Saint Patrick's Day

Today is Saint Patrick's Day.  Saint Patrick was a 5th-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of the island.  Saint Patrick's Day is observed on 17 March, the date of his death.  It is celebrated inside and outside Ireland as a religious and cultural holiday. In the dioceses of Ireland, it is both a solemnity and a holy day of obligation; it is also a celebration of Ireland itself.  However, on this side of the pond, it is most often a day (or weekend) to pretend you are Irish.  The day (or weekend) is usually given over to revelry and drunkenness, much akin to that other 'religious' holiday, Mardi Gras (aka Carnivale south of the border).  The absence of snakes in Ireland gave rise to the legend that they had all been banished by St. Patrick chasing them into the sea after they attacked him during a 40-day fast he was undertaking on top of a hill.  This hagiographic theme draws on the Biblical account of the staff of the prophet Moses. In Exodus 7:8–7:13, Moses and Aaron use their staffs in their struggle with Pharaoh's sorcerers, the staffs of each side morphing into snakes. Aaron's snake-staff prevails by consuming the other snakes.  In any case, I hope you have a fabulous day whichever way you choose to celebrate (or not).

This week's Monday with Mozart features the Quintet for Clarinet and String Quartet in A Major, KV581.  Today's performance is by Valter Vitek on Clarinet in performance with the Kubin Quartet recorded live in Ostrava, Czech Republic in 1989.  You may also hear Maurizio Pollini performing Mozart's Piano Concerto Number 23 in A Major over on my tumblr. 

On display below the video in this week's collection of muscly men in the Monday's Undies for your visual appreciation.  Be sure to check out today's Hottie of the Day! over on my tumblr.  Thanks for starting your week here at Nichevo, see you again tomorrow.  Until next time as always, Enjoy!