Saint Patrick’s Day has been celebrated in the United States since 1737. Green beer, shamrocks and corned beef and cabbage are traditions that most Americans are familiar with but not many realize that today’s St Patrick’s Day paw-tys have really gone to the dogs.

According to Diana L Guerrero, “Pet households now outnumber those with kids and today more and more celebrations include pets. Irish breed clubs and owners now can even give their pets bowser beer (non-alcoholic) and raise funds with pooch smooching at ‘Kiss Me I’m Irish’ booths.”

Guerrero is the author of BLESSING OF THE ANIMALS: A GUIDE TO PRAYERS & CEREMONIES CELEBRATING PETS & OTHER CREATURES (ISBN 1402729677). The new book, scheduled for release in April, discusses pet pageants, pet parades, and the pet paw-ty craze sweeping the nation.

St. Patrick (387-461 AD) is the patron saint of Ireland and Roman Catholics celebrate his feast day on March 17th but the tradition has become a popular secular celebration.

Guerrero said, “One urban legend is that St Patrick drove all the snakes from Ireland–but snakes were never native to Ireland. Some people believe the snakes were a metaphor for the conversion of the pagans.”

A traditional icon of St Patrick’s Day is the shamrock. The Irish tale is that St. Patrick used the three-leafed shamrock to explain the Trinity–representing the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—all separate parts of the same entity and this is why the custom of wearing a shamrock became a tradition on his feast day.

Guerrero said, “Pet owners now have a variety of fashion options available for their companion animals. Most grooming salons will use shamrock or green ribbons if you ask. I’d also encourage some beastly bling such as a shamrock pet tag. People can also find St Patrick holiday collars and bandanas.”

For those pet owners who want to dye their pets green for St. Patrick’s Day?

“Ultimately it is the pet owner’s decision but animal lovers should be alerted that the ASPCA’s Animal Poison Control Center discourages the practice.”

Allergic reactions and toxic odors and residue from green dye could pose problems so before using any product on your companion animal make sure the product is non-toxic –and protect the pet’s ear and eyes. Some safer alternatives? Try green Jell-O or professional grooming.

You know that a holiday has really gone to the dogs when there is a canine version of the St Patrick’s Day prayer:

May your dog rise up to meet you, with a bark and a wag of the tail.
When your day’s journey is over, may the woes of the day be gone.
As your faithful companion greets you, eager to welcome your home, may God hold you both in the palm of His hand.

-END-

Review copies of BLESSING OF THE ANIMALS: A GUIDE TO PRAYERS & CEREMONIES CELEBRATING PETS AND OTHER CREATURES (ISBN 1402729677) are available to journalists. Contact Sterling Publishing Publicity at (212) 532-7160 or Krista Margies (646) 688-2510 (kmargies@sterlingpub.com).

RESOURCES OF INTEREST:

Irish Canine Breeds

Irish red and white setter

Irish Setter

Irish terrier

Glen of Imaal terrier

Kerry blue terrier

Irish soft-coated wheaten terrier

Irish water spaniel

Irish wolfhound

St Patrick’s Day from Religion Facts

St Patrick’s Day from National Geographic

St Patrick’s Day from US Information

St Patrick’s Day from the History Channel

St Patrick’s Day Songs for Cat Lovers

What you might not know:

•In the United States wearing green is the typical attire for the day—but this was not the tradition in Ireland where the color was considered unlucky.

•Chicago is famous for dyeing the Chicago River green on St. Patrick’s Day. The tradition began in 1962.

•Guinness stout was first brewed by Arthur Guinness in Dublin, Ireland in 1759. The beer has become synonymous with Ireland and Irish bars.

•Cabbage was traditionally served with Irish bacon not corned beef. Immigrants to America substituted corned beef around the turn of the century.

This just in: Jaguar mauls zoo keeper at Denver Zoo. The keeper died and reports say that the male jaguar was shot. Here is another report from CBS in Chicago.

It sounds like the keeper entered into the exhibit area or the jaguar penetrated access into the adjacent keeper area.

