Art in Action: St. Patrick’s Day
By DARLA MCCAMMON
Lakeland Art Association
WARSAW — Maewyn Succan was born to a rich British family but when he was only 16 he was kidnapped and taken to Ireland by raiders in an attempt to steal his family’s property. For six years he remained a captive and worked hard as a shepherd in Ireland.
During this time he became a devout Christian and prayed God would use him someday for more than guiding sheep. He managed to escape by walking 200 miles to the coastline of Ireland, then home to Britain. He had a dream in which he was instructed to return to Ireland as a missionary. He knew he needed more education in order to accomplish this.
Succan succeeded in training to become a priest and changed his name to the one we all recognize: Patrick. He was 60 years old when he fulfilled his dream and returned to Ireland where he converted many. He described the Father, Son and Holy Spirit to his converts with picture stories using the three leaves of the shamrock. His ministry continued for 30 more years when he retired to County Down. He gave many years to his ministry.
Following his death the tradition of honoring him began with a feast each year on the anniversary of his death on March 17, 461 A.D. This happened to be during the season of Lent, a time restricting diets with meat in them, but the church made the concession to allow people to drink, dance, and eat Irish bacon and cabbage once they had attended church in the morning. Thus the date of March 17 began as a sober occasion but ended on a joyful note.
March 17, 1762, marked the first St. Patrick’s Day parade was marched by Irish soldiers who served in New York City for the British. Later, after the Great Potato Famine, millions of Irishmen immigrated, then formed huge voting blocks, and the parades grew in size and stature with President Harry Truman being the first U.S. President to attend New York’s St. Patty’s Day event. Quite a few other traditions such as including the lore of leprechauns, treasures at the foot of the rainbow, blarney stones, pinching those who don’t wear green, and so forth, have evolved beyond anything the real St. Patrick may have envisioned in his Christian walk.
Next week we will talk about an artist who painted the scene included here of one of those rainy St. Patrick’s Days before the parade started. His name was Childe Hassam and his story is equally as interesting as that of St. Patrick. Come back next week for the rest of the story.
Upcoming and current events:
- Exhibit of Senior Art Student Show from Grace College at Warsaw City Hall. 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.
- LAA New gallery now open, 302 E. Winona Ave. 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, the fourth Monday of each month, visit the new LAA Gallery in the evening for special programs. Call (574) 269-1101 for dates, subject of the program, and times.
- Contact your author/artist Darla McCammon at [email protected], or visit her website.