Irish Bloom Day

Ok, so I know it's the day after St. Patrick's Day, but I meant to post this yesterday so please, indulge me.

I would like to take a moment to share with you why I think holidays are so important, before we get to the pretty flower photos. I think that holidays, no matter how silly or commercial, serve to create a sense of community. When you see everyone wandering around wearing green on the same day, eating "traditional" Irish foods, drinking Guinness, etc. it makes you feel a sense of connection to the people around you even if you don't know them. In celebrating a holiday together you have one day when you can't help but recognize cultural connection with the strangers around you.

In addition, holidays give us a way to mark the year. There is always something to look forward to in the coming months as we think of the family gatherings, bbq's, church services, special foods and decorations that will be filling our lives with color and unique memories that we will treasure for the rest of our lives. For me, in addition to being an excuse to get together with friends who would normally never tolerate my love of Celtic music, St. Patrick's Day is when Spring begins (did you know that traditionally you are supposed to plant your peas on St. Patty's Day). It's a day when the world is filled with bright green after the long grey of winter. In celebration of this, I took some snapshots of the pretty flowers that woke up in time to say hello to St. Patrick.