Monday Make A - Midsummer/Litha Witchlets Craft Ideas

Litha Spiral Candles: Litha Craft for Witchlings
by WindSeeker; Cauldrons and Broomsticks

Materials:

• Decorating wax strips or preprinted wax logs
• plain ball or short pillar candle(s)
• craft or butter knife

Have your child choose a couple of colored wax strip combinations. Cut each strip into 2 pieces 2 ¾ “ long and on piece that is 2" long. Lay a short length of one color over a longer length of another color and roll them into a tight spiral log, ½ “ in diameter by 1 ½ " long. When you've got eight logs use the knife (adults or older children) to cut each log into as many slices as you can. Firmly press the wax slices all around the outside of the candle, starting at the base and working up. Continue placing the slices as close together as possible until the whole candle is covered.

Making Sand Candles
By Karyn Finnell

Needed:

• A bucket
• Sand – damp
• Stick
• Wick
• Wax
• Double boiler or old coffee can & pot of water
• Crayons (for colors)

Fill bucket with damp sand or, if at the beach, dig a hole in the sand until you reach sand that is damp enough so that in no longer caves in. Poke a few holes in the sand with a stick (3 for a cauldron style base or 4, one in each corner). These will become the "legs" of the candle. Wrap a wick around a stick and dangle the wick into the hole with the stick resting on the outside of the hole.

Carefully melt the wax over a fire or stove using double boiler or coffee can /pot of water – this serves just as well as a double boiler and it saves your good pans from becoming ruined and covered with wax. Using the crayons, you can color the wax. (Warning: Use only crayons without asbestos!!!!!) Peel the paper completely off the crayon and gently drop it into the melted wax. The more crayon you put in the wax the darker the color will become. Stir gently to make sure the color is well blended in the wax. Once the wax is melted and the crayon is blended, slowly, so as not to cave in the sand, pour the wax into your sand hole. Let the wax completely harden in the sand. When the wax is fully hardened, dig around the candle and ease

it out of the bucket or ground. Lightly dust off excess loose sand, leaving the outer part of the wax covered with sand. If you made legs on your candle it should stand on its own (if the legs are uneven, you can even them out by sitting the candle in a hot frying pan).

Other shapes can be made with a child's hand or foot pressed into the sand, or any other object that makes an interesting indentation. For more advanced candle-making, you can press sea shells into the sides of your sand hole before you pour the wax in. They will stick to the wax as it hardens.

Warning! When the wax melts it is Very, Very HOT. Never leave it unattended on a fire or stovetop. Wax also has a tendency to splatter, much like grease, so be careful. You do not have to bring the wax to a rolling boil in order to get it to melt. Take your time and be careful. You will have much more fun if you are safe : )

Happy candle making!

Pagan Candle Craft for Kids
posted by Aradiann

You will need:

• 2 foil cupcake baking cups for each candle
• 1/3 to ½ C wax per candle
• Wicking

Children should have their own candles to which they can whisper their wishes for the coming season. Remove the paper inserts from two foil cups and put one cup in the other. Two layers give the mold enough stability to hold the wax. Using your thumbs and index fingers, pull and push the foil to form sun rays. Be sure that the sides are level with each other. If they're not, when you pour the wax, it will spill out. Pour the wax and insert the wick when the wax has just firmed. After the candle has cooled, remove the layers of foil. Float in water bowls and light.

Stained Glass Sun Catchers: Litha Craft for Witchlings
by WindSeeker; Cauldrons and Broomsticks

Materials:

• Wax paper
• Crayon shavings
• Colored string
• Yarn or thread
• Lace
• Leaves
• Flower petals

To begin, have the child empty crayon shavings from their sharpener, or (adults only!) use a paring knife to create shavings. A cheese grater works great for large crayons. Arrange shavings, and any of the accessory items the child chooses and sandwich between two sheets of wax paper. Iron (adults, of course) the whole package on low setting, just until the shavings melt. Cut the "stained glass" into shapes and hang them with string, in a sunny window.

And here are some color correspondences for candles: Candle Color Meanings (remember, these are SOMEONE’S correspondences – yours may be very different – and that is perfectly acceptable!

• Red - energy, strength, passion
• Blue - wisdom, protection, creativity, communication, water, healing
• Purple - spiritual power, psychic ability and energy, hidden knowledge
• Silver - dreams, the goddess, intuition, telepathy, feminine power
• Pink - love, peace, romantic, emotions,
• Gold - wealth, god, happiness
• Black - binding, protection, banishing negativity
• Copper - money, growth
• Yellow - sun, intelligence, memory
• Green - fertility, money, tree magick, growth,
• Brown - friendships, favors
• White - the goddess, purity, spiritualism, peace

I am including one last craft idea - no wax involved - for those of you who may not be comfortable with the idea of children and hot wax. It's been my experience that children are much more capable than adults want to give them credit for, but each person has their own comfort level. With that in mind, here is a repost from May of 2008 - a last craft idea for today that involves no *hot* anything : )

Mud Cast
Inspired by: 'Magical Gardens' by Patricia Monighan.

Needed: 

• Gather a bucket of dirt (from your own property if possible)
• A small screen (the kind you find on your windows)
• a serving platter lined with paper
• a soil testing kit (optional - see below)
• instant concrete
• a carving tool of some sort
• and a pitcher of water

Find a place you don't mind messing up...this can be pretty sloppy. Take several handfuls of soil and put them on the serving dish and make a mound of it in the center. Pour some water around your soil. Then use the soil testing kit (this step can be skipped if you either don't want to know the quality of your dirt, or if you took the dirt from somewhere other than your own garden). Add the instant concrete and mix it together as fast as you can. Shape it into a disk, then use your carving tool to form a spiral sun symbol, or some other representation of the sun.

Disclaimer: No one involved in this blog or its contents may be held responsible for any adverse reactions arising from following any of the instructions/recipes on this list. It is the reader’s personal responsibility to exercise all precautions and use his or her own discretion if following any instructions or advice from this blog.

Fair Use Notice: This page may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. This website distributes this material without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C § 107.

Thursday This Is Your Spell - Summertime Magical Spells For Witchlings

Summertime Magickal Spells For Witchlings
From Baby Magic by Vidar Andrewson - Mind Fire

Decide what rituals are suitable for your child's age and which ones are too much for them. I have tried to make them as simplistic as possible.

