Luck of the Irish

Happy March All! I know the month is almost over, but I couldn't help but post all about the festivities that have been going on these past few weeks.  The Normal Ordinary in March for my family and me is celebrating St. Patrick's Day of course along with our fellow Irishmen, the kick off to spring birthdays, anticipating spring break, and finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel: Spring time means sunshine! St. Patty's Day is what everyone can come together and recognize about the month of March though so let's start there:

St. Patrick's Day is considered a Roman Catholic "holy day" of feasting and ale-drinking to honor the spread of Christianity, so my dad's family and I usually take advantage of that to the fullest (no pun intended). This year however, I was on Spring Break and missed out on all the feasting, but I do have some fun facts about the holiday to share:

 1. St. Patrick himself wasn't even Irish. He was actually born in Britain, captured, and was a slave in Ireland until he entered into priesthood and made his name known as a missionary advocating for Christianity. 

2. The shamrock was used a symbol to teach the Trinity of Christianity ( The 3 leaved ones obviously).

3. Cabbage and Corn beef is the traditional meal of St. Patty's Day because the Irish in the US were typically part of the lower class, and to celebrate this feasting, beer-drinking holiday, families would splurge on dinner. Corn beef and cabbage were usually all they could afford so that is why it is served as the traditional St. Patty's Day meal all across the United States.

4. Like too many things, the wearing green tradition originated in the United States along with the pinching. It may have started early on, but the story behind both traditions is that by wearing green, you were invisible to Leprechauns which was good because they would pinch anyone they could see. So the pinching is to warn and remind people about the Leprechauns. 

5. One of my favorite Irish signatures is the claddagh ring, which is their representation of love, loyalty and friendship. This isn't a St. Patrick's thing, just an Irish thing. The old tale is that these rings were made and used to signify the important qualities within a marriage. Women who owned claddagh rings prior to their marriage would wear the heart open-faced (the crown side down) indicating that their heart was still open for someone to "capture" in marriage, whereas the women who wore a claddagh and were married would wear the heart in the closed fashion (crown side up) indicating that they had now found love from someone loyal and were bound together though love and friendship. At least that is the story I was told when my grandma gave me her claddagh that I now wear everyday as tradition, so I thought I would pass the story along to anyone reading. 

Okay. Enough of that.

Of course I have a dessert to associate with the month of March: The Most Delicious Apple Crisp I have ever had (and made myself) came off of one of my new favorite recipe blogs (the link will take you there). I am a huge fan of apple crisp, and I cannot wait to reuse this recipe. Some people argue that apple crisp is a fall dessert, but I say if you use Green Granny Smith Apples, it can qualify for spring time too, especially the green-themed month of March! Here are the pictures I took from Lauren Allen's Blog: Tastes Better from Scratch, because I missed my own opportunity to take pictures of the one I made, and I promise it looks just like this! I cut my apple slices a little thinner than she did, but that's just personal preference. The recipe is also on my Pinterest if you want to access it from there, along with a few more festive desserts to make.

Like I also mentioned, March kicks off birthday season! My dad, stepmom, sister, brother, and I all have spring birthdays!! We celebrated my dad and brother's birthday this month, while the other three of us are all April birthdays. My dad is never into making a big deal out of his special day, but he came up for breakfast a few weeks ago and went out to breakfast (our special tradition) and I could't help but get him a mug from our favorite breakfast diner we found up here.  It is also tradition for me to get my brother their specialty root beer for his birthday. If you ever get the chance, check out Triple XXX or Route 66 up in West Lafayette. Both places are owned by the same people, and Triple XXX has actually been featured on Diners, Drive-In's, and Dives, the TV show with Guy Fieri. Amazing breakfast and burgers. And of course, what is a birthday with out a sibling selfie… below is our picture from last year, and the one from this year. Not much change happening… minus our extra facial hair ;)

2014

2015

I also have now been to Disney World and back to conclude my crazy month of March, but that will take a whole separate blog post to share all the good of that trip. I hope your month of March has been as "luck" as mine! Thanks for reading!



T. Hall