Posted on 03/16/2012 9:42:30 AM PDT by NYer
(Billy Hallowell) -- St. Patrick’s Day is a holiday rooted in Christian values, however secular celebrations are also regularly held to commemorate the day. In fact, for a great many, the religious tones aren’t even a consideration, as alcohol, Shamrock shakes and other fun-filled elements regularly dominate the day’s observations. Somehow, though, the holiday is reportedly still too religious for one Massachusetts elementary school.
At the Soule Road School in Wilbraham, St. Patrick‘s Day has been replaced as the name for the school’s celebration surrounding the popular holiday. It’s been replaced with the generic “O’Green Day.” MassLive.com’s Patrick Johnson calls the move “a heavy-handed attempt to instill political correctness among the impressionable 4th and 5th graders.”
The school’s principal, Lisa Curtin, is apparently looking to become more inclusive. So, rather than tout St. Patrick’s Day, she has purportedly come up with a way to circumvent the faith-related nature of the holiday. The school apparently did something similar for St. Valentine’s Day, which, in some classrooms, was referred to as “Caring and Kind Day.”
A copy of the school’s calendar shows March 16 listed as ”O’Green Day / Tasting’ of the Green,” although St. Patrick’s Day does, indeed, appear on the calendar (on Saturday):
On this day, students are apparently being encouraged to wear green and they will be treated to special, green colored vegetables in the cafeteria.
“I think it’s really stupid,” says local resident Janet Carlyle. “I don‘t understand why they would change history’s old holiday names to something just to remove the essence of religion of it when it’s not really religious holidays.”
Another parent said that the changes were made to accommodate “faith issues.”
“I think in today’s world to try and make children understand caring and consideration is, I can understand from that point of view,” said Joan Harrington, a former high school teacher. “As someone who’s been around a long time, the holidays have meaning to me.”
Regardless of the motivation, these holiday name-changes reflect the growing removal of faith-based values and mentions in public schools.
Will they chanage “kwanza” to something inclusive to non marxists?
It’ll probably happen...after all they tried to make “Christmas” into the “winter festival”...
A funny thing is...the day before O’Green Day...
what would that be? O’Green Day Eve?....
has for the lunch:
March 15th
Baked Potato
Broccoli, Cheese and Bacon Bits (Bit O Green)
Garden Salad (Green)
Green Jello w/Topping (Honking Green)
Fruit & Vegie Bar (Assuming Green)
O’Green Day lunch menu:
March 16th
Pizza (Hope it’s not Green)
Garden Salad (there’s some Green)
Fruit & Veggie Bar (probably more Orange-lol)
http://www.hwrsd.org/school/sr/srmenu.pdf
I vastly prefer denying history and reality.
We should call Independence Day “Barbeque Day” or “Fireworks Day”.
I notice the date on that calender is 2012....2012 years since what happened? To be really inclusive, should we get rid of the count of years since Jesus was born?
Just as I can say, they aren't really a school. Just a bunch of idiots watching over some kids.
“Paddy OFurniture”
Oof......
Jist fer that, me fine lass, I’ll be sending me own redheaded colleen of a wife over wit’ me lucky shilelagh and she’s going to baptize ye wit’ it, repeatedly.
Unless, o’ course ye could be sparin’ me a quart of Jameson’s, surely.
;^)
isnt calling an irishman OGreen an insult? or at least a racial slur?
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
I am of Irish descent so I guess (if and) when I sober up I will have to look up the meaning of ‘insult’ and ‘racial slur’.
So much work, so little time....
I will get back to you on that one....
Stupid question: did he really drive all the snakes out of Ireland?
No question is stupid ... only the one that is not asked. That said, NatGeo offers some insight:
The St. Patrick mythology includes the claim that he banished snakes from Ireland.It's true no snakes exist on the island today, Freeman said. But they never did.
Ireland, after all, is surrounded by icy ocean watersmuch too cold to allow snakes to migrate from Britain or anywhere else.
But since snakes often represent evil in literature, "when Patrick drives the snakes out of Ireland, it is symbolically saying he drove the old, evil, pagan ways out of Ireland [and] brought in a new age," Freeman said.
There are no snakes in Ireland.
Ah Jameson’s. My favorite memory of Jameson’s: way in the back yard of my friend’s house at the wake of his father. He was hurting. The Jameson’s seemed to help - if only because it’s a ritual.
Solace in the wake of loss can come from many sources. I was widowed in 2001 but have enjoyed the blessing of a new wife for nearly two years now.
Here’s a Jameson’s joke. An Englishman is tearing across the Irish countryside in his sports car, when he takes a blind curve too fast and collides with a local in his aging Morris sedan.
The Irishman gets out, the Englishman is expecting trouble but the local merely says, “Sure and we both should consider ourselves blessed, there’s some damage but at least we’re unhurt. Maybe this is as good a time as any to put our traditional enmities aside and drink now to the goodness of the Lord.”
He reaches into the boot of his scrambled car and produces a bottle of Jameson’s and hands it to the Brit, saying, “Here now, you first. I’ve no glasses but help yourself to a healthy swig.” The bouquet of the fine whisky is nothing less than ambriosial, and the Englishman before he knows it has gulped nearly half the bottle.
He tries to hand it back to the Irishman but the latter declines.
“Thank you, me lad, but not right now. I think I’ll wait until after the Garda arrives!”
And a merry St. Patrick’s Day to you and yours.
Today in MA, in the county of Suffolk, we celebrate Evacuation Day. The day which the British forces left the city of Boston under the watchful eye of the Continentals who had the city covered from Dorchester Heights and Cambridgeside with cannons brought down from Fort Ticonderoga.
So success attend St. Patrick's fist, he was a saint so clever,
He gave the frogs and toads a twist, and banished snakes for ever!
There are several versions on the Web if you Google it. My favorite version is one sung by a local group: Theiss & O’Connor, “O’Connor” standing for any number of the members of the O’Connor family, but usually Mr. & Mrs. O’Connor. It’s one of my favorite Irish ditties.
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