Saint Patrick's Day

Soon enough people all over the world will celebrate the Saint Patrick’s Day on March 17th 2016. The Chicago River will turn green once more; Irish (and other people) will come together to party big time for this popular saint.

Green is the color for this day, you can even get green beer then! You know that the former mayor of New York, Ed Koch, changed his name to “Ed O’Koch” in honor of Saint Patricius?

It’s not only a celebration in the Irish culture, but also a Christian feast that is celebrated by the Catholic Church, the Irish Church and other Anglican Churches.

Saint Patrick (born in 385 or 387, in Dumbarton, Scotland) was captured in his late teens and brought to Ireland as a slave. There he became a shepherd. In his despair he prayed to God in hopes of one day becoming a free man. In the six years as a slave he learned the language of the Irish and also the Druidic and pagan customs. At the end of those six years an angel came to him in a dream/vision and showed him the way to escape. He travelled 320 kilometer (200 miles) from Ballymena to Wexford and escaped to England on a ship. Unfortunately, he was captured again and returned as a slave. Persistent in becoming a free man, two months later he escaped again and travelled to Europe in quest of his fate.

As a pupil of St Germanus he remained 15 years in Auxerre and ordained as priest in 417. In 432 St Germanus ordained Patrick to Bishop and pope Celestius I sent him to Ireland. Patrick was to succeed St Palladius, who was the first Bishop of Ireland.

Patrick arrived in 433 in Slane but soon came in conflict with the local chieftains for lighting the fire in honor of Easter vigil. The druids, who feared the arrival of Patrick, predicted that this fire would burn forever if it wouldn’t be extinguished that night. Miraculously, despite all the efforts the fire kept alight the entire night and Patrick got permission by the king to start spreading his faith in Ireland.

Patrick preached a faith that was more joyful and praising than his Roman predecessor. It wasn’t a theology of sin, but of embracing the good in creation and closer to nature. The conversion of Ireland was the first example of Christianity that thrived in a culture which embraced nature instead of disowning, a culture that considered all of creation as holy.

Patrick was the first to organize the Catholic Church in Ireland, distributed it episcopal seats, set the standard for biblical scholarship and encouraged teaching in Latin.
He travelled the country and preached, taught, built churches, monasteries and schools.

Famous and legendary we can say!

The most known legend is how he expelled all snakes from Ireland (now you know why you won’t find snakes in Ireland…). The iconography for this legend is the victory over pagans.
Some pagans still carry a small snake on their jackets on St Patrick's Day as a form of protest...

The way he used a shamrock as an example of the Holy Trinity is also legendary.
When you find an image of St Patrick, it’s always with a shamrock in his hand.
He was a slave in the beginning of his life, so you can imagine he wasn’t a big fan of it. He was the first important person in the Catholic Church who openly opposed to it. Because he was a slave, it wasn’t hard for him to tell the people of the suffering slaves had to endure.

At the end of his life St Brigid came to him and weaved his shroud. They prayed together and Patrick saw how the whole of Ireland light up with the brightest rays of divine faith. He prayed this light would never be extinguished; an angel descended and told him his prayer would be answered.
Patrick died on March 17^th 461 in Saul, Downpatrick, where he had built his first church.

And so a young Englishman, born with the name Patricius, died as an Irish man named Patrick. From that moment, Ireland and Christianity were never the same again.
With his death, the Irish stopped slavery, human sacrificing was unthinkable from then on.

Everyone knows him as the patron of Ireland, but did you know he’s also the patron of Nigeria?

Ice Saints

Maybe you’ve never heard about them, but the Ice Saints are in the Roman-Catholic a folkloric tradition since the year 1000. Their feast dates are on the 11^th, 12^th, 13^th and 14^th May.

The name days are:
- 11^th May: St Mamertus
- 12^th May: St Pancras
- 13^th May: St Servatius
- 14^th May: St Boniface

Some may know this, but three is the holy number. Yes, many world religions contain triple deities or concepts of trinity, including the Christian Holy Trinity, the Hindu Trimurti, the Three Jewels of Buddhism, the Three Pure Ones of Taoism, …
In Christianity the ministry of Jesus which lasted three years, during the Agony in the Garden Christ asked three times for the chalice to be taken from his lips, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his death, the devil tempted Jesus three times, St Peter thrice denied Jesus and thrice affirmed his faith in Jesus…

So in most countries only three of the Ice Saints are celebrated or known. In some countries it’s St Mamertus, in other countries it’s St Boniface who can’t join the party.

The saints get their feast days to the fact that in Middle North Europe most of the time after these days the possibility of frost during the night is low. Night frost can damage the young crop. It can still happen though, but the feast days of the Ice Saints mark the moment of the changing from winter days to more mild temperatures.

About the saints themselves, well… There is one that causes some confusion.

St Mamertus (not celebrated in Southern Germany, Austria, Northern Italy, Czech Republic…) was born in the beginning of the 5^th century in Vienne (France). He was a religious man who wanted to become a priest. In 461 he became the bishop of his hometown. For an unknown reason he came in conflict with the pope (Hilarius), it had something to do with an adjacent diocese but no documentation was found.
During the time Mamertus was bishop, the city was plagued by catastrophes. Fires, earthquakes, wars, diseases… In 470 Mamertus organized a Cross Procession, to get Divine intervention.
On May 11^th 475, Mamertus died in his city.

St Pancras was born in 290. He moved to Rome after the death of his parents. Christianity was not accepted yet and you were convicted to death. Not impressed, Pancras took care of the prisoners with his faith. For this he was brought before the emperor Diocletianus who promised him wealth if he would denounce Christianity. The 14 year old Pancras remained faithful, Diocletianus sentenced him to the death and Pancras was beheaded on May 12^th 304.

St Servatius was one of the first faith preachers in was is now known as the Netherlands. Involved in great ecclesial and political developments he must have been a man of significance. We find his name as bishop of Tongeren in 340. During the synod of Rimini (359) he was one of the defenders of the faith in Jesus, son of God.
Being a opponent of Arianism Servatius was sent to emperor Constanius II to plead for the people of Gaul.
He died in Maastricht on May 13^th 384 and is buried in the St Servaas Basilica of Maastricht.

St Boniface is a name for different people who had a lot of influence in the early medieval Catholic Church.

The most know Saxon missionary Bonface, who wanted to turn the Northern Netherlands into a Christian area, and later moved to the area northeast of the Rhine was killed in 754 during a 2^nd attempt to Christianize Friesland. This Boniface has his feast day on June 5^th.

The Ice Saint Boniface was born somewhere in the 3^rd century. Little is known about his life. Born in Rome, not as Christian, but converted during a pilgrimage. Upon return in Rome he witnessed the Christian prosecution and confessed openly he was a Christian too. He was captured and tortured by the soldiers of the emperor. On May 14^th 307 he died a martyr’s death after being thrown in burning pitch.

In Bruges was never visited by one of the Ice Saints. However you can find a hotel that is named after St Boniface. And there is the St Boniface bridge, but that little bridge is more known as the “Lovers Bridge”.

Being one of the youngest bridges (1910) of Bruges, it’s still one of the city’s most beautiful spots to be. You can take stunning, romantic pictures there. With the Church Of Our Lady on the background really breathtaking spot in the city.