HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!!!

To all of you hopeless romantics out there,

may the pot at the end of the rainbow

be full of your most wonderfully

romantic dreams of love!!

And, with a wee bit o'luck,

ye might be finding a shy leprechaun

guarding his hoarded gold, as well!

Here is some information on some of the traditions

of this day,

taken from a Compuserve article:

Here are the four reasons green is equated with St. Patrick's Day:

·  Green is one of the three colors in the Irish flag.

·  With its lush, green landscape, Ireland is known as the "Emerald Isle."

·  Green is the color of spring.

·  Green is the color of the shamrock.

Originally a Roman Catholic feast day for Ireland's patron saint, St. Patrick's Day was only celebrated in Ireland before the 1600s. By the 1700s, it had evolved into a secular holiday as Irish immigrants to the United States began holding the first St.Patrick's Day parades. These festivities were a chance to not only show off their patriotism for Ireland, but also make a political statement about their discontent with their low social status in America.

You can find the complete article HERE.

In honor of the day, I'd like to recommend

this collection of Irish myths

and tales.

The title of the book is:

Emerald Magic: Great Tales of Irish Fantasy.

Some of the contributors include

Diane Duane, Fred Saberhagen, L.E. Modesitt, Jr.,

Peter Tremayne, and Morgan Llywelyn.

The cover is quite beautiful, too!

This is part of the Goodreads synopsis:

Ireland is a nation that holds fast to its history and heritage, and nowhere is that more true than in its folktales and legends. From the great Celtic myths featuring the bard Taliesin, the terrible Morrigan, the heroic Cuchulain, or the noble and cunning Sidhe to strange and mysterious tales of today, the stories and traditions of the Emerald Isle hold a strong attraction for many.

Emerald Magic brings together today's best fantasy authors to explore the myths of the Irish, telling their own versions of these ancient tales of luck, love, and honor, or drawing upon centuries of Irish myths and folktales and updating them into brand-new stories. Edited and with an introduction by bestselling author Father Andrew M. Greeley, Emerald Magic contains fourteen wonderful stories of legend and lore.