Tag Archives: celebrations

For the love of St Patrick

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St. Patrick is the beloved patron saint of Ireland. The Irish are famous for spinning exaggerated tales, so despite the infamous stories traditionally attributed to St Patrick, quite little is actually known about his life. We do know that St Patrick was born in Britain and that at the age of 16 was captured by Irish raiders who attacked his family’s estate. He was then transported to Ireland where he was held captive for six years, living a solitary, lonely life as a shepherd. It was then that he became a devout Christian, embracing his religion for solace. From his writing, we know that a voice, which he believed to be that of God, spoke to him in a dream, urging him to leave Ireland. He did. Walking nearly 200 miles, Patrick escaped to Britain and undertook seriously religious training.

Believe it or not, the first St Patrick’s Day parade was held in New York City on March 17, 1762. Irish Americans were not the first, however, to celebrate the feast of St Patrick. Irish families have traditionally celebrated the feast of St Patrick as a religious holiday for thousands of years—a great pause during the Christian season of Lent when prohibitions were lifted for one day of dancing, drinking and feasting on meat. Corned beef and cabbage anyone?

The history of St Patrick’s Day in America, however, begins with Irish soldiers serving in the British army. Befitting of the Irish, it is a tale of Irish patriotism and evolving political power. That very first parade in New York City not only helped the homesick Irish soldiers connect with their roots through the familiar strains of traditional Irish music—usually featuring bagpipes and drums, but also helped them to connect with one another, finding strength in numbers.

Over the years as nearly a million Irish immigrants fled to America in the wake of the Great Potato Famine, St Patrick’s Day parades became a display of solidarity and political strength as these often ridiculed Irish immigrants were frequently victims of prejudice. Soon enough, their numbers were recognized and the Irish soon organized and exerted their political muscle, becoming known as the “green machine”.

Today, St Patrick’s Day celebrations abound. Decidedly less religious, St Patrick’s Day celebrations continue to be a show of Irish strength and patriotism. So, get out your green and get ready to celebrate!

The history of the Birthday Cake

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The origin of Birthday Cakes dates back to ancient times but the cake of then was very different from what we have today. The word ‘cake’ is said to have coined as early as 13th century and is said to have derived from ‘kaka’- an Old Norse word.

In Western culture Birthday Cake is defined as a pastry or dessert served to a person on his or her birthday to celebrate the event. Birthday cakes are usually decorated with person’s name and carry a message of congratulations. Candles equal to the number of years a person has been alive are also placed on the cake. There is also a tradition to place one extra candle to bring good luck. Birthday cakes are usually spongy and the most popular flavour in cakes is chocolate.

The history of Birthday Cake can be traced back to the ancient Greeks who made round or moon shaped honey cakes or bread and took it to the temple of Artemis -the Goddess of Moon. Some, however, believe that the tradition of Birthday cake started in Germany in Middle Ages. Sweetened bread dough was given the shape of baby Jesus in swaddling cloth and was used to commemorate his birthday. This special birthday party cake later reemerged in Germany as a Kinderfest or the birthday celebrations of a young child. Germans also baked another special kind of a cake called Geburtstagorten as it was baked in layers. This was sweeter that the coarse and bread like cake that were usually made at that time.

In earlier times, Birthday cakes were mostly round in shape. This was associated to religious beliefs and technical compulsions for the same. Greeks offered round shape cake to the Goddess of Moon – Artemis as it signified moon. They even placed candles on the cake to make the cake glow like the moon.

Some say that a round cake in the ancient world has association with the annual cycles. Round shapes of cakes were preferred as these represented the cyclical nature of life. Most specifically, the sun and moon.

Technical reason given for the roundness of the cake is that most cakes we know off advanced from the bread. In ancient times breads and cakes were made by hand. Typically, these were fashioned into round balls and baked on hearthstones or in low, shallow pans. Hence, these naturally relaxed into round shapes. With the progress of times baking pans of various shapes were developed and today we see cakes in imaginative shapes and sizes.