I'm not Irish but.....

I am doing my first St. Patrick's Day tablescape and happily partying with Cuisine Kathleen for the 6th Annual St. Patricks's Day Blog Crawl. Be sure and click on the music links and stomp your feet and clamp your hands.


According to Google:
One traditional symbol of Saint Patrick's Day is the Shamrock.

"Shamrock" is the common name for several different kinds of three-leafed clovers native to Ireland.

The shamrock was chosen Ireland's national emblem because of the legend that St. Patrick had used it to illustrate the doctrine of the Trinity. The Trinity is the idea that God is really three-in-one: The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit.

Patrick demonstrated the meaning of the Three-in-One by picking a shamrock from the grass growing at his feet and showing it to his listeners. He told them that just as the shamrock is one leaf with three parts, God is one entity with three Persons.

The Irish have considered shamrocks as good-luck symbols since earliest times, and today people of many other nationalities also believe they bring good luck. The history of the shamrock is quite interesting. Check on this link from Fine Gardening to learn more about it. 

As a gardener, I always desire something fresh, organic and real on my tablescapes. Oxalis can be bought in stores in March in the U. S.  Since this is my first St. Patrick's Day tablescape I was glad to find a live shamrock plant ( oxalis tetraphylla) to use as a  centerpiece and placed it in my Johnson Brother's vegetable casserole dish.

As we participate, in tablescape linky parties there will be much written about the history of St. Patrick's Day. I agree with Jacqueline from Purple Chocolat Home that who would have thought you would learn so much from doing a tablescape! Check out Jacqueline's wearing of the green tablescape and learn about the history of St. Patrick's Day.

I'm not Irish.......but it is easy to get caught up in the festivities. All of us like Irish music don't we? Hopefully, I can link up several You-Tube videos for you to enjoy. My husband and I had a great time this weekend talking about Irish songs and old movies. It is nice to have a theme to reminisce about and he always teaches me something. As you listen to the music I beat you will be caught up in the festive mood too.

Our grandkids favorite song is Finnegan's Wake.

Our favorite movies are: The Quiet Man ( John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Barry Fitzgerald, Ward Bond, Victor McLaglen and Mildred Natwick) and Waking Ned Divine (Ian Bannen, David Kelly,  Fionnula Flanagan, Susan Lynch, James Nesbitt. This film was set in Ireland, but was filmed in the Isle of Man. I googled irish movies and there is a long list. My husband and I watched Waking Ned Divine last weekend so we'll watch a few more gearing up to having a festive St. Patrick's Day. 

The Parting Glass is another famous irish song sung in the movie, Waking Ned Divine.  Sung by Shaun Davey (View here and get in the irish mood.)

Do you see several layers here? For those that follow my blog do you see anything new?

Not the Mansard by Spode that I have used often recently. Not the Independence Glassware from the 70's.  Something else.

The answer is : the white chargers. For the last several years, I  have been hoping to find white chargers at an affordable price. Last week totally unexpected I found  white chargers at a great price at IKEA. Yay!

One thing  I would enjoy on St. Patrick's Day would be a cup of Irish Coffee so I set coffee cups in anticipation of an after dinner cup of Irish Coffee. Not sure what the rest of the menu will be yet. Probably the traditional Corned Beef and Cabbage. 

Green Pimpernel Placemats

Glassware- Independence (70's)

Dinner and salad plates-Mansard by Spode

Napkins- Husband brought back from Korea

Napkin rings- my mother's

Flatware- William Sonoma

Assorted  Bordallo Pinheiro pieces, Home Goods, Ebay

Vegetable casserole dish -Johnson Brother's Ironstone 

White Platter- T. J. Maxx

It was fun learning many things about St. Patrick's Day and the Irish traditions this year doing my first St. Patrick's Day tablescape. I would love to visit Ireland someday. 

Linking to : Cuisine Kathleen's Annual St. Patrick's Day Blog Crawl Let's Dish, Tablescape Thursday, Seasonal Sundays, Inspire me Tuesday and Wow Us Wednesday.

Living Thankfully, Bonnie