![]() ![]() In 17th century Ireland, toasting took the form of a one-on-one drinking challenge. ![]() The gods watching from Mount Olympus considered the spilled wine an offering. In ancient Greece, it was customary to raise your glass to the sky, deliberately spill some of your drink, pray with arms and cup raised, and then, and only then, take your first sip. Toasting before drinking, by the way, is a centuries-old custom. It’s related to the Latin word for health, “salvus,” and the German word for blessed, “selig.” “Sláinte” comes from the Old Gaelic word “slan,” meaning healthy or whole. On a more cheerful note, let’s all say this word together: “sláinte!” “Sláinte” is a toast meaning “health.” You can respond with “sláinte agad-sa,” meaning, “to your health as well,” or “back atcha.” Ireland remained, but it was ruled directly from London until 1922. What Does ‘Erin go Bragh’ Mean?Įrin go Bragh is the Anglicized version of the gaelic Éire go Brách, spelled with a “ch” at the end rather than a “gh.” It means “Ireland forever,” with the literal translation being “Ireland till doomsday” or “Ireland until the end of time.” We don’t know when this phrase was first used, but it was a rallying cry during the Irish Rebellion of 1798 against British rule, adorning the flags of the Irish forces.Īfter just three months of fighting, the British were victorious, tens of thousands of Irishmen were dead, and the Irish Parliament abolished. “Be jabbers” means “by Jesus.” And a “spalpeen” is a young boy. “Arrah,” by the way, is an expression of disbelief. An English newspaper published in 1885 made fun of the word, suggesting that the Prince of Wales, when visiting Ireland, should familiarize himself with Irish slang such as “arrah,”’ “begorra,” “be jabers,” and “spalpeen.” We’ll start with “Begorrah.” What Does ‘Begorrah’ Mean?īegorrah is a euphemism for the phrase “by God.” You sometimes hear it in the phrase, “faith and begorrah.” It’s the Irish equivalent of an American saying, “by golly” or “by gosh.” ![]() Patrick is, let’s get back to words you might hear on this holiday. Partly due to this legend, shamrocks have become the national flower of Ireland, and are symbolic of all things Irish, especially St. Patrick is also supposed to have illustrated the Holy Trinity of Christianity by using a shamrock, showing its three leaves growing from a single stem. You could say he turned them into werewolves. The legends say he put a curse on them that turned one couple, every seven years, into wolves-wolves that spoke like humans and craved human flesh. Their spirit animal was a wolf, and they howled at Patirck when he came close. He’s even said to have placed a curse on an Irish clan who didn’t take kindly to his promotion of a new deity. He’s also said to have raised 33 people from the dead, some of whom had been buried for years. He’s best known for having driven all the snakes out of Ireland (which is probably a metaphor for driving out the druids). Believing he’d received a message from God, he returned to Ireland as a one-man missionary, spreading word of the Christian faith across the pagan island and baptizing people left and right. Later, as an adult, he dreamed that a group of Irishmen were calling him back to their land.
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