Everybody has a culture, and a history behind it. The history behind my family consists of multiple cultures, religions and beliefs. My family though is most interested in our Irish values and past. Even though my family does not participate in a lot of the Irish activities and beliefs my family will always support the ideas and culture of the Irish. My grandmother Pamela Neil though, has very strong beliefs about our Irish culture. She participates in many Irish traditions and I loved to watch her do them all.

St. Patrick of Ireland is probably one of the world’s most popular saints. Others such as St. Nicolas and St. Valentine are ones of that the entire world shares, to show our love of the saints. St. Patty’s day is also a day where the Irish in everybody seems to come out. St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated on March 17th, the saint’s religious feast day and the anniversary of his death in the fifth century. The Irish take this day as a religious holiday and have for almost 1000 years. On St. Patrick’s Day, which falls during the Christian season of Lent, Irish families traditionally attend church in the morning and celebrate in the afternoon. The holiday, St. Patrick’s Day, also allows people to dance, drink and feast all afternoon. The traditional meal of the Irish is bacon and cabbage. The traditional Irish dancing consists of a group of people usually called the ceili or set dancers. Irish set dancers are quadrilles, danced by four couples arranged in a square, while ceili dancers are danced by varied formations of two to sixteen people. In addition to the ceili formation, there are major differences between the two forms of dancing styles. Irish social dancers usually wear longer gowns usually modified to be an older look. While as the ceili dancers wear shorter dresses with a more modern look (irishcultureandcustoms.com).

Everyone has some form of tradition that is passed through generations of families, most of which people never bother exploring. When most people think of Irish traditions they think of spaghetti at dinner with meatballs; even though it is an Irish meal, it is not one of the main traditions. Some of the main traditions in Ireland that got brought over to the United States and that my grandmother thankfully still celebrates include Irish blessings. Irish blessings are about welcoming, warmth and turning negative situations into a positive one. One of the most used Irish blessings today is “May flowers always line your path and sunshine light your day. May songbirds serenade you every step along the way. May a rainbow run beside you in a sky that’s always blue. And may happiness fill your heart each day your whole life through” (yourirish.com/Irish-blessings-and-sayings). My grandmother would always give me and my cousins, brothers etc. and Irish blessing before a big event or special occasion or holidays.

Another Irish custom that my grandmother celebrates is Easter. One of the most important religious dates in the Irish calendar, other than St. Patrick’s Day, is Easter. In Ireland preparation for Easter usually starts on the first day of Lent, which is forty days before Easter Sunday. From the first day of Lent the Irish culture and people of Ireland would stop eating meat, but also quit something they cherish such as a favorite food, alcohol, cigarettes, television, phones etc. My grandmother always takes part of this; she does not eat meat during the forty days, but also tries not to use electronics during this time. My family always visits my grandmother during Lent, and the meals are always prepared, sadly, without meat. My grandmother always talks about how much she misses meat, but when the process is over that she has never regretted it because she feels involved with the Irish and their traditions (Neil).

Many people don’t know there ancestry or what culture they are. Thankfully for my family, we have a long history of ancestry and my family is aware of most of it. My grandmother always tells my family and me about the history of our first culture, where we came from, and how we got here. Even though she is not so sure about all of it, she still tends to tell the stories over and over again. I am aware of my family’s background because my grandmother’s grandparents were from Ireland originally. They then moved here and had my grandmother’s mom who kept all the traditions then passed them to my grandmother who now celebrates some of these beliefs (Neil).

My family and I have a lot of history and heritage behind our last name. We are all very proud of our name, beliefs, religion and culture. Not only are we Irish but also multiple other ancestry, I believe, though, that we celebrate the Irish values more than any other beliefs or religion out there. I feel so lucky to be part of such a great family that takes part of the Irish culture, maybe that’s why they say we have the “Luck of the Irish.”

Works Cited
Shanore. "Welcome to Irish Traditions - Irish Traditions." Welcome to Irish Traditions - Irish Traditions.
N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2013. <http://www.irishtraditionsonline.com/mysitecaddy/site3/>.
"irish culture, traditions, customs of ireland that live on." Ireland Fun Facts. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar.
2013. <http://www.ireland-fun-facts.com/irish-culture.html>.
"Irish Blessings And Sayings | YourIrish.com." Irish Culture & Customs of Ireland - Irish Traditions,
Folklore, Recipes & History. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2013. <http://www.yourirish.com/irish-blessings
and-sayings>.
Neil, Pamela . Personal interview. 2 Mar. 2013.