Valentine's Day is fast approaching and many of you may be curious about how Irish people celebrate this most romantic day of the year.
And here's a little question to whet your appetite for romantic information about my fellow country men and women....
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Which Irish Person Recieves the Most Valentines?
Incredibly, the answer is the late Michael Collins. Almost 93 years after his death, Ireland's revolutionary leader receives a plethora of Valentine's cards, which are placed on his grave in Glasnevin cemetery.
When I read this fact in a wonderful infographic created by the good folks at Killarney Hotels, I thought I should share their research with you.
Truth be told I'm no Valentine's expert. We do little to celebrate the day in our house. When my eldest son was asked to write a story at school answering the following question:
What does your family do to celebrate Valentine's Day?
He answered truthfully, honestly and concisely by writing at the top of a long page of lines .....
Nothing
That's my romantic Irish boy. Remember the same child answered his teacher's question about why he loves his mom, by answering "because she does the work".
And so, as the mother of such a budding Irish romantic, my level of Valentine's expertise demands I hand you over to the highly informed hoteliers in Killarney, who are more keenly in tune with the romantic side of my homeland. I hope you enjoy this little round up of facts about Irish Valentine celebrations........
Valentine's Day In Ireland
Here's a quick infographic outlining some fun facts about Valentine's Day in Ireland.
Wishing you all a very romantic and happy Valentine's Day.
Here are some more ramblings about love that you might enjoy.
An Irish Blessing – May Love And Laughter Light Your Home
Love And Marriage – Irish Style
Lessons In Love From Old Irish Sayings
Celtic Christening Gowns As Family Heirlooms
Thanks for following my recipes and ramblings.
Slán agus beannacht,
(Goodbye and blessings)
Mairéad -Irish American Mom
Pronunciation - slawn ah-gus ban-ock-th
Mairéad - rhymes with parade
P.S. This is not a sponsored post and I don't have a business relationship with the good folks at Killarney Hotels. I simply enjoyed their infographic, appreciate the work they put into creating it, and thought you might like it too.
Here are some recipes you might enjoy...
Ray Brown
Dear Mairead,
I loved your piece on Saint Valentine's Day for several reasons. 1. I never knew that Michael Collins gets more Valentine cards than anyone else in Ireland. (Not Thomas Clarke, Patrick Pearse, or James Connolly, but Michael Collins, one of countless Irish hero's.) I was a little surprised and learned a lot from that, but Collins was a great man like so many from Ireland. 2.The other thing I really enjoyed was your son's honesty.
His honesty reminded me of my own painfully honest adventure when I was in the fourth grade in Catholic school and the nun told us that the Monsignor was coming to our class to hand out report cards and that one of our infinite assignments was to look up the saint we were named after. I rushed to the library after school to dutifully do the assignment and found no saint, from Ireland, with my name. There were many Saint Raymonds , like Saint Raymond of Padua, but I knew that could not be my Irish saint. I asked my dad which saint we were named after and he said he did not know, his father, my grandfather, gave him the name and he gave it to me. I went the next day to school not having done the assignment and I sat in the middle of the room. I was sweating bullets because by the time they got to me, I was the only one who did not do the assignment. In fact, I was the only one not to have done it at all. I got in big trouble from the nun, after the Monsignor left, and I had to stay after school. Actually, there are other Raymonds in Ireland, like Ray McCreesh who was the third hunger striker to die in Ireland in 1981, but no other people were from Ireland, in the book I read that were canonized saints from Ireland. I was honest like your son, but after I got in so much trouble, I knew that a little creative writing and any saint would do. Its best to do the assignment and turn it in. My parents did not give me the direction to tell me to just pick anyone, and I didn't. Maybe they were too honest too...
Irish American Mom
Once again, Ray you made me laugh with your memories of Catholic school days. Luckily for my son teachers in Catholic schools today are a little more tolerant if a child doesn't follow instructions to the letter of the law. I love how you wanted to complete your assignment accurately, but unfortunately failed to find an Irish St. Ray. Research back in our days at school was far more time consuming than today. Looking through books, especially large volumes of the encyclopedia was no fun. The internet makes research so easy today.
Thanks for stopping by with another great story,
Mairéad
Ray Brown
Your so right , Mairead, about the internet today. It makes research so quick and interesting. Not like in my day in Catholic schools.
Irish American Mom
And oh boy, did we get lots of papers to research the old fashioned way. 🙂
Ray Brown
As you know Mairead,
In America, Saint Valentine's Day is a big day, as all the holidays here, and often it is just big business. Valentine's Day is tomorrow and already I see Saint Patrick's things to buy in the stores here in California.
My wife owns two hair salons and she is booked to do four hair colors today. (She will be working all day!) Thank God, she will sell one salon next week. Tomorrow is Valentine's Day and many women will come into her salon tomorrow to get hair colors done. This day is big business. It doesn't seem to matter if one is American, Mexican, Filipino or any other nationality. If women do not celebrate this day in their own countries, by the time they come here, they want to have a celebration. (Everyone loves a Party, including us Irish!)
Irish American Mom
Ray - I know only too well how big an event Valentine's Day is in America. It's a big commercial holiday, right down to how kids exchange store bought cards and candy. The year my triplets were in kindergarten I nearly pulled my hair out trying to get them each to sign 25 little cards to share at school. With 4 kids, over 100 cards needed to be prepared for school. It took a good few days for each of my children to sign enough cards for their classmates. And I confess I finished a few myself, trying my best to make my writing look like a kindergartner's penmanship. My Irish practicality came shining through that year. All I could think was why couldn't they just color a few hearts rather than putting us to all this expense of buying candy and cards.
We don't do anything for Valentines in our home other than whatever is needed for school. The whole commercial aspect of the holiday just doesn't suit me. I save my efforts for Paddy's Day, but I know I'm in the minority.
All the best,
Mairéad
Ray Brown
Wow! I remember my mom, helping me with my cards too. The nuns gave us a list of all the children in our class, so we did not overlook anyone with the warning that everyone had to get a card in the class or we could not give them out. My mom, like you was great at helping a boy out when I would rather be out playing. Thank God for Irish mothers! It was so long ago that I forgot about my moms great help until you reminded me by helping your son out. Thanks for reminding me. My mom always said, "A mom's work is never done!". It's true.
Irish American Mom
“A mom’s work is never done!”. I couldn't agree more. 🙂
Maureen N.
Hi Mairead!
Growing up in Ireland, St. Valentine's Day was just for young people in their teens and up. The cards were usually not signed, and this posed all kinds of questions about who could have sent them. Great fun trying to guess!
Our children also took and received loads of little cards from classmates during their school years here. I made cupcakes for the class many a year. Fun day! It could get out of hand when the flowers started to arrive at the school for the cheerleaders, etc. The school put a stop to that after a while, as it was getting out of hand, with parents sending them to their teens.
Irish American Mom
Maureen - When I was young in Dublin I don't think we ever even colored in a heart picture at school for Valentine's Day. I suppose back then, the nuns had little time for romanticism in the classroom. I am so happy that my triplets no longer need help with writing or signing their names. Life is much easier now. I can't believe parents would send flowers to their kids at school. But then again, when I really think about, I can fully understand how some parents would get carried away. I hope you had a lovely Valentine's Day.
All the best,
Mairéad