Posted on 03/12/2008 6:12:12 AM PDT by reg45
When is St. Patrick's day this year? I've heard both the 15th and the 17th of March. Which one is correct?
It’s always the 17th. Even on a Sunday.
I heard that it cannot be during Holy Week, so they moved it to the 15th. this year.
That’s only for celebrations. St. Pat’s is always on the 17th.
When are New Years, Independance day, and Christmas?
Some days are ALWAYS on the same date. Its the 17th.
Here they did not want to have the annual parade on Palm Sunday so they had it this past Sunday. Very early.
In our archdiocese they are making the official marking of St Patrick’s day on Friday the 14th. Since the 17th is during Holy Week they did not want there to be too much revelry.
Now, why can’t there be a special day for a “saint” during Holy Week?
Do you think that getting Drunk plays into this somehow?
Most bars will move their parties to Saturday anyway because they will draw more of a crowd.
However, Friday 14 th is the day the Catholic Archdiocese has given as the day of lent abandonment (couldn't think of the proper word)
Lots of corned beef and alcohol will be consumed, dancing will go on into the night and hangovers should have cleared up by Holy Week.
What all of this has to do with a great, ascetic saint who evangelized Ireland, entirely escapes me.
It depends on where you are, but it isn’t the 17th. Feast days of saints are not celebrated during Holy Week.
Secular paganish “Yay we’re Irish” celebrations will still occur on the 17th, but that goes against everything St. Patrick stood for, which is ironic.
Think of it this way. No Holy Week, no Church. No Church, no St. Patrick. No St. Patrick, no St. Patrick’s Day. So, in other words, Holy Week comes first. This whole “we are born Irish before we are baptised Christian” paganish mentality makes no sense and misses the whole point of the holiday.
The last time Easter was this early was 1940. That year, the 17th of March was Palm Sunday. The Church moved St. Patrick’s Day to the next available day, which was something like the 1st of April. This year, the Irish bishops asked the Pope if the day could be moved ahead to something a little closer, so it would take place closer to the civic celebrations, as the day itself is a public holiday in Ireland. So in Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day is on the 15th.
Here in the United States, St. Joseph’s Day was moved from the 19th of March to the 15th. So, some dioceses have moved St. Patrick’s Day to the 14th (I believe the diocese of New York City, home of St. Patrick’s Cathedral and a sizeable Irish-American population, has done this), and some have even dispensed with the abstaining from meat so that people can have their corned beef, which is goofy, but there it is.
You could call your local diocese and ask them, or even ask your priest to see when he is saying a weekday Mass for the Feast of St. Patrick.
In the neaby town of Bay City, MI, the city holds an annual St. Patrick’s Day parade, except this year, it is being held on Palm Sunday. Unless everyone is holding palms and Jesus Christ Himself has returned to Earth, I don’t really see the point of holding a parade on Palm Sunday.
And the point is that Holy Week moves ALL other feasts, not just St. Patrick. As I said already, St. Joseph’s Day has been moved, and the Feast of the Annunciation has been moved from March 25 to March 31, because it fell within the Octave of Easter, and that is a no-no too.
It’s when you see a bunch of drunks puking up green beer.
Or do you mean that the Roman Catholic Church, in effect, teaches that holiness is not important at any time except “Holy Week.” That a lot of Catholics like to party hardy on St. Patrick's day, so the church only forbids that during one week of the year?
What does all that say about the Christian testimony of the RCC?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1974064/posts
This article may also prove to be enlightening.
1. Holiness is important all year around. However, there are priorities. Holy Week takes precedence over everything. Easter is the most important day on the Church calendar, wouldn’t you agree?
2. I don’t “party hardy” during Lent. However, there are Irish among us who enjoy reveling in their Irish-ness. If you ask me, the day has taken on too much of a secular meaning, much like Christmas.
3. I believe that God has set up the calendar to create this debate to shed a little light on point #2. Those who care about what St. Patrick proclaimed during his life will observe the religious holiday on the day the Church has moved the feast day to, and will prepare themselves for Christ’s death and resurrection during Holy Week. Those who missed the message completely will get wasted on the 17th.
My husband is N. Irish, so we have a lot of Irish friends who own pubs in the US. They’d much rather the celebrations be Monday and that is when they are having them. They already get good crowds on a regular Friday or Saturday. They don’t really need anything to help pull in crowds on those days.
But business is very slow on Mondays. Keeping the celebrations on the 17th will help pull in crowds for an otherwise slow day.
1. There is no church or holiday calendar in the Scriptures at all. The New Testament actually derides “holy” days (Colossians chapter 2). Easter? No, I am abroad most of the time and don’t even notice “Easter” go by. I am a Christian who talks to many people every week about the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Don’t need a special day. I observe the Resurrection every time I preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
2. Putting God and drunkenness in the same context is repugnant.
3. God never set up a calendar.
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