Topics

Mar

Memories of St Patrick’s Day In and Out of Ireland

by Joyce McGreevy on March 15, 2021

Ireland’s blue sky and green meadow in March evoke memories celebrated with cultural authenticity on St Patrick’s Day in Ireland. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Before the pandemic, March was a popular time for travel to Ireland . . .
© Joyce McGreevy

How Real Was My Cultural Authenticity?

What could be more Irish than memories of St Patrick’s Day in Ireland? Picture it: County Limerick, March 17. Sunlight illuminates my boarding school overlooking the banks of the River Shannon. Such cultural authenticity! We’ve the day off from classes. Cue the festivities!

The Dripping of the Green

Ah, but this is 1970s Ireland. St Patrick’s Day is a holy day, not yet a holiday. To “celebrate,” we each pin a clump of sodden shamrocks to the front of our school uniform. At Mass, I watch in dismal fascination as brackish liquid oozes along the wool grain of my personal upholstery. Read more...

Joyce McGreevy Comments

Cultural Heritage & Traditions/Ireland/Travels to the Past

Mar

In the (School) Zone of Different Cultures

by Sheron Long on March 9, 2021

This round cardboard school zone sign from The Gambia with arrow pointing in one direction and 3 kids going in the opposite direction is part of a series of school zone signs from different cultures. Image © Kirszen/iStock

The beeline—Did this school sign from The Gambia presage 2020 education
or where kids wanted to go?
© Kirszen

School Zone Signs of the Times

All over the world in 2020 school traffic stopped and not just in the crosswalks. Now buses are creeping back to school, kids are in the crosswalks again, and our minds at OIC have moved from online education to the lines on school zone signs in different cultures. Read more...

Sheron Long Comments

Cultural Diversity/Worldwide Sites

Mar

Protecting the Rural Heritage of France

by Meredith Mullins on March 1, 2021

Sheep in the French countryside showing the right to rural heritage. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

No BS: New Law To Preserve the Sounds and Smells of the French Countryside

It would not be unusual when thinking about the rural heritage of France to find a sign at the outskirts of a typical French village that says:

Enter at your own risk. We have bells that ring regularly. We have roosters who sing early in the morning. We have livestock herds that graze here (and might be wearing bells). We have farmers who work to give you food. Read more...

Meredith Mullins 4 Comments

Cultural Heritage & Traditions/France

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