Happy Belated St. Patrick’s Day!

No green beer for me this year due to another bout of snow and a yucky cold.

But, I have to admit that I love St. Paddy’s Day! When I was in junior high, I was sent to the office for a violation of the dress code. We weren’t allowed to wear buttons with sayings, and I had about seventy Irish buttons all over my clothes. It took me a good half hour to remove them all. They didn’t say anything about the pointed leprechaun shoes or the bright green wig though.

The fascination with all things green and Irish continued throughout the years. When I was in my early twenties, I went to Ireland and decided I wanted to move there. Clearly, that didn’t happen, so I settled on getting a leprechaun tattoo instead.

What is it about St. Patrick’s Day that makes everyone happy? I’ve never been to a pub when fights break out. People share their excitement and wear green sparkles and goofy hats and pointed shoes. Or seventy buttons.

It’s a day full of possibilities. It’s full of magic. It’s a time when adults can cling to childish imaginings and just blame it on the pint of green beer.

In the spirit of St. Patrick’s Day and all things lucky, I have compiled a short list of lucky legends (not all Irish):
1. The Four Leaf Clover—stands for faith, hope, love and luck.
2. Horseshoes—preferably made of iron, hang this sucker facing up, so that luck can fill it and not spill out.
3. Dreamcatchers—these will catch the bad dreams before they enter the home.
4. Evil Eye—protects you against evil.
5. Rabbit’s Foot—this is supposed to be lucky, but I think not…you have to catch the poor unsuspecting bunny at night on a full moon in a cemetery and cut off the left hind foot while it’s still living in order to ward off evil magic and have good luck. I call that bad, Bad, BAD karma.

Just remember to never open an umbrella inside the house or you’ll be asking for bad luck to rain down on you.

There is another superstition involving the number 13 and the bad luck it brings. Some architects won’t end stairs on the 13th step or elevators on the 13th floor. Some people are so scared by the number 13 that they actually have a phobia name for it: triskaidekaphobia.

My daughter Kaitlin disagrees heartily with this phobia. Her golden birthday (when you’re date and age are the same), will fall this year on Friday, June 13th. She’s been planning this exciting birthday party for years. I think it’s all in how we look at things. Are things in and of themselves lucky or unlucky? Or do we make them that way through the power of our own suggestion?

I happen to disagree with the number 13 being unlucky, and I’m sure the Golden Heart® finalists from last year will attest to that because they’re named the Lucky 13s. Throughout the past year, we’ve become friends who support each other on a shared journey, and we never would have met if it hadn’t been for a Lucky Year–2013. ☺

I’ll leave you with a great Irish saying that sums up my feelings about all my wonderful writing friends: “Friends are like four-leaf clovers—hard to find but lucky to have.”

Do you believe in any good luck charms or legends?

20 thoughts on “Happy Belated St. Patrick’s Day!

  1. I am extremely superstitious! I broke a couple mirrors – all around the same time – about eight years ago. I’ve been extremely lucky and fortunate this past year but those 7 leading up to it? Not so great. Totally from the broken mirrors! I know it!

    I do love the number 13 though so I’m clearly an enigma! I want to celebrate Kaitlin’s birthday!

    1. At least your seven years bad luck is over. Just be careful around those mirrors, Kerri! And you will be on the guest list for Kaitlin’s party. It’s gonna be so fun! And very Friday the 13th-ish, but magical, not scary. 🙂

    1. Yay, Sandra! I know the year 2013 has been good for you, Girl! Thanks for stopping by!

  2. Hello Kim, my fellow Lucky 13. It’s hard to believe that in just another week, a new class will replace us. Where did the year go?

    I didn’t know all those details about the rabbit’s foot superstition. I totally agree with you – what bad karma, and besides that, just yuck!