• Bubblemagic: Have you ever blown bubbles when you were a child? This rite is quite simple but will work if the right mindset is in order. First go out into nature, on a hill, in a field etc on a windy day if possible. Tell your child to make a wish and blow the bubbles. When they blow the bubbles their wishes are put inside the bubbles and carried up to the Gods & Goddesses. There the bubbles pop and the Gods & Goddesses will see their wishes and grant them. Explain to them that sometimes the bubbles will pop before getting there, due to being attacked by Loki's forces who take the form of bugs, birds, crosswinds, people and other things. If they say a little prayer before the bubbles are blown to ensure a safe journey of the bubbles to the Gods & Goddesses then that will help them do beginning invocations.
• Kite Magic: Hand make a kite with your child(ren) doing most of the work. On the kite write messages of what they want, wishes. The message can be anything they want the Gods(desses) to hear. It can have a poem written on it, or a request or a simple happy birthday to the God during Yuletide for the beginning of our year. The thought being that the higher the kite goes it gets closer to the realm of the Gods and they can read it easier. If the kite string ever breaks and the kite is lost maybe the Gods have decided to keep the kite? Don't lie to them but let their imagination decide what happened to the kite. If you lie to them they'll never believe you again or will have doubts about what you say in the future.
• Balloon Magic: Write on a piece of paper your wishes, a song, poem or whatever you want the Gods(desses) to see. Roll up the paper and insert it into a balloon. Inflate the balloon with helium and let it fly on the end of a string <but don't let it fly away because balloons are not environmentally friendly>. A good variation to this would be to put a handful of birdseed inside the balloon so that when it pops the seed will feed the Goddesses children, the birds.
• Water Magic: Work together to make a boat made of wood or out of scraps of wood. Fill the boat with fish food and a leaf that your kid has written his/her wishes onto. Before your child sends the boat into the water have them say a prayer of what they wish and that in exchange for granting their wish they have fed the Goddesses children, the fish.
• Magic with Fire: You will need to supervise your kids with this one. Have them write down everything that makes them mad onto a piece of paper and then have them toss it into a fire. If they want wishes to be granted by the Gods(desses) have them write, or draw a picture or what they want on a piece of paper and toss it into the fire. Tell them that as the paper gets burned up it turns into smoke and is carried up to the Gods and then magically turns back into a piece of paper and lands on their alter where they read it.
• Home For the Faeryfolk: If you have access to a forest this one is cool. Go out to the forest and assist your child in building a home for the faeryfolk there. Don't use two-by-fours but branches instead. Make it as elaborate as you wish. Tell your children that sometimes the faeryfolk take on the form of animals and will move into the home you've built for them. To lure them into the home put a variety of fruits and vegetables inside and a note to them stating that you've built this home for them and if they wish they can grant you your wishes. When the winter snows start piling up they will be very happy you've built them a home and stocked it with food. They may feel grateful enough to grant you your wishes. There is also a post on making Faery Furniture here.)

These are only a few of the spells I am working on. feel free to use these and pass them around. Permission is granted to put these in publications as long as credit is given to me

Fair Use Notice: This page may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. This website distributes this material without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C § 107.

Disclaimer: No one involved in this blog or its contents may be held responsible for any adverse reactions arising from following any of the instructions/recipes on this list. It is the reader’s personal responsibility to exercise all precautions and use his or her own discretion if following any instructions or advice from this blog.

Monday Make A - Treasure Boxes

Treasure Boxes: Litha Craft for Witchlings
by WindSeeker; Cauldrons and Broomsticks

Materials:

• Sturdy cardboard box (shoe boxes are the best choice)
• natural items for decoration
• white glue
• med-size paint brush

This little box is for the youngster to collect "treasured" memories from summer. Start with a large shoe box and lid. Let the child collect some items from the yard, the park, and/or the beach. Glue flat items to the box, and place the non-flat items inside. To give the box a more durable finish, brush on a coat of white glue diluted with water. Encourage the child to tell stories of where the different items came from, or make up stories about the contents.

Fair Use Notice: This page may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. This website distributes this material without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C § 107.

Disclaimer: No one involved in this blog or its contents may be held responsible for any adverse reactions arising from following any of the instructions/recipes on this list. It is the reader’s personal responsibility to exercise all precautions and use his or her own discretion if following any instructions or advice from this blog.

Thursday This Is Your Spell - A Smattering of Midsummer Spells

A Smattering of Midsummer Spells
Melanie Fire Salamander, at Widdershins

 

As a pagan, you may well light a bonfire Midsummer night and jump it, for Litha is a fire festival. Likewise, you may stay up to greet the Midsummer dawn. If you do, keep a pair of garden shears handy. Midsummer's Eve at midnight, Midsummer's Day at dawn and Midsummer noon are prime times to collect plants sacred to the sun or special to the fey. In fact, any magical herb plucked at Midsummer is said to prove doubly effective and keep better. Divining rods cut on Midsummer's Eve are said to be more infallible, too. You can charge your charms, depending on their purpose, at midnight, noon or in dawn's first light.

 

Charms traditional at Litha include those for courage, dream divination, fertility, invisibility, love, luck, protection, wealth, the restoration of sight and the ability to see the fey. Midsummer is a fey time, both by tradition and observation. The scent of the air is thick, green and juicy; it's lost its spring astringency and is simply lush. The whole world is stretching its limbs and frolicking. The fey are big on that. Especially for charms of love, gardening and magical abilities, the fey are a great help in herb collecting. In exchange, they like gifts of milk and honey, cookies, sweet liqueurs, or any sweet food, drink or liquor. They also like baubles, particularly pretty or shiny. Or cold hard cash - but in coin, not paper, and it's best if shiny. To stay in good with the fey and the herbs you collect from, leave enough of the plant or other plants of the type that the herb survives in the spot collected from. Remember too to always ask the plant before taking a cutting, and to wait for an answer. A quid pro quo usually works: a shiny dime, some fertilizer, or a bit of your hair or clothing - whatever you think the plant most wants.

Courage: Tuscans use erba della paura (stachys) collected on Midsummer's Day as a wash against fear. Steep the herb in hot but not boiling water, then rinse the limbs with long strokes moving outward from the torso. You might substitute wood betony, a relative more common in North America.

Dream Divination: Litha is a good time for foretelling things in dreams. Specifically, to induce dreams of love and ensure them coming true, lay a bunch of flowers under your pillow on Midsummer Eve. That's what the  girls of old Scandinavia did. For effective dream divination, remember to keep a notebook beside your bed. At bedtime, relax, ground and center, then clearly define your question. Meditate on that question until it's firm in your mind, and assure yourself you will remember your dream on waking. Then go to sleep. As soon as you wake, record your dream. One trick is to set an alarm clock so you're wakened artificially, which can help dream recollection. Dreams dreamed on Midsummer's Eve are said to be more likely to come true.

 

Fertility For Your Garden: For a lush garden, mix ashes from the Midsummer bonfire with any seeds yet to plant. (You still have time to plant cosmos and a handful of fall-blooming flowers.) Likewise, for fertility sprinkle bonfire ashes on any flowers or vegetables you have growing.

