US Embassy claims America invented St Patricks Day"

Lou.m · 13-03-2014 10:47PM

The Americans do not respect Irish culture or the Irish people they caricature it and us.

They laugh at us from a point of superiority.

It would be like the now white descendants of black people who had married into white culture dressing as 'mammy's' etc and saying it was a celebration of their culture not realizing it was offensive and hurtful.

They get to parade the stereotype for a day and go back to being American the next day.

We have to keep the rep of our country. They get to dishonor the image of what it is to be Irish (with homophobia or being gob****es) then not be Irish the next day.

opiniated · 13-03-2014 10:55PM

Smell Badda wrote: »

It's not the type of sliced corned beef you get in packets or the canned kind. It's a solid lump of meat that you can get from butchers is what's tasty. Story is, it was bacon & cabbage invented here. Becuase it was cheap. But the butchers that sold bacon were hard to find in New York so Beef & Cabbage was born, over there.

??

I remember an elderly relative (RIP) reminiscing about the corned beef and cabbage in Co Roscommon during her childhood - and she was born in 1922.

I didn't think St Patricks day was a big celebration in the US in the 1920s/30s?

Toby Take a Bow · 13-03-2014 10:55PM

Xenophile wrote: »

I have no problems with the USA coming up with the idea of St.Patrick's Day it's just a pity that they did not chose the date of 12th.July so that both traditions could be celebrated on the same day.

Isn't the date tied in with his feast day or birth day or death day or something? I don't think the Americans can just choose a date.

MRnotlob606 · 13-03-2014 10:57PM

why is our national Holiday hijacked ?

Smiles35 · 13-03-2014 11:15PM

opiniated wrote: »

??

As a popular afforable dish.

SCOOP 64 · 13-03-2014 11:28PM

Knob Longman wrote: »

My friend got arrested for being drunk (Totally Plastered) and chanting IRA IRA on St Patrick's Day before..But it was at Leicester Sq in London and after he got put in the wagon the cops put his big green leprechaun hat back on his head, His brother said the cops were in tears laughing about it, Foreign tourists all amused at it..Even funnier is his name is Patrick too..

So they didn't see him as a drunken prick then.

Wotsername · 13-03-2014 11:28PM

Knob Longman wrote: »

My friend got arrested for being drunk (Totally Plastered) and chanting IRA IRA on St Patrick's Day before..But it was at Leicester Sq in London and after he got put in the wagon the cops put his big green leprechaun hat back on his head, His brother said the cops were in tears laughing about it, Foreign tourists all amused at it..Even funnier is his name is Patrick too..

Sounds like he took the AT out of PatRICK!

RGDATA! · 13-03-2014 11:29PM

Smell Badda wrote: »

It's not the type of sliced corned beef you get in packets or the canned kind. It's a solid lump of meat that you can get from butchers is what's tasty. Story is, it was bacon & cabbage invented here. Becuase it was cheap. But the butchers that sold bacon were hard to find in New York so Beef & Cabbage was born, over there.

According to my butcher (who sells it) proper corned beef or 'bully beef' was indeed popular in certain parts of Ireland (less so in recent times) so while the yanks do overemphasise it as our national dish, I think it probably had some roots here.

WilyCoyote · 14-03-2014 04:16AM

Smell Badda wrote: »

It's not the type of sliced corned beef you get in packets or the canned kind. It's a solid lump of meat that you can get from butchers is what's tasty. Story is, it was bacon & cabbage invented here. Becuase it was cheap. But the butchers that sold bacon were hard to find in New York so Beef & Cabbage was born, over there.

Last time I was home I asked a very elderly (and lucid) farmer if he knew the tradition of Corned Beef&Cabbage. His reply was, that in the old days a cow was kept for milk all her life and towards the end was butchered for her meat. At this stage of her life, she would only get half the money that a large pig would fetch. So as bacon was dearer and things were not too good financially, they corned the beef.
Sounds OK to me. But I still rather the boiled bacon. Was in the grocery supermarket yesterday and saw top class Corned Beef for $1.60 per pound on special.

Killer Wench · 14-03-2014 06:17AM

The problem that I have with St Patrick's Day in the US is that it's very anachronistic to the point of being insulting to a modern and evolving Irish identity. It's like we have taken a snapshot of Ireland, from the 1850s, and regurgitated it year after year.

