Exploring Irish Culture on St. Patrick's Day

I chose to learn about Irish culture today is St. Patrick's Day and I like green. I saw from online that many people were celebrating it, but I did not really understand its meaning before. This made me curious about the country and their people. As I just learnt, St. Patrick's Day is named after Saint Patrick, who is known for bringing Christianity to Ireland. It is celebrated on March 17 and has become an important cultural holiday for Irish people. I learned that people in Ireland speak English, but Gaelic is the first language before 19th century.

From what I searched on Google, I found that Irish monks invented spaces between words. This is amazing, as it helped make reading easier. I also found that Irish people love expressing themselves, enjoy music, have strong musical ability, value closeness with family, and are fond of parties. These traits give me the impression that they are energetic and enjoy life. One interesting thing is that, from all the resources I read, I found that the shamrock is a symbol of Irish identity, not just a decorative icon of St. Patrick's Day. In addition, the prehistoric monument Newgrange in County Meath is used to tell the age of the Earth because it aligned perfectly with the sunrise on the winter solstice in the beginning of Earth's formation. This made me feel surprised and amazed. I assume Ireland must be a very beautiful country.

However, I still cannot clearly tell the differences between Irish people and Canadians. This makes me realize that reading alone is not enough to fully understand a culture. In the future, I would like to interact with Irish people in real life to better understand their personalities and cultural background.