Fey Charms: To see the fey, pick flowers from a patch of wild thyme where the little folk live and place the flowers on your eyes. A four-leafed clover not only grants you a wish but also, carried in your pocket or a charm, gives you the power to see fairies dancing in rings. A good place to look is by oaks, said in Germany to be a favorite place for fey dances. To penetrate fey glamour, make and wear an ointment including four leaved clovers. St. John's Wort, also known as ragwort, has a strong connection to the fey and transportation. You might add it to charms to travel quickly. The Irish call the plant the fairy's horse, and the fey are said to ride it through the air. But beware: The Manx say if you step on a ragwort plant on Midsummer's Eve after sunset, a fairy horse springs out of the earth and carries you off till sunrise, leaving you wherever you happen to be when the sun comes up.

Invisibility: Collect fern seed on Midsummer's Eve for use in charms of invisibility. To become invisible, wear or swallow the seed (that is, the spores) you have collected. Such spores also put you under the  protection of spirits. The fern is said to bloom at midnight on Midsummer's Eve, either a sapphire blue or golden yellow depending on your source.

Love: Plant two orpine starts (Sedum telephium) together on Midsummer Eve, one to represent yourself, one to represent your lover. If one withers, the person represented will die. But if both flourish and grow leaning together, you and your lover will marry.

Luck and Human Fertility: As at Beltaine, leap the Midsummer bonfire for fertility and luck.

Protection: Herbs traditional to Litha (also know as St. John's Day) in England include St. John's Wort, Hawkweed, Orpine, Vervain, Mullein, Wormwood and Mistletoe. Plucked either at Midsummer's Eve on midnight or noon Midsummer Day and hung in the house, they protect it from fire and lightning. Worn in a charm on your body, they protect you from disease, disaster and the workings of your enemies.

Sight: Dew gathered Midsummer Eve is said to restore sight.

Wealth: The fern also has a connection with wealth. Sprinkle fern seed in your savings to keep them from decreasing. The alleged golden-yellow fern flower, plucked on Midsummer's Eve at midnight, can be used as a dowsing tool to lead to golden treasure. Alternatively (the Russian version), you throw the flower in the air, and it lands on buried treasure. Or, if you're Bohemian, you pluck the flower and on the same Midsummer Night climb a mountain with blossom in hand. On the mountain, you'll find gold or have it revealed in a vision. If you wait patiently till midnight on Midsummer Eve and see no such golden fern flower, perhaps invisibility will have to do.

Fair Use Notice: This page may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. This website distributes this material without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C § 107.

Disclaimer: No one involved in this blog or its contents may be held responsible for any adverse reactions arising from following any of the instructions/recipes on this list. It is the reader's personal responsibility to exercise all precautions and use his or her own discretion if following any instructions or advice from this blog.

Monday Make A- Witchlet Crafts Puppets & Bird Feeders

Earth Puppets: Litha/Midsummer Craft for Witchlings
by WindSeeker; Cauldron & Broomsticks

Summer Solstice, Litha, Midsummer, Gathering Day, Feill-Sheathain: longest day of the year, and the shortest night; when the sun reaches his apex in the sky, and the days will now grow shorter as the light begins to wane. To celebrate the Summer Solstice with your young ones, try making Earth Puppets.

Materials:

• Use natural items found in the yard
• tape
• glue

The easiest kind of puppets can be made from a twig. Select a twig that forks. You now have 2 arms and a handle to hold the puppet with. Find a fallen flower, and tape the stem to the handle for the head. You can also tape the stem of a fallen leaf to the handle for the head. For clothing, wrap a leaf around the handle, and your puppet has natural summer wear. Another puppet can be made with a pine cone. Glue the pine cone to the forked twig, for the head. Dried and fresh grass make loads of hair styles, beards, and mustaches. Use seeds or small rocks for eyes, nose, and mouth. Make clothing out of leaves and bonnets out of flower petals or acorn caps. Use a large box or table for the stage, and enjoy the show.

 

Fairies' Feathered Friend Feeder: Litha Craft for Witchlings
by WindSeeker; Cauldron & Broomsticks

Making this craft is a good way to tell child how fairies, brownies, and sprites ride on the backs of birds to get from one place to another if it is too far to walk.

Materials:

• An empty milk carton
• nontoxic paint
• glitter
• white glue
• Popsicle sticks
• 10" wooden dowel w/ 1/4" diameter
• wire hanger (cut bottom of hanger for inserting into milk carton)
• birdseed.

Rinse out milk carton thoroughly. Do not completely open top, rather glue open spout back together. Cut 3" wide by 4" long arched openings on "spout" side and opposite side of carton, with base of opening approx. 3" from bottom of carton. Let the child paint the outside of the carton in Litha colors of red, yellow, orange, white, green. Before the paint dries let child sprinkle colored glitter all over the carton, (birds are attracted to shiny objects). Let carton dry. Glue painted or non-painted Popsicle stick shingles onto the top of the carton as a roof. For the perches, poke holes in the carton just below the openings, and slip the wooden dowel through the holes. Poke two holes in the top of the carton just under the roof, insert one end of the cut hanger into each hole. Fill the bottom of the carton with wild birdseed. Hang in a spot that is easy to view, but far enough away from fences or other objects to thwart predators.

Disclaimer: No one involved in this blog or its contents may be held responsible for any adverse reactions arising from following any of the instructions/recipes on this list. It is the reader's personal responsibility to exercise all precautions and use his or her own discretion if following any instructions or advice from `this blog.

Tuesday Try A New Taste – Beltane Sweet Treats!

Hot Pentacle Cakes
From : ( link now defunct

Ingredients:

• 1 c. whole milk
• 1 cube butter, melted
• 3 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/3 c. raw sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
• 1/3 c. pine nuts
• 1/2 c. raisins
• 1 small can crushed pineapple, very well-drained
• 3/4 c. chopped Turkish "dried" apricots (these are the very soft ones)

Preheat oven to 375. Beat milk and butter together with fork. Mix dry ingredients, add the milk and butter mix and the fruits and fennel seeds. Drop in about 1/4 cup “globs” onto a greased baking sheet, leaving some room to spread, smoothing the tops as best you can (a wet hand works). Bake ‘til done, about 25 minutes (you may want to reduce the oven to 325 about halfway through). Cool and serve plain as "Soul Cakes" or decorate by piping pentacles on the buns with yellow frosting. (You could also bake this as a cake, in a star-shaped pan; in my experience, those tend to burn a little on the points, but if you're *very* careful about oven temperature......)

 

Strawberry Crisp
from: : ( Link now defunct

Ingredients:

• 1 c Uncooked Oatmeal
• 1 c All purpose Flour
• 1 c Brown Sugar
• 1/4 c Chopped Walnuts
• 1/2 c Butter or margarine
• 1/2 c Sugar
• 3 c Sliced fresh or frozen Strawberry

Mix together oatmeal, flour and brown sugar. Add nuts. Cut in butter or margarine until crumbly. In another bowl, mix strawberries and white sugar together. Grease an 8" square pan. Spread half the crumb mixture on bottom. Cover with strawberries. Spread remaining crumb mixture over top. Bake at 350 deg F for 45 minutes. Serve warm or cold with whipped cream or topping.