    Gail

    1. Gail!!!! Nobody can EVER replace the GH Lucky 13s. There can be a new class of finalists, but they won’t ever be US! 🙂 And we have the distinction of finaling in a lucky year. At least I think it’s a lucky year. 🙂
      I agree. That rabbit foot thing is atrocious. Bad! Awful. Poor, poor wittle bunnies…

  3. Fun post, Kim! I think I am superstitious. Or at least I would like to be. I’ll think, oh last time I did x,y, and z, this good thing happened, so since I’m doing it again, another good thing will happen. Alas, it never comes true! I don’t believe I bad superstitions, though — because why bother? Life is difficult enough as it is!

    1. I do the same thing! Sometimes I put a new spin on it to work in my favor. Like, if I lose five pounds before a certain date, this wonderful thing will happen. Lol.
      I still throw salt over my shoulder–like my Grandma always did–if I spill it. I have a kitchen witch in my kitchen, like my Grandma had. I’m starting to see the connection here….lol.
      I don’t really believe in the bad superstitions either. I’m more a believer in karma.

  4. Ahh Kim this is so wonderful. And so very true! (And Gail – no one can replace us!!)
    We have another 3 to 5 inches happening today. Do you want me to send it your way??

    Nan

    1. Nan, you can keep those 3 to 5 inches. Hmmmm. That doesn’t sound good, does it? Lol.
      And I agree with you what you said to Gail–nobody can replace it. Ever. Ever-ever.
      Hope to see you soon, my friend.

  5. Love this post, Kim! Whenever I write, I always use my Starbucks mug with the black lettering. ALWAYS. Is it my good luck charm? Mmm, I think it’s probably another glaring example of my ritualistic OCD. But calling it lucky sounds so much more magical! 🙂

    1. Darcy! That is too funny. I’m a little OCD about things too, and I try to make them sound magical as well. Like there’s a little hidden wicca talent in there somewhere…I’ve always thought that would be the coolest.
      Better treat that mug with care!!! 🙂

  6. What a fun post– I learned some things. I’ve never been superstitious at all, but after this past year, I will say 13 has been very good to me! Love my Lucky 13 sisters and I’ll always treasure this past year of getting to know them (and YOU)!

    1. I can’t believe you aren’t superstitious, Amy! Where in Mississippi did you grow up??? Lol. I agree 100%. 13 was a good year for me as well. Getting to know you was at the top of that list. 🙂

  7. I have a series of superstitions I am likely to buy into at any point in time. I try to keep focused on Karma – I figure if I do no harm, I can avoid a bit of it coming back my way. Salt over the shoulder is a fav. I do not like St. Paddy’s day, though. Mainly because I tended bar for years in Chicago and OMG — so much freaking drinking (and not me:), and so much green beer and that awful tasting liquor called Jagermeister? I always hide inside my house on St. Paddy’s Day (although its been decades since I tended bar:).

    1. I should have known you throw salt over your shoulder, too, Denny! Although for as much as I love salt, I do feel a bit bad wasting it. But, luck is luck. I agree with Wicca in that we should Do No Harm. Some call it karma. Some call it the Golden Rule. Whatever it’s called, it’s a good lesson for life.

    1. May the Luck o’ the Irish be with you as well, Lucky 13 Sister! Thanks for stopping by! Here’s to a fabulous ’14. 🙂

  8. Kim, my first solo in an airplane was at the 13 hour point – and THAT was an awesome day!!! It also happened on my mother’s birthday, which I forgot in my exhilaration over flying alone. Oops! 😉

    And then there are the Lucky 13s. There’s a boatload of goodness in this wonderful group of women. 🙂

    I was baptized on St. Patrick’s Day, so there’s another layer of celebration for me!

    If you want to imagine a very unusual St. Paddy’s day at a bar, picture this: Live Irish music and dancers, pints of Guinness flowing, authentic Irish food – and a group of Hindu people from India celebrating Holi (in Montana), a day of reveling in the fact that no matter what color we are, we are the same. Holi happened to fall on St. Patrick’s Day this year.They “painted” each other with many hues of chalk, and joined in the Irish dancing! Great fun!

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