Why I Love St. Patrick's Day... And the Color Green

Exactly 31 years ago today I quite spontaneously – if not inexplicably – mailed off a St. Patrick’s Day card to a man I had met only briefly once before. Unknowingly, that piece of shamrock-studded stationary would set in motion a chain of correspondence spanning over a year and lead, soon after, to the marriage of Marian… and Adam, my husband to this very day!

For this reason, I can’t help having warm, special feelings for St. Patrick – and St. Patrick’s Day.

What do you associate St. Patrick’s Day with? Green beer?

Actually, today got me thinking about all things green.

About recommitting to making “greener” (i.e. environmentally sound) choices when it comes to purchases. About choosing food and beverage products with minimal, recyclable packaging and contents that are life-sustaining.

About green food and their health-supporting roles.

• Deep green leafy type foods – lettuce, spinach, kale – rich in vitamin K with unique antineoplastic (anti-tumor growth) properties.

• Green cabbage and broccoli – containing phytochemicals called indoles which decreases the estrogen that initiates breast cancer.

• Green tea with its polyphenols — which act as antioxidants and kill human cancer cells.

• Cilantro (the herb that I’m still learning to love) – which protects us from radiation and heavy metal toxicity, and recently has become known for its cholesterol lowering abilities.

There are so many reasons… GO GREEN!

Tonight Adam and I will deviate for a moment from the current Lenten Fast and raise a glass of something sparkling to our favorite saint — and his matchmaking powers ;-). This is a toast I found in my inbox today:

“May your thoughts be as glad as the shamrocks

May your heart be as light as a song

May each day bring you bright, happy hours

That stay with you all the year long.” —An Irish Toast