock. Ireland is called the "Emerald Isle"as it has lots of green pastures.

The Blarney stone

The Blarney stone is in the Irish village of Blarney in the wall of the Blarney castle. Legend has it that kissing the stone gives a person the ability to speak sweetly and convincingly.

Snakes:

Legend has it that Saint Patrick drove all the snakes out of Ireland -- that they all went into the sea and drowned. Poor snakes. I don't know why he would want to do this, except that the snake was a revered pagan symbol, and perhaps this was a figurative tale alluding to the fact that he drove paganism out of Ireland. He was said to have done this by beating a drum. He also made the soil fatal to all serpents who touched it. One day, there was a stubborn snake that refused to leave. Saint Patrick constructed a box and tried to lure the snake into it. The snake refused, stating that the box was too small. Saint Patrick told the snake that it was big enough and to just give it a try. The snake agreed, just to prove that the box was too small, and he entered the box. Saint Patrick immediately closed the lid on the snake and threw the box, snake and all, into the ocean. Nice guy!

Leprechauns:

Leprechauns are also associated with Saint Patrick's Day, although I'm not sure why. Leprechauns of legend are actually mean little creatures, with the exception of the Lucky Charms guy. They were probably added later on to give card makers something cute to put on their cards. A Leprechaun looks like a small, old man (about 2 feet tall), often dressed like a shoemaker, with a cocked hat and a leather apron. According to legend, Leprechauns are aloof and unfriendly, live alone, and pass the time making shoes. They also possess a hidden pot of gold. Treasure hunters can often track down a leprechaun by the sound of his shoemaker's hammer. If caught, he can be forced (with the threat of bodily violence) to reveal the whereabouts of his treasure, but the captor must keep their eyes on him every second. If the captor's eyes leave the Leprechaun (and he often tricks them into looking away), he vanishes, and all hopes of finding the treasure are lost.

Pinching:

School children have started a little tradition of their own -- they pinch classmates who don't wear green on Saint Patrick's Day. We promise not to pinch those who come to the dance without their green.

St. Patrick's Day Vocabulary Words

Irish Vocabulary Words:- legend, symbol, jig, shamrock, blarney stone, leprechauns, pot of gold

Send Free St Patrick's Day Greetings Cards

http://www.reagoso.com/irishdance.htm (All about Irish Dancing, with more links to Irish Dancing sites)

http://wilstar.com/holidays/patrick.htm (More St. Patrick's day info and links to even more...)

http://www.tourismireland.com/stpatricksday/ (About St. Patrick's Day in Ireland)

http://www.southsideirishparade.org/ (St. Patrick's Day parade in Chicago)

http://www.cstone.net/~bry-back/holidayfun/stpats.html (St Patrick's poems, St Patrick's clip art, St. Patrick's Poems, St. Patrick's Icons -- freely downloadable)

http://www.st-patricks-day.com/index.asp (About St. Patrick; Parades, events, and fun stuff, even a "PaddyMatch" for the Irish lovelorn)

http://www.infoplease.com/spot/stpatsday1.html (History, Lore, Irish geography, and St. Patrick's Day information)

Roberto's Week: http://www.geocities.com/robertoinc/

Tidewater USABDA: http://www.twusadance.org/

Peninsula USABDA: http://www.twosteptidewater.com/usabda-pen.htm

Atlantic Sea Shore Dance Faire: http://www.atlanticdancefaire.com/

A Time to Dance: www.atimetodanceonline.com

Amy's: http://www.geocities.com/amysdance

Country Bootleggers: http://www.countrybootleggers.com/

DanceSport VA: www.dancesportva.com

Doug High Dance Studio: http://www.dhdancestudio.com/interest.htm

Dancing by Knight: http://www.dancingbyknight.com/
Mid-Atlantic Dance Jam: http://www.atlanticdancejam.com/
Easterns Website: http://www.DanceEasterns.com

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If you know of a studio or group that hosts showcases, workshops and other special events please keep me informed by e-mail and I will try to post the events on this newsletter. Due to lack of time I cannot list all the regular group classes and studio parties on the newsletter. However, we will link to them on our web site www.TwoStepTidewater.com

