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economist suntribune st patricksday saturday march 16 2002 with a bible or a beer be sure to celebrate irish saul sunday by gianni colavecchia staff writer every march 17 pubs across north america serve guinness and irish stew play celtic music and irish or not have a big party it may just be the worlds rowdi- estreligious holiday st patricks is a good day to drink green beer tristine doherty said thats all it is in canada ms doherty who came to canada from ireland when she was 10 said march 17 is considered a holy day in her homeland butit isnt cele brated where she comes trom tellymore which she described as a pagan area in the northern part of the country nonetheless ms doherty who returns to ireland every yearj was happy discuss the festival in the decidedly- secular- atmosphere of anlrishpubinvaughan 1 while canada commonly asso ciates green beer with the feast day of irelands patron saint the sham rock is the dominant symbol on the other side of the atlantic what many canadians dont know is the threeleafed clover is a religious symbol associated with st patrick whdiised it to illustrate the holy trinity mark rogers who is of irish descent lamented st patricksday hasjbecome a secular holiday just like any other in this country mr rogers who noted his wife wakes up early every morning to read the bible said he knew little about the story of st patrick who i know he was a good guy and kicked the snakes out of ireland but thats all i could tell you i know a bunch of people and for them st patricks day is just ah excuse to get drilled to the eyeballs suffered repeated persecution in trying to bring christianity to the masses hes the irish saul mr rogers said referring st paul who also was persecuted for his christian beliefs i know he was a good guy and kicked the snakes out of ireland but mats all i could tell you i know a bunch of people and for them st patricks day is just an excuse to get drilled to the eyeballs patrick brady of richmond hill- said he had a fair idea about what st patricks day is all about he was born in dublin and lived in ireland until about a year ago most irish citi zens keep the day holy mr brady said but that does nt stop many of them from- down- ing a few pints every march j even those who give up alcohol for lent drink onihat dayhesaid its an excuse to drink more beer hot that we need an excuse he remarked its an excuse for everyone across the world to be irish its a daywhere the world celebrates debbie kluwakof richmond hillsaid its a shame few people seem to know the story of st patrick and the meaning of his day i kriew we celebrated on march 17 because thats the day he died she said people forget what it really is r think its sad i think anything like that is sad staff photosmike barrett rehgiousday or excuse to party looks like the latter judg ing by these folks tuning up for sundays st patricks day celebrationstop preparing for the big event are pauline ashmore left owner of the emerald isle in downtown stouffville and barmaid vanessa buttery above from front duchess of markham patrons ken suddes chrissy maude mike arbour janet beacham jeremy teasdale and owner mike thompson keep bartender resh prashad busy st patrick brought christianity to ireland though most people associate his feast day with little more than the shamrock theres much more to the devoted christian who was st patrick born in wales around 385 ad the boy who eventually became irelands patron saint was first known as maewyn and was a pagan until he was 16 irish marauders sold him into slavery and as a teen he came to know god during six yearsof captivity he escaped to gaul where he studied irr a monastery for 2 years during that time he felt a calling to convert pagans to christianity so he established monas teries and churches throughout ireland the success patrick experienced in his endeavour angered mecelticdruidsand he was arrested several times he escaped oneach of those occasions and went on to carry out his mission for 30 years he retired to county down and died in ad 461 march 17 which millions have com- memorated as st patricks day ever since patrick had used one of the symbols people associate- with him the shamrock as a metaphor for the holy trinity the threeleafed clover helped people understand father sonahdholy spirit could all exist as separate elements of the same 1 entity c- v- people originally celebrated it as a roman catholic holy day but st patricks day has now evolved into a secular event gianni colavecchia 55 jv- -v- approved auto repair services ilia dealership juternathre our famous spring 4 heritage road l rgtl pmsl g3ctl we flush winters sm v t r zr ft suftxfcor c t hwc0mo j t- hwkt v- id x markham ont l3p 1 m4 jsalt sand away it you deserve r rcheoh us outtwwwmarkhamautoxom 90547251 00