 

Jam Filled Lemon Tarts
from link now defunct :(

Ingredients:

• 1-3 oz package softened cream cheese
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp grated lemon peel
• 1 cup flour
• Tasty jam: rhubarb ginger, apricot, cherry, etc.

Beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add sugar and lemon. Mix in flour. Gather dough into two balls, chill one hour. Roll out dough, cutting 2" disks out with cutter. Spoon 1/4" of jam into center of disc. Gather edges into three equally spaced corners - like a tricorn hat - and roll points over slightly, pinching shut. Bake at 375 degrees until golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Faery Sugar
From Moonmuses

Ingredients:

• 3 cups fine white sugar
• 1 Tbsp Vanilla extract (the good stuff, not  the imitation)
• 1/8 tsp red food coloring
• Glass container

Lay sugar on wax paper & sprinkle on the Vanilla. Stir into the sugar till all mixed in. Next sprinkle on the red food coloring and incorporate in till sugar turns Faery pink. Save in glass container, you have labeled 'Faery Sugar' You can now use this special treat in Faery cookies, cakes and offerings to the Fae. You can even eat some yourself!

~ Barbara Morris 2001

Candied Violets
From Moonmuses

Ingredients:

• An egg white
• Violet flowers and leaves
• Fine or crystal Sugar
• Small paint Brushes

Wash the violets and leaves, and let dry. Separate the egg. Put yolk away for other use. Dip small brush in egg whites and paint petals front and back. Sprinkle sugar on the violets covering them completely. Put the violets on waxed paper to dry. You can do the leaves in the same manner. Use as garnish on ice cream, cakes and offering to the wee ones.

Disclaimer: No one involved in this blog or its contents may be held responsible for any adverse reactions arising from following any of the instructions/recipes on this list. It is the reader's personal responsibility to exercise all precautions and use his or her own discretion if following any instructions or advice from this blog.

Spoutwood Fairie Festival!!!

I’m pretty sure Anne, over at The Gods Are Bored has many, many more readers than I do, but on the off chance someone from here has never been there, I am going to go ahead and put this up for her…It’s a safe bet I won’t be able to make it – there’s a lot of distance between Indiana & Pennsylvania, and nowheres near enough money even close to my bank account to finance such a trip as much as I really, really, REALLY need a vacation….aw well, such is life…no point whining – Goddess knows that won’t fill my bank account!

 

The 18th annual May Day Fairie Festival will be a feast for the senses! A sensory overload is more like it! Once you walk through the gate:Your ears will be moved by glorious sounds of all types: drumming…harps…flutes… guitar …beautiful singing…the giggling of children…laughter…happy conversation…gasps of wonder…birds twittering and chirping…Wondrous aromas will fill your nose: exotic incense…fresh farm air…delicious diverse foods…fragrant herbs and spices…floral scents released by fresh spring flowers…Let your eyes be treated to: amazingly creative costuming…the lush verdant nature of the trees in Spring bloom…colorful flags and banners… flowers bobbing in the sunshine…swirling dancers performing for your enjoyment…smiles…sparkly trinkets…a rainbow of colors…Treat your body: feel the lush grass beneath your feet…caress a soft alpaca…move your body to the beat of the drums…indulge in a bellylaugh…try a yoga pose in Natureplace…let a breeze soothe your soul… Once again, the Festival will celebrate the ripening of Spring with:

• ·Maypole Dancing
• ·Lively Music
• ·Parades and Processions
• ·Coronation of the Royal Court
• ·Artisan Marketplace
• ·Hands-On Crafts
• ·Fairie and Gnome Village Tours
• ·Bubbles and Fairie Dust
• ·Spirited Dancing
• ·Storytelling
• ·Fairie and Nature Spirit Workshops
• ·Fairie Tea Parties
• ·Diverse Food Vendors
• ·Drum Circles
• ·And Much More!

When: May 1st, 2nd and 3rd 2009

Where: Spoutwood Farm Center 4255 Pierceville Rd Glen Rock PA 17327 717-235-6610 www.spoutwood. org

Admission: May 1st: Children 12 and under are FREE Adults: $15 May 2nd and 3rd: Adults: $15 Children 12 and under: $5 Children 2 and under FREE Three Day Adult Pass available at gate for $30.

Volunteers who sign up for and complete a two hours shift will get their admission refunded. Parking: $5 per car in lots on Pierceville Rd Handicapped parking available at entrance (first come, first served).

About Spoutwood Farm: Nestled in the rolling landscape of York County is Spoutwood Farm - a family owned farm and part of the Community Supported Agriculture program, supports more than 100 families with organically grown food throughout the year. Spoutwood Farm supports sustainable living practices and offers workshops and classes in streamside ecology, mead making, medicinal herbalism and more.

Spoutwood is a 501©(3) non-profit organization. 

Anne also says: This is a “viral” campaign to promote the May Day Fairie Festival at Spoutwood Farm! Please pass this information along to everyone in your email list, post to your blog, send to any organization newsletter you belong to, anywhere it would be appropriate, anywhere LOTS of people will see it! We want to “infect” everyone with the joy and whimsy of the fairies ;) If you come to the festival, look for the Leader of the Mountain Tribe. That's me. I want to meet you! Extra jelly rocks to anyone who says they read "The Gods Are Bored!"

Monday Make A – Fairy Furniture

Fairies

I believe the source for this is “Garden Spells: The Magic of Herbs, Trees and Flowers“ by Claire Nahmad, but I’m not sure. Even if it isn’t, it is still a good source for information if you’re inclined towards fairies…

'The faery beam upon you,
The stars to glister on you;
A Moon of light,
In the Noon of night,
...And the luckier lot betide you'

- Ben Jonson

To accept that fairies do indeed exist, and that cooperation with them in the creation of a garden will richly benefit all that grows in it, is a part of the wisewomen's ancient doctrine. If you would know and work with the fairies, you must seek to draw near to them. They are curious about human folk, and are ready to love them; but they are also afraid and angry. With our dirty, greedy ways, we commit abomination in their world. To soothe them, we must attune ourselves to Nature, and do things her way. When we pour out love into the heart of the garden, and cherish each living thing in it, both humble and magnificent, beautiful and ugly, then we may begin to see the fairies. Peep at them from the corners of your eyes, as if they were shy woodland creatures which you might frighten away with a direct penetrating glance. Look deep into the lovely forms of the flowers and trees you care for, and you will see the essence of their spirit. The color of each plant glows radiantly, because each reflects the hue of the nature-being that brings their life energy to them. Every differing shade of color has a story to tell of the inner worlds. Look particularly at apple blossom in the springtime, and let your fancy weave tales of the Goddess, for the loom of the imagination brings truth to our hearts.

