St. Patrick’s Day Shamrock Shakes

In the month of March, it seems the whole world turns green. At least in my little corner of the world it does. Everywhere I look I see emerald blades of fresh green grass beginning to appear upon our rain-washed earth. Lime colored leaves push forth from the barren tree branches. The bushes and plants start to bloom and sprout new life in various shades of juniper, sage and olive. It’s beautiful!

March is the month of rain showers, mud puddles, shamrocks, rainbows and sunshine all mixed into one. It’s also the month we celebrate St. Patrick’s day!

Below is a little history on St. Patrick that I found in an article entitled “The History of Saint Patrick’s Day” written by Julie Mitchell.

“St. Patrick was born in Britain around 400 A.D. A group of Irish raiders attacked his father’s estate and kidnapped Patrick when he was 16. They took him to Ireland where Patrick spent six years as a slave, working as a shepherd, very much isolated from other people. During this time he not only became fluid in Gaelic, the Irish language, but he turned to religion for solace and became a devout Christian.

According to Patrick’s writings, after six years he heard a voice telling him it was time to escape, so he traveled south for 200 miles until he reached the Irish coast where he boarded a ship to Britain. He studied under St. Germain, bishop of Auxerre in France, to help combat paganism, and was ordained a priest and given the name “Patercius” or “Patritius” from the Latin, meaning father of his people. St. Patrick traveled back to Ireland to teach Christianity to the Irish. St. Patrick died on March 17, 460 A.D.

In order to make the people understand the doctrine of the Trinity – that there are three beings who make up one divine God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit – St. Patrick drew an analogy by picking a shamrock and showing that its three leaves were on only one stem. The shamrock was already a sacred plant in ancient Ireland because it symbolized the rebirth of Spring. Shamrocks, of course, are green, hence the stipulation that one must wear green on St. Patrick’s Day!“

In honor of St. Patrick, and the shamrock-illustrated gospel, let’s make shamrock shakes and celebrate the life of such an influential, godly man!