Thursday, March 17, 2011

Do the Irish really like to drink beer? (And other burning questions about Irish culture!)


Happy St. Patrick's Day!

In honor of this most solemn of holidays, I thought I'd consider some questions that have been nagging me all week: 

1. Do the people of Irish descent really drink all of that beer?

2. If the answer to the above questions is 'yes', then why?

3. As long as we are probing the why of beer drinking, let's ask another. Why the heck do we drink green beer? (more importantly, why do I care?)

4. What in the name of all that is good and Irish is a shillelagh? 

Okay, that's four questions. I'm exhausted just thinking about answering them all, so I will stop here and insert a corny Irish joke:

      Q. What's Irish and sits outside in the summertime?



      A. Patty O'Furniture!                                              -Fionasplace.net

I know, I couldn't stop laughing either. Now pick yourself up off the floor and continue reading about some famous Irish folklore/truths.

Because I always have this burning desire to know things, I feel very blessed to have the Internet at my disposal. In fact, I feel it is incumbent upon everyone of us to research what we do not know. Ignorance is no longer an excuse with this cyber-search invention from heaven. (Some feel The Internet is from hell, but that's the subject for another blog.)

Now, where was I? Oh yes, first question. Beer. Are the Irish really so fond of their beer? If so, why? Here's what I uncovered, from a source called yourirish.com

Turns out the Irish are producers of some of the finest "stouts" in the world. When we think of stouts, most of us think automatically of the dark-colored Guinness. My source says it does take an acquired taste for this heavy, black "stuff" and I'm with them. If you're used to a Bud Light, Michelob Ultra, or some other watery-type beer as I am, drinking a pint of Guinness will rocket your taste buds into orbit. This beer is so thick, you can practically chew it before you work up the nerve to swallow it. Actually, I rather like the stuff now, but that's how I used to feel about it. It does take a bit of getting used to the flavor and the fact that if you drink more than two, you may not remember who you are in 30 minutes.


Moving onto the third question. (Yes, I answered the first two in one snoozy paragraph, thank-you very much.)  Why is the beer tinted green? Well, I got several different versions on this tradition. One had it that it was started in the 50's at the University of Miami (some clever entrepreneurial college kid, no doubt), and just exploded from there. By the way, the Irish do not hold to this interesting tradition. As the above paragraph just explained, they prefer a more...stoutier beer (stoutier is not a word, and there's nothing anyone can do about it! I love blogging.) And as their beer is already the color of dark mud, adding green food coloring is just going to make it muddier (and the word muddier cancels out the grammatically incorrect stout word). I guess if you are lucky enough to even squeeze into an Irish Pub today, just go with the old "when in Rome", drink the green stuff, and don't ask any questions.


Fourth and final question. I know, if you're growing weary of this, imagine how I feel? What in the world is a shillelagh? The lazy blogger in me wants to say I don't know and publish this post as is. The more responsible blogger in me actually looked it up. A shillelagh is really a walking stick. But in the 19th century, it was carried as a weapon, especially in the 1840's during the famine where evidently there was a great deal of faction fighting going on. So it was actually used for self-defense, or for provoking a fight. 

So now that I've answered all of my "need to know" questions about the Irish, I'd like to post this favorite Irish blessing:


An Old Irish Blessing
May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.


So there you have it, my little bitty Irish tribute for St. Patrick's Day. Although I'm not sure if there is green beer in my future, I do know one thing: If someone offers me a good stiff stout (Guinness), I'll be sure to  borrow someones shillelagh. Not so much to fight anyone.


More to keep myself from tipping over.


Happy St. Patrick's Day!





 

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