Mar 17 (THAINDIAN NEWS) Today is Saint Patrick’s Day, and while many people may be searching the internet for recipes, traditions, celebrations, and quotes, my favorite of the day is of course “Happy Birthday” to my mom, Jeanie. She was born on March 17 in a year that she would kill me for printing, but let’s just say that the fact that she survived as a two pound premature twin was a miracle for that day. According to Wikipedia, the Irish translation for Happy Birthday is Breithlá shona dhuit. So Breithlá shona dhuit to my mother, and Go mbeannai Dia duit (translation at the end of this story).

A famous quote of the Irish, which you may have heard them say as they toast is “Erin Go Bragh!” Some of you may already know the meaning of this saying, but for those who don’t here it is. The term brách is equivalent to “eternity” or “end of time”, meaning the phrase may be translated literally as “Ireland until eternity” or “Ireland until the end (of time)”. The form Éireann go Bráth or Éire go Bráth is also used in Irish and means the same thing.

Here is a cute little Irish Verse:

There’s a dear little plant that grows in our isle,
‘Twas St. Patrick himself, sure, that sets it;
And the sun of his labor with pleasure did smile,
And with dew from his eye often wet it.
It grows through the bog, through the brake, through the mireland,
And they call it the dear little Shamrock of Ireland.

Saint Patrick is patron saint of Ireland. It is said that St Patrick used the shamrock to explain the trinity to unbelievers. He told them of how God is one God in three persons. Patrick would hold up a shamrock and challenge his hearers, “Is it one leaf or three?” “It is both one leaf and three,” was their reply. “And so it is with God,” he would conclude.

Some other Irish sayings and blessings include these rhymes.

May your neighbors respect you,
Troubles neglect you,
The angels protect you,
And Heaven accept you.

May you have:
A world of wishes at your command
God and his angels close at hand
Friends and family their love impart,
And Irish blessings in you heart.

May luck be our companion
May friends stand by our side
May history remind us all
Of Ireland’s faith and pride.
May God bless us with happiness
May love and faith abide.

Go mbeannai Dia duit
(May God Bless You)