To open your heart to the fairies, you must nurture these feelings of wonder, reverence and love for every detail of your garden, for the airs which blow about it, the musical rain which falls gently upon it, the moon and the stars which silently look down on it, the great sun which is the source of its being, and for the clouds and the changing skies which provide it with a canopy. When you can truly feel the sweetness of this magic, you will begin to discover the fairies, for they will make themselves known to you.

Fairy Furniture
found at Draco’s Rose

May is a month that fairies love. Show them your appreciation and give the kids a great project by making them some furniture!
Items needed:

• twigs
• vines
• dried flowers
• needle and thread
• scrap material
• scissors
• hot glue gun-be sure little fingers are safe!
• pruners to cut the twigs-again watch those little fingers

Directions:
Decide what you're going to make. We'll make a chair, to give you an example. Cut the twigs in this manner - one long, bendable piece that will form the back legs and back of the chair, and four equal length twigs which will form the two front legs and the seat. The chair should stand no more than four inches tall (including the back). Bend the long twig and hot glue one of the smaller pieces in between the two ends where you want the seat to be. This will be the back of the seat. Hot glue on each side of the bent twig facing towards you a smaller twig; - these will be the sides of the seat. Glue the front piece of the seat to these side twigs. Glue the two front legs to the seat so that the chair legs are even. If you wish, wrap the vines around the chair back and legs. Cut the scrap material to form a "back" and a "seat" - these are not to be as wide as the chair, but will fit inside of the twigs. Using your needle and thread, attach the material to the chair using a whip stitch. Hot glue small dried flowers at the top of the chair. This technique can be used to make all kinds of fairy furniture, from tables to beds, to sofas - all of which are sure to delight your fairies as much as your children!

Disclaimer: No one involved in this blog or its contents may be held responsible for any adverse reactions arising from following any of the instructions / recipes on this list. It is the reader’s personal responsibility to exercise all precautions and use his or her own discretion if following any instructions or advice from this blog

Tuesday Try A New Taste – May Day Maple Bread

May Day Maple Bread
from Spirit Raven

Ingredients:

• 1 Envelope Dry Active Yeast
• 1 TBS Baking Powder
• 1/3 Cup Real Maple Syrup
• 1/2 Tsp. Salt
• 1/4 Cup Warm (105 degree F) Water
• 1 Cup Coarsely Ground Hazelnuts
• 3 Cups Flour
• 1/4 Cup Shortening
• 3 TBS. Packed Brown Sugar

Dissolve the yeast and maple syrup in the water. Mix 1 ½ cups of the flour with the brown sugar, baking powder, salt, and hazelnuts. Cut in the shortening using a fork. Add the yeast to the mixture; stir. Slowly add the remaining flour until the dough is easy to handle. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead for 1 minute. Cover, let rise for 15 minutes. Form into a round or oval; place on a greased cookie sheet. Let rise for 30 minutes in a warm spot. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Slice the image of a heart into the top of the bread. Bake for 30 minutes. The bread is done if the loaf sounds hollow when tapped. If desired, the loaf can be brushed with a little syrup and butter during the last 5 minutes of baking.

Yield: 1 loaf.

Disclaimer: No one involved in this blog or its contents may be held responsible for any adverse reactions arising from following any of the instructions/recipes on this list. It is the reader's personal responsibility to exercise all precautions and use his or her own discretion if following any instructions or advice from this blog.

Monday Make A - May Basket

May Baskets
Found at Gingerbread Grandma’s Cauldron

Materials:

• Paper doily or other paper cut in a 9" circle
• Stapler or glue
• Pipe Cleaner
• Hole Punch
• Scissors
• Small fresh cut flowers with stems about 4" long
• Paper towel
• A piece of aluminum foil or plastic wrap

Cut a slit in the paper from one edge to the center of the circle. Overlap the cut edges and twist the paper so that a cone is formed. Staple or glue the edge to hold the cone shape. Punch holes on opposite sides of the top of the cone. Form hooks on both ends of the pipe cleaner and put the ends through the punched holes to form a handle. Twist the ends of the pipe cleaner around so that they stay in the holes. Dampen the paper towel and squeeze out most of the extra water. Wrap the ends of the flower stems with the paper towel, then wrap with the aluminum foil or plastic wrap. Slide the wrapped flowers into the cone.

On Beltane morning, hang the May basket on the doorknob of friends or neighbors. Ring the doorbell and hide to watch your friend's reaction to the flowers. : )

Disclaimer: No one involved in this blog or its contents may be held responsible for any adverse reactions arising from following any of the instructions / recipes on this list. It is the reader's personal responsibility to exercise all precautions and use his or her own discretion if following any instructions or advice from this blog

Monday Make A – Beltane Crafts for Kids

Some Ideas for Beltane Kids Crafts
posted by Meredith

Braiding & Wreaths - Make a wreath either as house decoration, or as a crown for your head. You could also braid your hair or your children's hair.

Make a May Bowl or Wine - For the kids, make strawberry kool-aid & add some strawberries to their punch. Or for a special addition, add strawberry ice cream! Drink a toast to the glory of May.

Bless Water - Bless a nearby water source, such as a river, spring, lake or ocean. This can be as simple as tossing your Beltane wreath of flowers in the water after a ritual & giving appropriate thanks. Get as elaborate as you wish. Kids ought to love throwing flowers in water!

Personal Decoration - Paint your body with sun signs or signs of spring. Wear jewelry that signifies spring. On the first of May, wear your most colorful clothes or dress all in green (the color of the fairies). Consider wearing a flower in your hair. This would be a great time to wear your loudest family heirloom jewelry that's just a bit too much for regular wear. Children might enjoy dressing in this spirit of nature, all in green, on May Day, or even dressing their dolls and soft toys in green and white costume.

Gifts - Gather flowers with special messages for friends and relatives. Make up your own explanation of the meaning of each flower and give it along with the bouquet. For friends at a distance, send pressed flowers or May Day cards or packets of flower seeds. Some other appropriate gifts might be; perfume, incense, candied flower petals, herbs, sachets and artificial flowers. Or you could run around, under cover of darkness, leaving May baskets of flowers on doorsteps. Prepare a May basket by filling it with flowers and goodwill and then give it to someone in need of healing and caring, such as a shut-in or elderly friend.

Make a Greenman - You can make your own Green Man figure, He might be a topiary, completely covered with green vine, in the shape of a man. Or he could be a figure, like the scarecrow, a system of 2"X 4" planks screwed together in a human shape, then dressed all in green; with a growing planted pot for a head, rusted pronged spades for hands, and a piece of garden hose for a belt

Disclaimer: No one involved in this blog or its contents may be held responsible for any adverse reactions arising from following any of the instructions/recipes on this list. It is the reader's personal responsibility to exercise all precautions and use his or her own discretion if following any instructions or advice from this blog.

