Today is Saint Patrick's Day and everybody, Irish or not, pretends they are. Green is the popular color of the day. It's everywhere...from food (that shouldn't be green) to clothing, to hair, to...well, you get it. Everything is green. As a green frog, I'm green all the time so this one-day obsession with the color baffles me. There's a phrase that's often used on St. Paddy's day, that kind of stumps me, too. And that is, "Kiss me. I'm Irish." This time of year, you'll see it on buttons, t-shirts, greeting cards, and many other places. But what does it mean? Why would you want to kiss someone just because they're Irish? I decided to get to the bottom of it.
Everybody knows that kissing the Blarney Stone at the Blarney Castle in Ireland is supposed to bring you good luck. But did you know that kissing the rock is also supposed to bring you the gift of eloquent and persuasive speech? Yep. it's true. There are two legends about the Blarney Stone and luck. The first one tells us that in the 1440's, the builder of the Blarney Castle, one Cormac Laidir MacCarthy, was in a lawsuit at the time. He sought out advice from Cliodhna, Goddess of Love and Beauty. She told me to kiss the stone on his way to court for good luck. He did and, of course, he won his lawsuit. He was so impressed by the rock's power that he decided to incorporate it into the castle he was building and thus the Blarney Stone. The other legend says that Queen Elizabeth I wanted land rights from Cormac Teige McCarthy. Cormac set off to see the Queen to try and convince her not to take his land. But he was worried that he was not a strong speaker. On his travels to the Queen, Cormac met up with an old woman who told him that if he would kiss a certain stone at the Blarney Castle, he would have the gift of eloquent speech. Cormac took the old woman's advice and kissed the stone. During his meeting with Queen Elizabeth I, he spoke so eloquently that he was able to convince her to let him keep his land. Public speaking skills AND good luck! Who could ask for more, right? Nowadays, the Blarney Stone gets millions of visitors, all hoping for a bit of good luck in their own life and, perhaos, even the gift of gab.
So what does this all have to do with the saying, "Kiss me. I'm Irish." Well, plenty!
It seems that kissing someone who is Irish is just about as good as kissing the Blarney Stone. So if you can't get to Ireland today, find someone who's Irish, or claims to be, and give 'em a big ol' smooch. You might not be gifted with persuasive speech or with good luck, but it is kind of fun to be part of a tradition that dates back for hundreds of year. And, who know, you might find your handsome prince, or princess, at the same time!
Have a wonderful, and green, St. Patrick's Day. Stay safe and I'll see you back here tomorrow.
Everybody knows that kissing the Blarney Stone at the Blarney Castle in Ireland is supposed to bring you good luck. But did you know that kissing the rock is also supposed to bring you the gift of eloquent and persuasive speech? Yep. it's true. There are two legends about the Blarney Stone and luck. The first one tells us that in the 1440's, the builder of the Blarney Castle, one Cormac Laidir MacCarthy, was in a lawsuit at the time. He sought out advice from Cliodhna, Goddess of Love and Beauty. She told me to kiss the stone on his way to court for good luck. He did and, of course, he won his lawsuit. He was so impressed by the rock's power that he decided to incorporate it into the castle he was building and thus the Blarney Stone. The other legend says that Queen Elizabeth I wanted land rights from Cormac Teige McCarthy. Cormac set off to see the Queen to try and convince her not to take his land. But he was worried that he was not a strong speaker. On his travels to the Queen, Cormac met up with an old woman who told him that if he would kiss a certain stone at the Blarney Castle, he would have the gift of eloquent speech. Cormac took the old woman's advice and kissed the stone. During his meeting with Queen Elizabeth I, he spoke so eloquently that he was able to convince her to let him keep his land. Public speaking skills AND good luck! Who could ask for more, right? Nowadays, the Blarney Stone gets millions of visitors, all hoping for a bit of good luck in their own life and, perhaos, even the gift of gab.
So what does this all have to do with the saying, "Kiss me. I'm Irish." Well, plenty!
It seems that kissing someone who is Irish is just about as good as kissing the Blarney Stone. So if you can't get to Ireland today, find someone who's Irish, or claims to be, and give 'em a big ol' smooch. You might not be gifted with persuasive speech or with good luck, but it is kind of fun to be part of a tradition that dates back for hundreds of year. And, who know, you might find your handsome prince, or princess, at the same time!
Have a wonderful, and green, St. Patrick's Day. Stay safe and I'll see you back here tomorrow.
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