今天玩NBA2K12时，所有的各节开始结束后出现的页面都挂着清一色的绿色，还有一个戴着绿色帽子的小人拿着一个篮球。。开始还以为是凯尔特人的啥节呢。。后来出现了文字，发现是个 Happy St. Patrick’s Day .可惜不知道咋截图，用键盘的printscreen键获取的截图是全黑的，这个截图对3D的全屏游戏无奈啊，，。怪不得也觉得这几天看的NBA里觉得有些队的颜色有些不对劲。

查了一些相关信息，做个纪录吧。

St. Patrick Day

原本只是爱尔兰的传统节日的St. Patrick Day ，却在世界各地广为庆祝；这小小岛国迸发出的能量可见一斑。 St. Patrick Day 对于美国人一样意义深远，身在美国的华人也许心里难免有些羡慕，什么时候我们的春节也能在异国他乡受到如此之高的礼遇啊。回顾爱尔兰人的移民史，追溯 St. Patrick Day 的来龙去脉，可以看到，爱尔兰人与华人一样，走过了一条十分艰辛移民路。

爱尔兰流传着一首民谣：”The Green Fields of America”:

“So pack up your sea-stores, consider no longer,

Ten dollars a week is not very bad pay,

With no taxes or tithes to devour up your wages,

When you’re on the green fields of America.”

岛国爱尔兰只有四百二十万多人，而在美国，自称具有爱尔兰血统或者渊源的人就是爱尔兰人口总额的十倍多，St. Patrick Day 在今日成为美国举国上下欢庆的节日，也许就不足为奇了。爱尔兰人后裔主要聚居区在纽约、波士顿、芝加哥。费城，巴尔帝摩以及乔治亚州的Savannah ；但尽管如此，移民大州加州的爱尔兰裔人口仍居各州之最。爱尔兰人有着与犹太人一般对 diaspora （离散） 这个充满史诗般创痛名词的体验。早在1845 年的Potato Blight/Great Potato Famine 之前就有无数多的人由于来自英国的宗教压迫等因素开始大量移民，到19 世纪中叶，大多数美国的爱尔兰裔都属于中产阶层；饥荒发生后，多达百万的爱尔兰人远渡重洋寻求一条活路，从1820 至1920 百年见有四百五十万爱尔兰人投奔新大陆。当年的爱尔兰移民大多一贫如洗，目不识丁，来美国只为干点杂活吃碗饱饭。他们备受美国人的歧视，只能在体力劳务市 场上谋点生路，因而也有不少人为混口军饷加入军队甘当炮灰。即便如此他们在就业仍然遇到了相当的困难，当时不少招工广告都不忘在最后附上一句：”No Irish Need Apply.” 本以为美国黄金遍野，结果寄人篱下讨生活的日子却颇让人失意。有这么一曲小调 “Paddy’s Lamentation,” 唱的就是新移民的困窘：

“Hear me boys, now take my advice,

To America I’ll have ye’s not be going,

There is nothing here but war, where the murderin’ cannons roar,

And I wish I was at home in dear old Dublin. ”

美 国最早开始庆祝St. Patrick Day 却是在爱尔兰大移民之前，1737 年服役于军中的爱尔兰人首先在波士顿举行游行以缅怀自己的乡土情结，1762 的3 月17 日年又有一群爱尔兰裔军人走上纽约的街头欢庆自己祖国的节日，此后这个习俗年年相传，虽然最初遭到了美国媒体的嘲讽，爱尔兰人却意识到这其节日狂欢中的政 治意义，由此将这一天作为呈现爱尔兰移民风貌和凝聚力的契机。1948 年，杜鲁门成为第一位参加St. Patrick Day 游行的美国总统，当时的爱尔兰裔受宠若惊奔走相告。2000 年，深切崇拜爱尔兰移民第四代JFK 的克林顿偕同希拉里出席了2000 年纽约的St. Patrick Day 欢庆仪式，并致辞寄予爱尔兰裔民众，将St. Patrick Day 的特殊政治历史又做了新的圈点。

St. Patrick

St. Patrick 何许人也？3 月17 又是什么特殊的日子？其实关于St. Patrick ，很多史实是不可考的，比如他出生逝世的具体时间，连3 月17 日究竟是他的出生日还是忌日都众说纷纭。一般的说法是他于公元460 年左右出生在英国一个笃信基督教的富裕家庭，父亲是意大利裔人，名叫Calpurnius ，母亲是苏格兰人，St. Patrick 本名叫Maewyn ，他却喜欢称自己叫做“Patricius ”，拉丁文的意思就是“well-born ”。16 岁时St. Patrick 被打劫英国的爱尔兰游击队掳到爱尔兰做了奴隶，开始了放羊娃的生活，之后又做过各种杂活，一干就是六年，直到有一天他觅到机会辗转逃回英国。在漫长苦难孤 寂的奴隶岁月里，St. Patrick 体味到了宗教对灵魂的救赎，两次来自于神的启示更使他决定一生奉献于神的事业。回到英国他开始苦读经书，成为牧师后，又被委派到爱尔兰传教。其实 Patrick 并不是去爱尔兰传教的第一人，却绝对是最成功影响最大的人。六年的奴隶生活是历练也是宝贵的课程，他因此熟谙爱尔兰人的语言文化思维习俗，智慧地将基督教 教义于爱尔兰人的风俗结合起来，而不是对本土文化赶尽杀绝，比如他用爱尔兰人惯用的祭神的篝火来庆祝复活节，将十字架的符号中加入太阳的元素，从而让崇拜 自然神灵的爱尔兰人能更顺利地接纳基督教文明。至于说他帮助爱尔兰人除蛇只是一种传说，根据生物学家研究St. Patrick 的时代爱尔兰的物种里居然更本就未曾出现过蛇或者蟾蜍。虽然St. Patrick 并未被罗马教廷正式封为圣徒，十六世纪时被天主教和新教都开始追认并纪念他为圣徒。在爱尔兰人心目中他不仅是圣徒，而且是爱尔兰的保护神。St. Patrick 的特殊经历感应着世界各国，在加勒比海的小岛蒙特塞拉特Montserrat ，每年3 月17 都举行隆重的庆祝仪式。原因有二，这里的第一批欧洲移民来自爱尔兰，其二，当地的黑人奴隶深受经历了奴隶岁月的St. Patrick 感染和鼓舞，选择1768 年3 月17 日这一天举行了大规模奴隶起义。

