…btw, who decided St Patrick’s Day should be in the middle of Lent? Hmmmm.
Well, the parades and mass celebrations are all cancelled but I have my soda bread, corned beef and cabbage ready to cook, and I have a batch of Irish Red Ale that will be ready for first tasting on Tuesday. We will have a very small St. Patrick’s Day celebration at home this year – better than nothing.
P.S. Good question on the timing.
Hmmm, soda bread? It’s been on my list of new thing to try, just haven’t got a round tuit, but since we’re all shut-ins this year mebbe it’s time to give it a go. I didn’t realize St. Pattie’s day was sneaking up until it was too late to get my Rye-rish Red brewed in time, fortunately I have plenty of other tasty options, even if they aren’t traditionally appropriate.
I found this: A day off from Lent
Usually occurring in the middle of Lent, St Patrick’s Day was considered a welcome break from fasting for Catholics to enjoy meat, treats and alcohol. The day only became a national holiday in 1903 and pubs were not allowed to open until 1973. Lore has it that the only legal place to get a drink in Ireland for many years was the RDS Dublin Dog show. But in the years when the pubs were closed in Ireland, people still found ways around the ban to consume alcohol by celebrating at gatherings in their homes or the local rambling house.
The alcohol consumed on St. Patrick’s Day was known as “Póta Phádraig” or “St. Patrick’s Pot”. The tradition known as “drowning the shamrock” involves making a toast to St. Patrick then tossing a shamrock over the shoulder for good luck (most convenient considering that adults wore bunches of shamrock on their lapels).