Tuesday Try A New Taste – Corn Beef & Cabbage & Paddy’s Day Info

I’m not sure of the original source for this, if I had to guess I’d say Wikipedia. My source was Jodi (I am the now “the other Jodi” LOL) on one of the pagan lists I am on. She is a tireless, apparently unlimited source of information – and we found we experienced some ironic similarities when first she came to the list ! That being said, this is Tuesday, Try A new Taste. In honor of this day of celebration for the Irish folk, I am also including a recipe for Traditional Corn Beef & Cabbage.
The recipe is at the bottom of the post….

On with the show!

 

In Ireland
St. Patrick's Day is celebrated in towns and cities right across the globe, but it's probably fair to say that nowhere can the festivities match the excitement and atmosphere of St. Patrick's Day in Ireland. In Ireland, St. Patrick's Day is more of a religious holiday similar to Christmas and Easter. Many Irish people start the day by going to mass and offering prayers for the Saint and missionaries all over the world. After that people flock to their local village or town to see the annual Saint Patrick's Day parade, and this is where the real celebrations begin! With grand parades, community feasts, charity show, the mass, St Patrick's Day is celebrated in Ireland with great gusto. The parades, shamrocks, and green beer are provided primarily for tourists. In fact, it has turned out to be one of the most celebrated events in Ireland and a major tourist attraction.
Saint Patrick's Day is celebrated worldwide by the Irish people and increasingly by many of non-Irish descent (usually in Australia, North America, and Ireland), hence the phrase, "Everyone wants to be Irish on St. Patrick's Day." Celebrations are generally themed around all things green and Irish; both Christians and non-Christians celebrate the secular version of the holiday by wearing green or orange, eating Irish food and/or green foods, imbibing Irish drink (usually Guinness), and attending parades.

Saint Patrick's Day parades in Ireland date from the late 19th century, originating in the growing sense of Irish nationalism. The St. Patrick's Day parade in Dublin, Ireland is part of a five-day festival; over 500,000 people attended the 2006 parade. With bands, music, dance, shamrock, leprechauns, green colored clothing and loads of power packed performance, the Irish parade on Saint Patrick's Day is a sight to behold!
Almost everything in Ireland is closed on Saint Patrick's Day with the exception of pubs and restaurants. Many Irish people wear a bunch of shamrocks ("three-leaf clover") on their lapels or caps on this day or green, white, and orange badges (after the colors of the Irish flag). Girls and boys wear green in their hair. Artists draw shamrock designs on people's cheeks, including American tourists, as a cultural sign.

The biggest celebrations on the island of Ireland outside Dublin are in Downpatrick, Northern Ireland, where Saint Patrick was buried following his death on 17 March, 461. In 2004, according to Down District Council, the week-long St. Patrick's Festival had over 2000 participants and 82 floats, bands, and performers, and was watched by over 30,000 people.

The day is celebrated by the Church of Ireland as a Christian festival. Saint Patrick's Day as a celebration of Irish culture was rarely acknowledged by Northern Irish loyalists, who consider it a festival of the Irish Republicans. The Belfast City Council recently agreed to give public funds to its parade for the first time; previously the parade was funded privately. The Belfast parade is based on equality and only the flag of St. Patrick is supposed to be used as a symbol of the day, to prevent it being seen as a time which is exclusively for Republicans and Nationalists. This allowed both Unionists and Nationalists to celebrate the day together. The Unionists (orangemen) wear orange instead of green on St. Patrick's Day; both colors are in the Irish flag (although this flag is not an official flag in Northern Ireland, it being part of the United Kingdom), and orange often, but not always, represents the Protestants of Northern Ireland.

Outside Ireland

In the United Kingdom
The largest Saint Patrick's Day parade in the UK is held in Birmingham over a two mile route through the city centre. The organizers describe it as the third biggest parade in the world after Dublin and New York. Other Saint Patrick's Day parades take place around the country including in London where the largest minority community is Irish. The Lanarkshire town of Coatbridge where the majority of the town's population are of Irish descent also has a day of celebration and parades in the town centre. In Birmingham, St. Patrick's Festival is one of the city's premier community events, with the Irish community numbering around 140,000 people.

Manchester hosts a two week Irish festival in the weeks prior to St Patrick's Day, not surprising given that the city claims the largest Irish population in Great Britain outside of London. The festival includes an Irish Market based at the city's town hall which flies the Irish tricolor opposite the Union Flag, a large parade (claiming to be the biggest outside of Dublin and New York based on entrant and float numbers) as well as a large number of cultural and learning events throughout the two-week period. The festival promotes itself as the largest in the UK.

Florence, Italy
Around St. Patrick's Day, the city hosts 'Festa Irlandese' - ten days of live music, food and drink. The event takes place in a huge tent and attracts thousands of visitors who avidly consume the Italian interpretation of Irish food and drink, including potato soup, beef in Guinness, smoked salmon and gallons of stout.

Oslo, Norway
The Irish community in Oslo celebrates with a lively parade through the city. Nearly a thousand people join in the fun as the parade steps off through shopping streets, past Oslo cathedral, on to Town Hall Square for some entertainment. Accompanying the pipe band are St Patrick, driven by a red-bearded chauffer in a horse and cart, and a host of other colorful Irish characters.

In Germany
Munich is the only German city holding a St. Patrick's Day parade owing to the considerably large Irish community. The parade is organized by the German-Irish Society of Bavaria and has been held every year since 1996. Meanwhile it has evolved into the largest in continental Europe and features not only Irish/Scots/English, but also German clubs and societies. Following the 2 km parade, which usually takes place the Sunday preceding 17 March, is an open air party with live music and dance performances.

In Denmark
The St. Patrick’s Day 3 Legged Charity Race started in Copenhagen in 2001. The race is organized by the Irish expert community and is sponsored by the Carlsberg brewery and the Irish pub owners of Copenhagen. In 2007, the event raised 26,000 DKK (3,500 euro). All proceeds were donated to a Danish charity for children with cancer. All proceeds from the 2008 race will be donated to the Neonatal Department at Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen.

In Montserrat
The tiny island of Montserrat, known as "Emerald Island of the Caribbean" due to its foundation by Irish refugees from Saint Kitts and Nevis, is the only place in the world apart from the Republic of Ireland and the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador in which St Patrick's Day is a public holiday. The holiday commemorates a failed slave uprising that occurred on 17 March 1798.

In Russia
On March 15, 1992, thousands of Muscovites lined the Novy Arbat to witness the first St. Patrick's Day Parade in the Russian capital's history. Yuri Luzhkov - now the current Mayor of Moscow - and Aer Rianta Chief Executive Derek Keogh were on the reviewing stand as a police escort led the way for Russian marching bands, Cossack horsemen, and fifteen floats representing many Russian companies. The parade, which was the brainchild of Derek Keogh, was a big success, and ensured a repeat performance the following year.