St. Patrick Day 的主要符号

Shamrock ，三叶苜蓿草

Shamrock 是爱尔兰语“seamrog ”( 小苜蓿草) 的音译。爱尔兰人崇尚“好事成三”，“三”是他们的吉祥数字。据说St. Patrick 用三叶草来向爱尔兰人诠释Trinity ： The Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit ( 圣父、圣子、圣灵) 。Shamrock 还衍生出了其他意义，譬如Crone, Mother and Virgin ； Love, Valor and Wit ；Faith, Hope and Charity ；还有人开玩笑说是wine, women and song 。

Leprechauns 魔域小矮仙

爱 尔兰的神话传说中有很多精灵妖怪，Leprechauns 只是其中之一。据说他们是独群索居的矮小精灵，性格刁钻古怪，靠制鞋为生，且藏有很多金银财宝，特别是那罐Pot of Gold, 是他们身份的标志。传说彩虹出现的地方总有宝藏，那里也必然就有Leprechauns 。

Green Beer 绿色啤酒

相 传St. Patrick 教会了爱尔兰人怎么酿酒从而帮助他们御寒健体。如今爱尔兰人心头大患之一就是他们很难摆脱“酒鬼”的形象，St. Patrick Day 本属于天主教的斋期，却给了人们饮酒寻欢的机会。爱尔兰的名酒牌子还真不少： Guinness 、 Jameson’s 、 Bailey’s ，然而绿啤酒却是美国的发明。但是爱尔兰人的饮酒习俗中有个说法叫 wet/drown the shamrock ， 即是在杯子里放几片shamrock ，再倒入Irish Whiskey 饮用。到了美国却是将普通啤酒染成绿色，畅怀大饮一醉方休。

你可以对这个节日不理不睬，因为它几乎与我们华人丝毫无干。如果你喜欢过节日，爱凑热闹，对美国人其他移民文化感兴趣，也可以度过一个绿色的 St. Patrick Day 。比如穿一件绿色的上衣，虽然不必要写上 “ Kiss Me, I am Irish” ；去当地 downtown 看游行，如果你们那里有这样的庆典；去 pub 泡泡，招个理由放松一下；做一顿爱尔兰风味的菜肴，一个绿色的蛋糕点心；或者挑战一下自己读读 James Joyce 的 Ulysses 。

St. Patrick Day

March 17th

The person who was to become St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, was born in Wales about AD 385. His given name was Maewyn, and he almost didn’t get the job of bishop of Ireland because he lacked the required scholarship.

Far from being a saint, until he was 16, he considered himself a pagan. At that age, he was sold into slavery by a group of Irish marauders that raided his village. During his captivity, he became closer to God.

He escaped from slavery after six years and went to Gaul where he studied in the monastery under St. Germain, bishop of Auxerre for a period of twelve years. During his training he became aware that his calling was to convert the pagans to Christianity.

His wishes were to return to Ireland, to convert the native pagans to Christianity. But his superiors instead appointed St. Palladius. But two years later, Palladius transferred to Scotland. Patrick, having adopted that Christian name earlier, was then appointed as second bishop to Ireland.

Patrick was quite successful at winning converts. And this fact upset the Celtic Druids. Patrick was arrested several times, but escaped each time. He traveled throughout Ireland, establishing monasteries across the country. He also set up schools and churches which would aid him in his conversion of the Irish country to Christianity.

His mission in Ireland lasted for thirty years. After that time, Patrick retired to County Down. He died on March 17 in AD 461. That day has been commemorated as St. Patrick’s Day ever since.

Much Irish folklore surrounds St. Patrick’s Day. Not much of it is actually substantiated.

Some of this lore includes the belief that Patrick raised people from the dead. He also is said to have given a sermon from a hilltop that drove all the snakes from Ireland. Of course, no snakes were ever native to Ireland, and some people think this is a metaphor for the conversion of the pagans. Though originally a Catholic holy day, St. Patrick’s Day has evolved into more of a secular holiday.

One traditional icon of the day is the shamrock. And this stems from a more bona fide Irish tale that tells how Patrick used the three-leafed shamrock to explain the Trinity. He used it in his sermons to represent how the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit could all exist as separate elements of the same entity. His followers adopted the custom of wearing a shamrock on his feast day.

The St. Patrick’s Day custom came to America in 1737. That was the first year St. Patrick’s Day was publicly celebrated in this country, in Boston.

It was in Boston where the Day was first celebrated in a public way. Gradually other states took it up. And it was New York that took out the largest ever St Patrick’ s Day parade. Held since 1762, the New York City parade on St Patrick’s Day draws more than one million spectators each year.

Meanwhile the city of Chicago has developed a unique tradition of coloring the river water green. It started in 1962 when 100 pounds of green vegetable dye were added to its river, enough to keep it green for a week. The tradition has continued till date. Now, 40 pounds of a green food coloring keep the river green for only a few hours.

These apart Irish community in various cities celebrate the Day with social and community works. Making charities, attending mass, promoting their own culture, and feasting with their foods.