Re: I need a catholic to explain this to me....
 

All Bishops are not giving dispenastions. Ours in the Diocese of Eastern Oklahoma did not, but the Bishop in Oklahoma City did. It is up to the individual Bishop.

In Irish history, Catholics fasted from meat during all of Lent, not just Fridays, and of course all Catholics fasted from meat on Fridays all year, not just during Lent. So, regardless of whether St. Patrick's Day fell on a Friday or not, meat would not have been allowed. The Bishop of Ireland tradiationally granted a dispensation, not just for corned beef, but also to engage in a celebration of their patron. (Any celebrations during Lent were and still are forbidden.)

My family has never participated in the dispensations even when they were given.

The last time St. Patrick's Day was on a Friday, Cardinal O'Connor of the Archdiocese of New York gave a dispensation, but Bishop Daily of the Diocese of Brooklyn did not. So depending on which side of the East River you lived, you could either eat meat or not. I haven't decided if I will eat meat or not. It depends on what they serve at dinner tonight.

Just a word of advice, don't wear orange in NYC on St. Patrick's Day. Most people of Irish heritage know what that means, and you can get hurt.

I was taught that the Irish flag is green, white, and gold, not orange.

No, it's definitely orange.

The webpages of The Department of the Taosieach (Prime Minister) describes it this way:

National Flag

The national flag of Ireland is a tricolour of green, white and orange. The flag is twice as wide as it is high. The three colours are of equal size and the green goes next to the flagstaff.

The flag was first introduced by Thomas Francis Meagher in 1848 who based it on French tricolour.

The green represents the older Gaelic tradition while the orange represents the supporters of William of Orange. The white in the centre signifies a lasting truce between the 'Orange' and the'Green'.

http://www.atlasgeo.net/fotw/images/i/ie.gif

I'm thinking, however, that the advice not to wear orange in NYC today is well-founded. ;)

I don't think she means she literally thinks it's gold...I think it's sort of "you don't say orange around an Irishmen", like you don't say MacBeth in a Theater.

You're probably right -- sorry if you didn't mean to be taken literally, Peaches-n-Cream.

And on this most Irish of days, AlphaFrog, you managed to bring up "the Scottish play." :D I'll trust you weren't posting from inside a theatre. If you were (or even if you weren't -- bad luck can come anywhere), well "Angels and ministers of grace defend [you]."

No, I really don't think falling off a stage sounds like much fun to me - that's what happened to everyone who mentioned "The Scottish Play" in our theatre in highschool.

What an interesting thread. I didn't know most of this stuff.

I like the story of the phrase " The luck of the Irish". I have to work tonight so unfortunately I get to drive home with all of the drunks tonight.

Some of you may know that every year, the Chicago River is dyed green for St Patrick's Day. Well, a few minutes ago I learned that they use orange pigment to dye the Chicago River green. I never knew that, but thought it was ironic.

The "real" :) Irish flag is these colors. We are flying ours today. It is green flag with a gold harp and gold tassles. It reads "Erin go Bragh." A lot of Irish nationalists only recognize this flag, not the politically correct green, white, and orange flag.

For more on the flags...

http://www.infoplease.com/spot/irishflag1.html

FYI, here's some more historical info on The Green Flag.

And RedRose SAI, ROTFL!

ditto!

I wore green Friday, but was actually considering wearing a bit of orange because I'm just a confusion! I am Catholic, lived in Ireland but my ancestry is VERY Protestant (my maternal grandmother brought in the Catholic - everyone else was Protestant) and of English and Scottish ancestry (with Scandanavian and Eastern European for good measure!).

Sarah

When I was at lunch yesterday, the waitress had on an orange polo as part of her uniform. I complimented her on her bravery, and the poor thing didn't understand. My Irish ancestory is green, but I'm not Catholic. I wear the green in honor of my ancestory, not my religion.

I'm keeping out of the whole fish bit, except to repeat what two of my pastors (one former, one current) have said: If you're living a life in which Christ is the foremost of your thoughts throughout the year, giving up anything for Lent is a meaningless gesture.

I usually eat fish on Fridays if I'm out, more because I don't know the religiosity of the cooks/servers than because of a moral obligation.

I can tell you it's very un-advisable to wear orange up here (or at least around the downtown and school) on St. Patrick's Day... and yet every year some of the Orage Order get together and do just that on St. Patrick's Day or at the parade (which will be tomorrow). While it's okay to wear the colors or flag or a county, it is generally viewed as very poor taste to wear just orange for the sake of it...