Each year the floats have become more numerous and sophisticated and the range of international and Russian participants and sponsors more wide-ranging such as Pepsi and Guinness. The local Irish bars of Moscow contribute their own floats and Muscovites reveal their own homegrown Irish Wolfhounds, which are nearly as big as the floats themselves.
The Moscow parade continued to be an annual event until 1998. The economic collapse of August 1998 meant that the 1999 parade was canceled. In 2000 the St Patrick's Society of Russia managed to re-establish the St Patrick's Day parade with the co-operation of the Moscow city government, the Moscow police, various government bodies, the Irish embassy and the Irish community in Moscow.

In South Korea
In Seoul, members of the expatriate community congregate on Daehakro (Taehongno), and a small parade goes up the street and then down again. Parade members include local expat sports teams, the Irish Community, and several Korean marching bands. In 2007, the Marronier park near Daehakro was filled with partygoers sampling Irish Stew and Guinness.

Tokyo, Japan
The tradition of holding parades is also upheld in Tokyo and every year you can watch and participate in the parade on Omote Sando. The Tokyo parade is organized by the Irish Network Japan (INJ) and was first held in 1992 with the support of the then Irish Ambassador to Japan, Mr. James Sharkey. Various dignitaries from many countries participate in the parade including the deputy prime minister of Ireland Mary Hearney in 2001.

About 2,000 participants march down fashionable Omotesando Avenue, lined for the occasion by Irish and Japanese flags, cheered on by as many as 7,000 spectators. The Japanese love a good party and they are particularly fond of all things Irish - including Guinness at about $7.00 a pint! There are a growing number of Irish pubs that send attractive young ladies to the parade for the sole purpose of handing out free beer vouchers. Not surprisingly, the 'voucher girls' are a parade highlight!

In the United States
The early Irish immigrants like the English, Dutch, German, French and the likes, brought their traditions to the United States. But it was not until 1737 that the immigrants really celebrated the day. Irish colonists brought Saint Patrick's Day to what is now the United States of America. During the first civic and public celebration of Saint Patrick's Day in the 13 colonies, which took place in Boston, Massachusetts in 1737, The Charitable Irish Society of Boston organized what was the first Saint Patrick's Day Parade in the colonies on 17 March 1737.

The first celebration of Saint Patrick's Day in New York City was held at the Crown and Thistle Tavern in 1756, and New York's first Saint Patrick's Day Parade was held on 17 March 1762 by Irish soldiers in the British Army. Held since 1762, the New York City parade on St Patrick's Day now draws more than one million spectators each year. In 1780, General George Washington, who commanded soldiers of Irish descent in the Continental Army, allowed his troops a holiday on 17 March. This event became known as The St. Patrick's Day Encampment of 1780. Today, Saint Patrick's Day is widely celebrated in America by Irish and non-Irish alike.

In the US, Americans celebrate the holiday by wearing green clothing. Many people, regardless of ethnic background, wear green-colored clothing and items. Traditionally, those who are caught not wearing green are pinched. Alcohol is the center of many American celebrations.

Some cities paint the traffic stripe of their parade routes green. Chicago even dyes its river green. Savannah dyes its downtown city fountains green. Indianapolis dyes its Central Canal green (Woohoo! We got a mention! And our canal IS greentoday!)University of Missouri Rolla - St. Pat's Board Alumni paint 12 city blocks Kelly green with mops before the annual parade.

Although the baseball season is still in the spring training phase when St. Patrick's Day rolls around, some teams celebrate by wearing St. Patrick's Day themed uniforms. The Cincinnati Reds were the first team to ever wear St. Patrick's Day hats in 1978. The Boston Red Sox were the second team to start wearing St. Patrick's Day hats in 1990. In 2004 the Red Sox were the first team to wear jerseys specially designed for St. Patrick's day. Since then it has become a tradition of many sports teams to also wear special uniforms to celebrate the holiday.

The Los Angeles Dodgers also have a history with the Irish-American community. With the O'Malley family owning the team and now Frank McCourt, the Dodgers have had team celebrations or worn green jerseys on St. Patrick's Day. Other teams celebrate by wearing Kelly green hats these teams include: the Chicago Cubs, the Chicago White Sox, the New York Mets, the San Diego Padres, the Atlanta Braves, the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Kansas City Royals, the Seattle Mariners and the St. Louis Cardinals. Nearly all major league baseball teams now produce St. Patrick's day merchandise, including Kelly green hats, jerseys, and t-shirts.

In the United States, many people have also made the holiday a celebration of the color green. These people, besides wearing green on that day, may also stage dinner parties featuring all green foods. An example of such a menu would be chicken with rice and lima beans with sliced green maraschino cherries in coconut sauce colored with green food coloring, a green salad including greens, avocados and sliced green apples, split pea soup, green tinted bread spiced with sage, Lime Jell-O, iced limeade and/or a green-beer, and lime pudding, key lime pie, or lime sherbet for dessert. Corned beef and cabbage is the most common meal eaten in the United States for St. Patrick's Day, even though historically, corned beef and cabbage is an American (rather than a traditionally Irish) meal.

Perhaps the smallest notable parade, World's Shortest St. Patrick's Day Parade is said to take place in Hot Springs, Arkansas in the United States. Annually held on the historic Bridge Street the parade became famous in the 1940s when Ripley’s Believe It or Not designated it “The Shortest Street in the World.”But Boulder, Colorado claims to have the shortest parade, which is also less than a single city block.

In Philadelphia
The Philadelphia St. Patrick's Parade is the 2nd oldest Parade in the Country, topped only by the New York City Parade. The first documented St. Patrick's Day Celebration Parade in Philadelphia was held in 1771, marking over 230 continuous years of celebrations.

In Savannah, Georgia
Savannah, GA, boasts the unofficial record of having the largest attendance in its St. Patrick's Day parade with the crowd count being declared as a staggering 750,000 in 2006. Unlike other cities, the parade in Savannah takes place on the actual day of Saint Patrick's Day; even if that day is during the work week. However for 2008, the parade will take place on Friday, March 14th, to honor Holy week in the Catholic faith.

The parade starts at Saint John the Baptist Catholic Cathedral on Abercorn Street. The actual parade route changes from year to year but usually travels through Savannah's Historic Park District and Bay Street. Usual participants in the parade include the local Armed Forces Units, Cadets from Benedictine Military School, and other local organizations, officials, and establishments. In 2006, the Deputy Prime Minister of Ireland was featured in the parade.

Since the parade travels through Savannah's Historic Park District, one tradition that has developed has been the official "dyeing of the fountains" which happens several days before the parade. It has also become tradition for women spectators to kiss the Armed Forces Units and other military organization's male members.

The parade is not Savannah's only St. Patrick's day attraction. The Savannah Waterfront Association has an annual celebration on Historic River Street that is reminiscent of Mardi Gras on Bourbon Street. There is no cover charge to access River Street, but a $5 wristband is required if one chooses to drink there. Savannah does not have an open container law so there is a proliferation of alcohol on River Street, Bay Street and in City Market.

