St. Patrick's Day was not celebrated where I grew up, along the coast of the North Sea in Germany. As a child, I was fascinated with the story about the monk Patrick driving the snakes out of Ireland. My cousin Renate set me straight one day: " We East Friesians won't have anything to do with the Irish. They constantly sent monks over the sea to convert our people to christianity. So we fought the monks whereever we found them. The worst one they sent was St. Boniface. We killed him, and then we ate him. So, if somebody comes to your door to convert you to any god or religion, you just tell them not to bother. We still have a bone of St.. Boniface's in the cupboard."
I was very impressed by her story and have used it many times on unsuspecting fanatics.
By the way, Ostfriesland was sold out to the pope by her chieftains who were promised more power and land. Ostfriesland was the last Germanic area to convert to christianity.
Happy Saint Patrick's Day!
"Eala Frya Fresena – Welcome, free Frisians".