Younger people equate St. Paddy's day with a national drinking day while older people pull out the crockpots, load up on corned beef and potatoes, and dress in ugly green sweaters all in tribute to their Irish ancestors.

I don't apologize for much but I do feel like apologizing for this sad, one-dimensional representation of Irish people.

cryano · 14-03-2014 06:26AM

The whole drinking and parade thing is an import from the States. For years pubs were not permitted to open on Paddys day in Ireland just like Xmas and good friday, the government realized this was bad for tourism and changed to allow pubs open.

Oranage2 · 14-03-2014 06:35AM

cryano wrote: »

The whole drinking and parade thing is an import from the States. For years pubs were not permitted to open on Paddys day in Ireland just like Xmas and good friday, the government realized this was bad for tourism and changed to allow pubs open.

Pubs were forced to close because people got too drunk on the day.

14-03-2014 08:41AM

It's like telling an American that the Chinese invented Independence Day because there's a tradition of setting off fireworks.

Paddy Cow · 14-03-2014 09:35AM

ScumLord wrote: »

So the Americans think they invented a Catholic saint by wearing green jumpers and eating corned beef?

Allyall wrote: »

I think they could say they "Amercanized" it, But probably not invented it.

I would have thought that the first parade in America, was Irish People, so they can't really claim that one, can they?

Frank Lee Midere wrote: »

They did invent and popularise the parades. Which is what most people think about. Compare with St George's day.

St Patrick's day in Ireland used to be a holy day where the God fearing Catholics went to mass and confessions and prayed for St Patrick. In early America, there was a huge influx of Irish immigrants and the politicians wanted their votes so had parades on St Patrick's day to look like they gave a flying sh!te about them. The parades took off and somehow it spread globally.

While they didn't "invent" St Patrick's day, it is fair to say that without the American influence, it wouldn't have become such a globally acknowledged day. St Patrick's day is only an official public holiday in Ireland, Northern Ireland, Montersaat (home of the "Black Irish") and Newfoundland and Labrador.

tightropetom · 14-03-2014 10:10AM

From Wikipedia::rolleyes:

Saint Patrick's Day was made an official Christian feast day in the early seventeenth century and is observed by the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion (especially the Church of Ireland),[4] the Eastern Orthodox Church and Lutheran Church.

Surely this predates the good old U.S. of A.? :eek:

Toby Take a Bow · 14-03-2014 10:25AM

tightropetom wrote: »

From Wikipedia::rolleyes:

...

Surely this predates the good old U.S. of A.? :eek:

I think they're talking about Patrick's day as a celebration with parades and all that, which I think the Americans did invent.

thebostoncrab · 14-03-2014 11:40AM

After watching this I'm glad I didn't get involved with it in the end.

ScumLord · 14-03-2014 02:58PM

Paddy Cow wrote: »

St Patrick's day in Ireland used to be a holy day where the God fearing Catholics went to mass and confessions and prayed for St Patrick. In early America, there was a huge influx of Irish immigrants and the politicians wanted their votes so had parades on St Patrick's day to look like they gave a flying sh!te about them. The parades took off and somehow it spread globally.

While they didn't "invent" St Patrick's day, it is fair to say that without the American influence, it wouldn't have become such a globally acknowledged day. St Patrick's day is only an official public holiday in Ireland, Northern Ireland, Montersaat (home of the "Black Irish") and Newfoundland and Labrador.

It would have been easy to agree with them if they pulled a Will Smith on it.

It's true they turned it into a festival, but they way they put it, it could be said that ity disregards what came before and diminishes the Irish involvement as if it was unimportant until the Americans came along.

UCDVet · 14-03-2014 03:56PM

Did anyone take the time to actual watch the f**kin video?

The video makes five specific claims about things the US did first as part of the St. Patricks Day celebration

1.) The first Saint Patrick's Day Parade
2.) Dying beer green / dying rivers green / dressing green
3.) Marching bands
4.) Corn beef and cabbage
5.) The keys to the White House

They even go on to explain and justify each specific claim.