In Mexico
On this day, and on September 12, the Saint Patrick's Battalion (Batallion de San Patricio) is memorialized. It fought as part of the Mexican Army against the United States in the Mexican-American War of 1846 to 1848, and was composed of several hundred Irish, Germans, Swiss, Scots and other Roman Catholics of European descent.

Although it's not a popular holiday in Mexico, sometimes school children hit, punch or slap anyone who is not wearing green in their clothes.

New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans has a parade that is strongly influenced by Mardi Gras. Unlike most parades, where the participants staidly walk the parade route - with, perhaps, an occasional display of Irish dancing, the parade at New Orleans features floats, jazz bands and colorful costumed characters, with float riders throwing spectators strings of beads, cabbages, and potatoes.

Syracuse, New York
The city of Syracuse, NY has a parade that culminates with the delivery of green beer to Coleman's Irish Pub in the Tipperary Hill section of the city and the painting of a shamrock in front of the pub. Tipperary Hill is home to the World famous "Green-on-Top" Traffic Light - it is the Irish section in Syracuse Historically. Syracuse boasts the largest St. Patrick's day celebration per-capita in the United States.

New York City
The New York parade has become the largest Saint Patrick's Day parade in the world. In 2006 more than 150,000 marchers participated in it, including bands, firefighters, military and police groups, county associations, emigrant societies, and social and cultural clubs, and it was watched by close to 2 million spectators lining the streets. The parade marches up 5th Avenue in Manhattan and is always led by the U.S. 69th Infantry Regiment. It is the only New York City parade in which the marchers head uptown instead of downtown.

New York politicians - or those running for office - are always found prominently marching in the parade. Former New York City Mayor Ed Koch once proclaimed himself "Ed O'Koch" for the day, and he continues to don an Irish sweater and march every year, even though he is no longer in office. In a similar fashion, new New York state governor Eliot Spitzer marched in and even visited the morning Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral for the 2007 parade.

The parade is organized and run by the Ancient Order of Hibernians. For many years, the St. Patrick's Day Parade was the primary public function of the Ancient Order of Hibernians. On occasion the order has appointed controversial Irish republican figures (some of whom were barred from the U.S.) to be its Grand Marshal.

While it is a popular misconception that the St. Patrick's Day Parade bans 'lesbians and gays, the fact is, that essentially all politically motivated groups, including pro-life groups, are banned from the Parade in an effort to keep politics out of a festive community celebration. Gays and lesbians are welcome to be in the Parade as members of any of the groups allowed.

The New York parade is moved to the previous Saturday (16 March) in years where 17 March is a Sunday. The event is also moved on the rare occasions when, due to Easter falling on a very early date, 17 March would land in Holy Week. This scenario arose in 2008, when Easter fell on 23 March. In many other American cities (such as San Francisco), the parade is always held on the Sunday before 17 March, regardless of the liturgical calendar.

Seattle, Washington

Seattle celebrates St Patrick's Day in grand style, with a full week of activities. Festivities kick off with the proclamation of Irish Week. Due to Seattle's northern state climates, like Ireland, the city received many Irish immigrants. So many that Seattle and Galway are sister cities. Every year on St. Patrick's Day, there's a mini-parade to prepare the parade route with the ceremonial painting of a green stripe down the center of 4th Avenue.

The day of the parade begins with a Catholic Mass for peace. The Seattle Parade starts at 4th Avenue and Jefferson and goes to the Reviewing Stand at Westlake Park, ending officially at the Seattle Center. The annual Irish Week Festival is enormous, including Irish step dancing, food, historical and modern exhibitions, and Irish lessons. This is all celebrated on March 14. And may be carried on till the 15, 16, and 17 of March.

Las Vegas, Nevada

The Southern Nevada, (formerly Las Vegas) Sons of Erin has put on a parade since 1966. It was formerly held on Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas, later moved to 4th street. Since 2005, the parade has been held in downtown Henderson. It is one of the biggest parades in the state of Nevada. It also consists of a three day festival, carnival and classic car show in Old Town Henderson.

In Canada
In Canada, Saint Patrick's Day is an official holiday only in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Some groups, notably Guinness, have lobbied to make Saint Patrick's Day a federal (national) holiday.

The longest-running Saint Patrick's Day parade in Canada occurs each year in Montreal, Quebec. The parades have been held in continuity since 1824; however, St. Patrick's Day itself has been celebrated in Montreal as far back as 1759 by Irish soldiers in the Montreal Garrison following the British conquest of New France.

The Toronto St. Patrick's Day Parade is one of the largest in North America. Since it began in 1988, the parade has grown to include 100 organizations, 32 Irish county associations, 2,000 marchers, 30 floats, 14 bands as well as an assortment of wolfhounds, leprechauns and talking shamrocks. In the Province of Manitoba, the Irish Association of Manitoba runs an annual three day festival of music and culture based around St Patrick's Day.

In Argentina
In Argentina, and specifically in Buenos Aires, all-night long parties are celebrated in designated streets, since the weather is comfortably warm in March. People dance and drink only beer throughout the night, until seven or eight in the morning, and although the tradition of mocking those who do not does not exist, most people would wear something green. In Buenos Aires, the party is held in downtown street Reconquista, where there are several Celtic bars; in 2006, there were 50,000 people in this street and the pubs nearby.

Despite all these varieties, the festivities all over the world are driven by the same spirit. And why not? After all, everybody is Irish on St. Paddy's Day! While it reminds us about St Patrick, the day is also a celebration for being Irish and enjoying everything Irish. So make an attempt to have the real fun of being Irish. Adorn yourself in green clothing, pin on the shamrocks, hunt for the leprechaun (well, not really), cook and feast the Irish way, laugh away all worries with Irish jokes and dance to the tunes of the Irish bands. Top o' the morning to ye!

Traditional corned beef and cabbage is the ultimate in comfort food and a boon for budget conscious families. Slowly simmered with spices, then served with mustard and cabbage, this traditional Irish dish is perfect for those who want a tasty, comforting no-hassle meal. From The Canadian Press…

Corned Beef and Cabbage

• 1.5 kg (3 lb) corned beef brisket
• Water, to cover meat
• 30 ml (2 tbsp) pickling spice
• 30 ml (3 tbsp) salt
• 30 ml (2 tbsp) peppercorns
• 1 head cabbage

In a large stockpot, place corned beef with all the seasonings. Cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until tender, about 2 hours. If not tender after 2 hours, keep checking at 15 minute intervals. Remove corned beef (save broth for cabbage). Cut cabbage into wedges, place in a large pan, cover with broth from the beef and simmer until tender. Keep cabbage warm in broth until needed. Serve corned beef with mustard and cabbage.
Makes 4 servings.

Disclaimer: No one involved in this blog or its contents may be held responsible for any adverse reactions arising from following any of the instructions / recipes on this list. It is the reader's personal responsibility to exercise all precautions and use his or her own discretion if following any instructions or advice from this blog