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Remember, support the good dance venues! Clean, well run clubs, Studios, Competitions, USABDA and any other decent dance place need support to continue. Check our web site and our long range planning information today. We offer a listing of places for couples to dance. If you know of others, Mail it to us:

( Walter & Judy Schultz or Will Harper)

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Walter & Judy Schultz

Home - 483-9410 Studio - 473-3267

www.twosteptidewater.com

Walter & Judy Schultz

Country-Western, Swing, Latin and Ballroom

Dance every Sunday night unless notified 6:30pm to 10pm

Held at "DanceSport VA" (Note: We are NOT "DanceSport VA", we only rent space for our parties from them Check our links for them)

Arrowhead Drive - Va. Bch

1 Block East of Newtown Rd. - Off Princess Anne Road

Turn Just Past Big Al's Muffler

$8.00 per person

Basic Lesson, Three Hours of Smoke Free Dancing

Drink and munchies provided

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Any other ideas??? Mail it to us: ( Walter & Judy Schultz or Will Harper)

Go To: [Two Step Tidewater Home] [This Week At Two Step Tidewater Virginia] [Future Dance Events] [Dance Tips Menu] [C&W Dance FAQs] [Dance & C&W Clip Art] [Dancers Supplies and other dancing stuff] [Links and other places to dance] [Dancing friends personal home pages] [Country Bootlegger studio] [Tidewater Swing Dance Club (TSDC)] [USABDA-Peninsula dancing club] [Two Left Feet Professional Dancers] [Sam & Denise Miller, Professional Dancers] [Roberto's week] [Singles at Two Step Tidewater] [Dancing, Fitness and Health] [Dance lessons and other activities promoted by local community recreation centers, "Y," and etc] [Line Dance On Line Newsletter] [Interstate Directions to Two Step Tidewater] [Report Web Site Problems]

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OUR POLICY: Webmasters; You are granted permission to copy any content from our web site, provided that you provide a link to http://www.twosteptidewater.com (Contact us by email if you would like a reciprocal link). We are always looking for ways to make Two Step Tidewater Virginia THE PLACE for dance information in the Tidewater area (Norfolk VA, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake VA, Suffolk VA, Portsmouth VA, Newport News VA, Hampton va, Hampton Roads VA, Yorktown VA, Gloucester VA, Jamestown VA, and Williamsburg VA) - and for other dance events or dance locations which are of interest to Tidewater (Southside and Peninsula) area Hampton Roads dancers. We prefer to exchange links with other dance-information sites. To add a dance link, or exchange links with your web pages, email Will Harper or Walter Schultz. Worthy dance events, may post to our web site by emailing a cut-and-paste ready announcement. Your announcement can be just a text announcement or even a full web page. We will host an ongoing web page, at no cost, for Tidewater Area dance-related activities, without their own web page. Be sure to include date, time, cost, contact and location information for your event. In exchange, we ask that anyone posting to our site, include a reference to www.twosteptidewater.com on your site and/or in your intra-group's mailing list emails. (Not just C&W. We'll include Ballroom, Swing, WCS, Disco, Folk, or just churches or other clubs with dances.) We will attempt to post/remove events within a couple of days - but we cannot accept responsibility for missing an event or any other reason. We will attempt to verify ALL links, to prevent any offensive or off-topic links, but, again, cannot be responsible for other's.

Webmaster: Will Harper

( http://www.willharper.com , http://www.hyperlearn.com , http://www.unityren.com , http://www.parkwaymfg.com http://www.holyhi.com http://www.niman-meyers.com )

(www.twosteptidewater.com The Best smoke free Country & Western two step (2-step, Texas two-step), Ballroom, Latin, Disco (Hustle), West Coast Swing (WCS), Night Club two-step, Swing Dancing for all of South East Virginia (VA) or North East North Carolina beaches areas (Norfolk VA, Virginia Beach VA, Chesapeake VA, Suffolk VA, Portsmouth VA, Newport News VA, Hampton va, Hampton Roads VA, Yorktown VA, Gloucester VA, Jamestown VA, Williamsburg VA, Hickory NC, and the beaches and outer banks of North Carolina (NC)