Zoo animals may be habituated to humans but they remain true to their wild nature. Human error accounts for most of the attacks I am aware of. Here is a local news video done from the Denver Zoo.

http://www.denverzoo.org

It looks like Punxsutawney Phil is in for a rude awakening. His Inner Circle has been accused of keeping him supplied with a questionable elixir and organizing nubile female woodchuck company. How will he deal with the growing scandals?

“It is a curse of celebrity status–Punxsutawney Phil will probably attempt to dig his way out of this whole mess.” according to Diana L Guerrero.

Diana L. Guerrero is the author of BLESSING OF THE ANIMALS: A GUIDE TO PRAYERS & CEREMONIES CELEBRATING PETS AND OTHER CREATURES (ISBN 1402729677).

The book, scheduled for release in April, talks about Candlemas and the tradition of Groundhog Day.

Guerrero writes, “Groundhog Day occurs halfway between the winter solstice and spring equinox. In the United States, wild and wacky groundhog “weathermen” stick their necks out to make weather predictions early in the year. Real animals, these groundhogs “forecast” the end of winter or beginning of spring in an old tradition linked to Candlemas.”

In Punxsutawney, Groundhog Day is a big deal and has been celebrated on Gobbler’s Knoll since 1887. The event is broadcast throughout the United States and has even appeared on the JumboTron in New York.

Punxsutawney Phil is known as “The Seer of Seers, Sage of Sages, Prognosticator of Prognosticators and Weather Prophet Extraordinary” and his notoriety has drawn crowds of over 30,000 to the little town with 6,000 residents.

So how does he predict the weather? The tale is that the groundhog comes out of his hole after a long winter sleep to look for his shadow. If he sees it, he regards it as an omen of six more weeks of bad weather and returns to his hole. If the day is cloudy and shadowless he takes it as a sign of spring and stays above ground.

The groundhog tradition stems from beliefs associated with Candlemas Day and the days of early Christians in Europe, and for centuries the custom was to have the clergy bless candles and distribute them to the people.

Today’s groundhog has to be adaptable so Phil has branched out into other activities besides weather prediction. He meets with president, talk show hosts, and also makes political statements.

For instance, during prohibition, Phil threatened to impose 60 weeks of winter if could not get a drink.

Punxsutawney itself is filled with tributes to their famous resident. Sculptures, artistic murals, and other tributes to the groundhog (slang for woodchuck) adorn the town.

Events leading up to the big day on February 2nd include groundhog festivals, a groundhog jog, a groundhog lasagna luncheon, the crowning of king and queen groundhog and Mr & Miss groundhog, a woodchuck whittle carving exhibition, a Phil Phind scavenger hunt, the Phil Phest, and more–you can even buy Groundhog Brew.

You can apply for a Groundhog day club membership at http://www.groundhog.org and if you want a sneak preview of BLESSING OF THE ANIMALS, due out this April, http://www.blessingoftheanimals.com today.

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Review copies of BLESSING OF THE ANIMALS: A GUIDE TO PRAYERS & CEREMONIES CELEBRATING PETS AND OTHER CREATURES (ISBN 1402729677) are available to journalists. Contact Sterling Publishing Publicity at (212) 532-7160.

BLESSING OF THE ANIMALS is available for preorder from Sterling Publishing, Amazon.com, and BarnesandNoble.com and will be available at booksellers throughout the United States in April of 2007.

Diana L Guerrero is available for interviews and online previews of this book are available online at http://www.blessingoftheanimals.com please also visit:
http://www.whatanimalscanteachusaboutspirituality.com or http://www.dianalguerrero.com

Other Groundhog Day Links:
Tom Purcell Groundhog Day & the ACLU

Out of Chuck’s Shadow
Groundhog Day

Groundhog Day Celebrations

Woody Competes with Phil

Groundhog Day Fest

Only His Shadow Knows

Punxsutawney: Dig it!

Groundhog Day: A Critics Guide to Punxsutawney

Punxsutawney Who?