A little over a week ago, we had a fantastic family meal with my parents and siblings in Salt Lake. Last fall my parents moved to an apartment right in Downtown Salt Lake. The building includes a few community rooms that are great for family get-togethers. So they made fabulous (and nitrite-free!) Corned Beef, baked cabbage wedges, traditional Fitzgerald green fluffy jello salad, soda bread and limeade. It brought back memories of celebrating St. Patrick's as a Fitzgerald all those years growing up. I'm glad we've kept the tradition up with my own kids and it was especially fun to celebrate all together this year.
This year St. Patrick's Day also included a fun Family Home Evening about St. Patrick and our family's Irish heritage. It turns out my 3rd Great Grandfather, also a Michael Fitzgerald like my dad, came from Ireland to Canada only in 1828. In turns of family history, it wasn't all that long ago! No wonder I've had an affinity for things Irish; two boys with Irish names! I would love to be able to visit Ireland some day, I'm sad I never made it there during the few months I studied in London. The kids were also interested to hear about the real St. Patrick, kidnapped as a child and forced into slavery in Ireland. He left as a young adult and decided to come back to serve the people, whether he drove snakes out of Ireland is debatable.
It's great to celebrate traditions as a family, I hope my children continue to think about their Irish heritage, even though their last name isn't Fitzgerald! Erin Go Braugh!
No comments:
Post a Comment