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March 17: Saint Patrick's Day
1. March 14: Pi day
In the United States,
March 14, or
3/14, is PI day, from the Greek π symbol for the ratio of the circumference to diameter of a circle. In Europe, Pi day is
July 22 or
22/7, from the Archimedes approximation of pi, from the 3rd century BC, of
22/7.
| March 14: Pi day |
| Month |
day |
Europe |
United States |
| March |
14 |
14/3 |
3/14 |
| July |
22 |
22/7 |
7/22 |
Europe puts the day first, then the month.
The United States puts the month first, then the day (not the military).
Albert Einstein (1879-1955) was born on pi day on March 14, 1879.
2. Aye
The English word
"aye" comes from the idea of "
ever" or "
always" as opposed to "
nay" which comes from the idea of "
not" or "
no".
This is different from the "
Ides of March" which is often associated with the assassination of Julius Caesar on March 15, 44 BC.
The Latin word
"Idus Martiae" ≈ "Ides of March" was on March 15, eight days after the "
nones", where March is named for the god of War. The Latin word
"idus" ≈ "divide" from an Etruscan verb.
 |
Details are left as a future topic.
|
3. March 17: Saint Patrick's Day
Saint Patrick's Day is March 17, the date of his (supposed) death. Tradition is that Leprechauns wear green. If you do not wear green, you risk getting pinched. Green is invisible to Leprechauns.
Saint Patrick, known as the "
Apostle of Ireland" and patron saint of Ireland, was a Christian missionary during the 5th century AD.
At about age 16 he was captured by Irish pirates raiding Britain and made a slave tending animals. After six years he escaped and returned to his family. He became a cleric and returned to his place of captivity as a missionary.
4. Snakes
By legend, Saint Patrick banished the snakes from Ireland, even though this absence of snakes in Ireland was noted by Solinus same 200 years earlier.
The legend hearkens back to the snakes of Pharaoh at the time of Moses and Aaron in Exodus 7:8-13.
The Celts had worshiped (images and idols of) serpents. Patrick did help drive those out of Ireland.
5. Clover
According to legend, Saint Patrick used the shamrock, or
clover, to explain the Trinity to those he was trying to convert.
One view: The three leaves stand for Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
Another view: The three leaves stand for faith, hope and love.
From a Trinitarian point of view, each leaf is separate but connected.
6. Lucky clover
Why is clover, and a four leaf clover, lucky?
Most clover have three leaves. A few have four leaves.
Celtic charm of a four-leaf clover gave magical protection and helped ward off bad luck to make one lucky.
John Milton (1620) : first literary reference
One legend: Adam and Eve took a single four-leaf clover as they left paradise.
One luck of the clover was that of being good food for animals such as cows, horses, etc.
7. Lucky Charms
What year was the Lucky Charms breakfast cereal introduced by General Mills?
1964
Lucky Charms from that first year:
pink hearts
yellow moons
orange stars
green clovers
blue diamonds (1975)
...
8. The gall of the Celts
The Romans called the
Celts the
Gauls. The area of Gaul's (Celts) in Asia Minor was called Galatia.
Paul wrote the letter to these Galatians.
Julius Caesar slaughtered hundreds of thousands of Gauls and wrote back glowing letters to Rome about his accomplishments.
Galatia, as in Paul's Letter to the
Galatians (or Celts) were populated by Gauls/Celts.
Celts is pronounced with a hard "C" as in "K" as in "Kelts".
Celtics, as in the Boston Celtics basketball team, is pronounced with a soft "C" as in "S" as in "Seltics".
9. The just shall live by faith
The phrase "
The just shall live by faith" appears in Habakkuk but also appears three times in the
GNT (Greek New Testament) in letters written by Paul. Each part applies to one of the books.
"the just": Romans
"shall live": Galatians, Galatia, people of Gaul, Celts, Celtics, clover, etc.
"by faith": Hebrews
The "
just" is the same word as "
righteous", those who are "
right" by God.
The righteous shall live by faith.
The meaning that Martin Luther acquired from these verses led him to start what is called the "
Reformation".
10. Savannah
In Savannah, GA, the river is dyed green and festivities go on for days. One might compare it to a smaller version of the Mardi Gras in New Orleans.
These celebrations began in 1813, 80 years after the city was founded.
11. Savannah
12. George Whitfield and Celtic Kirk
George Whitfield (or Whitefield) (1714-1770) was an English itinerant preacher and evangelist and one of the founders of Methodism along with the Wesley brothers, John Wesley and Charles Wesley.
George Whitefield started an orphanage, the Bethesda Academy, in Savannah, GA, which exists to this day.
Bethesda means "
House of Mercy" in Hebrew.
Whitefield wanted the orphanage to be a place of strong Calvinist influence with a wholesome atmosphere and strong discipline. Boys were taught trades so that they could earn a living as adults. (Wikipedia)
The Whitefield Chapel is still on the grounds of Bethesda Academy in Savannah, GA.
13. Whitefield Chapel
The Whitefield Chapel is still on the grounds of Bethesda Academy in Savannah, GA.
I attended a small Presbyterian churchs' services there in the 2003-2004 school year. That small church was called
Kirk O' the Isles (Presbyterian Church PCA), where "
Kirk" is the Celtic name for "
church".
14. End of page
