Celebration of a Heritage

Hello hello and welcome back to the blog of great experiences! Happy St. Patrick's day to one and all!

Someone brought up in conversation today the pointless nature of St. Patrick's day for those of us who are not Catholic or Irish. What do we do with this holiday except wear green and try to find those who were less cautious? This question, though asked in passing without the intention of causing deeper thought, has caused me to reflect on a singular moment in my life where I learned about the power of one's heritage.

I had attempted to join a Native American hoop dancing team at BYU with the thought that it would be a fun activity to do with one of my friends. Unfortunately, I was only able to attend the practice once before my work schedule changed to have me work on the nights rehearsals were held. During my one-time attendance, we had a special moment where my friend stood up to explain the stripes on her hoops. She told about her Irish ancestry and how St. Patrick's day was one of the biggest holidays celebrated by her family. As I listened to her tell her stories about corned beef and cabbage, my stirred with a deeper desire to know and love my own family heritage and history.

So my answer to this question, "What is the point of St. Patrick's day if you're not Catholic or Irish?" is plainly this, this is a holiday for me to study my family heritage and wish my brother a very happy birthday. I begin this new annual tradition by starting my studies with myself. I will branch upward and outward every year.

My first name was brought overseas by my aunt from Ireland, almost 24 years ago. (Whoa! Weird to think I've almost reached a quarter of a century of life!). This name has held a lot of meaning for me over the years. It has been a symbol of missionary work. My last name was a gift from my father. This name has held a deep rooted meaning to me of hard work and cleverness.

I won't bore you with details of my family heritage, mostly because I simply haven't gathered that many details yet. ;) I do, however, know that there are those on the other side of the veil that are waiting to be discovered. They know us, their descendants and they love us for who we are. I want to find them and get to know them better.