The video giving five, specific, concrete examples of things commonly associated with modern Saint Patrick's Day that are of American origin. They aren't claiming that it doesn't pre-date the United States. They are not claiming it is only an American holiday. They are claiming five specific ways that the United States has shaped what the world generally understands as Saint Patrick's Day.

I swear, it's like my wife, once every month or so, she's just LOOKING for something to get angry about. 'THOSE DAMN AMERICANS! STEALING OUR HOLIDAYS!' How could they make such a claim! WE INVENTED IT!

Let's all just calm down a bit.

Paddy Cow · 14-03-2014 04:04PM

ScumLord wrote: »

It's true they turned it into a festival, but they way they put it, it could be said that ity disregards what came before and diminishes the Irish involvement as if it was unimportant until the Americans came along.

I agree completely but what are the chances they will admit that the only reason they gave a sh!te about St Patty's day was so they could get the vote from poverty stricken immigrants who had no value, other than their cross on a ballot card?

I have to say though, whatever about St Patricks day taking off in America as a day of parades etc I think it is astounding that it is recognised in most countries in the world. How did that happen?

Irish Guitarist · 14-03-2014 04:35PM

The Americans invented the way Americans celebrate Saint Patricks Day. A couple of their customs caught on here but it would still be Saint Patricks Day without them. I never even heard of the 'traditional' Irish meal of corned beef and cabbage until about two years ago.

The one about the keys to the White House is really clutching at straws to make it a list of five things.

Son Of A Vidic · 14-03-2014 06:03PM

sillyoulfool wrote: »

US Embassy claims America invented St Patricks Day

I'm not too sure about them inventing St. Patrick's Day OP. But I do know they definitely invented Freedom and Democracy.

WilyCoyote · 14-03-2014 06:24PM

Corvus Maximus wrote: »

I'm not too sure about them inventing St. Patrick's Day OP. But I do know they definitely invented Freedom and Democracy.

Ah Jasus, Corvus Maximus. That was well under the, er, undercarriage.

Jimminism · 23-03-2014 06:11AM

UCDVet wrote: »

I swear, it's like my wife, once every month or so, she's just LOOKING for something to get angry about. 'THOSE DAMN AMERICANS! STEALING OUR HOLIDAYS!' How could they make such a claim! WE INVENTED IT!

They just want a chance to moan about something. Americans usually like Irish people but Irish people throw it back in their faces. British people have historically treated Irish people like crap and still look down on them (inb4 denials), yet the Irish fawn over them.

Americans are fair game to make fun of. You'll even see Irish people try to stereotype Americans as stupid which is hilariously hypocritical.

Gokei · 23-03-2014 06:50AM

Does this mean we'll have start having traditional goose instead of American turkey for Christmas?

Fook that.

Gokei · 23-03-2014 06:53AM

Irish Guitarist wrote: »

I never even heard of the 'traditional' Irish meal of corned beef and cabbage until about two years ago.

I doubt my mam used to import it just for us, so I can vouch for it being available in the butchers for the last 30yrs at least. I'll ask her later if she had it as a youngster.

Wompa1 · 23-03-2014 10:02AM

If what they put in the video is true, they invented the spectacle of St. Patricks Day but the real winners are the people who first got polluted drunk on that day

DEFTLEFTHAND · 23-03-2014 10:20AM

You have to remember that corned beef was staple for many poor Irish families in the 20th century, they thought that was good eating. In the UK too, especially during the war years. Some of the 20th century immigrants to NYC thought this was cuisine and the street smart New Yorkers ripped the piss out of them and added another weapon to their insult arsenal to go with potato.

Wompa1 · 23-03-2014 10:49AM

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

You have to remember that corned beef was staple for many poor Irish families in the 20th century, they thought that was good eating. In the UK too, especially during the war years. Some of the 20th century immigrants to NYC thought this was cuisine and the street smart New Yorkers ripped the piss out of them and added another weapon to their insult arsenal to go with potato.

those potato jabs really hurt

DEFTLEFTHAND · 23-03-2014 11:04AM

Wompa1 wrote: »

those potato jabs really hurt

I was once assaulted in Bensonhurst and called a spud ****** by greasy Italians.

US Embassy claims America invented St Patricks Day"

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