St. Patrick's

Day is this Sunday and people all over the world will be getting into

the spirit of the day.

They will be

wearing their green, twirling shamrocks or perhaps wearing t-shirts or

pins that say, "Kiss me, I'm Irish."

St. Patrick's

Day is now a secular holiday but its origins are in the church. St. Patrick

was born in 385 A.D. and became the second bishop of Ireland. He spread

Christianity throughout the country and helped build schools and churches.

Rumor has it he drove the snakes out of Ireland, but snakes were not native

to the land, so this may have been a metaphor for driving out paganism.

The shamrock,

one of the symbols of St. Patrick's Day, is believed to have been used

Patrick died on March 17, 461 at the age of 76. St. Patrick's Day has

been celebrated every year on that date ever since. The holiday came to

the United States in 1737 and was first celebrated in Boston, Mass.

There a few

large events in the Atlanta area to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, including

the 121st annual St. Patrick's Day Parade. The parade, Saturday, March

16, is at 1 p.m. and travels down E. Paces Ferry Road from its intersection

with Maple Drive. It will feature 24 major floats and more than 200 units.

Grand marshals

will be Irish heroes of the 9/11 tragedy, including members of the New

York Police Department, the Fire Department of New York and the New York

Port Authority.

Other groups

involved in this year's parade will be marching bands, members of the

Georgia National Guard, the Georgia Renaissance Festival, Girl Scouts,

clowns, members of local civic groups, Civil War re-enactors and bagpipe

players, as well as the Klingon Assault Group (that's right, Klingon,

like on Star Trek) and the Star Wars 501st Stormtrooper Legion.

The other main

event of the weekend is Celtic fiddler Liz Carroll's performance at Spivey

Hall Sunday at 3 p.m. She was named Traditional Musician of the Year 2000

record of American folk music by the Library of Congress.

Carroll is

different from most traditional fiddle players in that she composes the

majority of her music. Tickets are $25. Phone 770-961-3683 or visit www.spiveyhall.org .

If none of

these events appeal to you, slap on some green clothes and crank up a

U2 or a Pogues album and enjoy the spring weather.

Back

to the Top of the Page