March 17 is commonly observed throughout the Western world as St. Patrick’s Day. People wear green and everybody, it seems is at least part Irish for the day. Several cities in the US, especially with large Irish populations also have parades and big parties in honor of Saint Patrick.

Why do we celebrate March 17th as St. Patrick’s Day and why is it such a special day? Here is a historical perspective.

Patrick of Ireland was recognized as a Saint by the early Christian Church. This was about 1500 years ago. He was commonly known as Saint Patrick, he is also the patron Saint of Ireland.  Most cities, towns and even countries have patron saints. But St Patrick and St. Patrick’s Day is very special.

Most people don’t know that Patrick wasn’t named Patrick by his parents. He wasn’t even Irish! Most historians agree that he was born in Scotland or Wales around 370 A.D. and that his given name was Maewyn Succat. His parents, Calpurnius and Conchessa, were Roman Christians living in Britain.

When he was a teenager, Maewyn was kidnapped, sold into slavery and sent to Ireland. He lived there with the Irish, learned their customs and language, and worked as a shepherd. One day he had a strange dream, that showed him of a way to escape from Ireland — by going to the coast and getting on a ship. The next morning, after many years in slavery, Maewyn woke up and walked hundreds of miles. When he arrived at the coast he found a ship bound to Britain and managed to get a ride. He started believing that his dreams were more than just his imagination.

Back home in Britain, he dreamed of going back to Ireland.Not as to shepherd, but to teach Christianity to Ireland, a land where Christianity was not even practiced.

That dream excited and scared him. It was exciting because he really wanted to follow the dream and teach the Irish Christianity. But he was scared,  because he had no formal religious training that would be necessary to teach and spread , so had no talent or skill for teaching and spreading Christianity to Ireland.

So, he  joined So he left for France where he entered a monastery in France and and began studying for the priesthood. This is when he changed his name to Patrick (meaning "father of his people" in Latin). After successfully completing his studies, Patrick was ordained as a priest and in time, he became a bishop.

He finally decided to return to Ireland around 432 A.D. He was no longer the slave boy shepherd – in fact by this time he was becoming an old man. But he was motivated and believed in his dream. He traveled throughout Ireland teaching and spreading Christianity, building churches, and founding schools. Because he knew the customs, traditions, and the language of the Irish, he soon had many followers. who became Christians.

He was so successful in his teachings that by time of his death on March 17th,  sometime between 461 A.D. and 490 A.D., Ireland was mostly a Christian nation with churches and schools throughout the country.

This is important because by 490 A. D. the Roman Empire had collapsed entirely. For a thousand years, the cities, roads, libraries, schools, fell  into ruin. But Ireland preserved the writings, history, and education from the time of the Roman Empire. When what had been the Roman Empire started to rebuild, it was Ireland that helped. This is why St. Patrick is honored on March 17th. .

So those are the facts of a boy named Maewyn who had a dream and became Saint Patrick.

Legends:
As you can imagine for someone who lived so long ago, there are a bunch of legends.

For one, you’ll hear that in his spare time, Patrick drove all the snakes out of Ireland. OK. That’s impressive. Except for one teeny tiny little problem. There never were any snakes in Ireland. So where did this story come from? Scholars think that the basis for the story was the clash that arose between Patrick with his Christian teachings and the teachings of other Irish religious leaders called the Druids. The Druids were fond of the snake as a symbol of their beliefs, so St. Patrick bringing Christianity to Ireland was actually replacing the symbol of snakes with the symbols of Christianity.  So over time, people just came to tell the story of how St. Patrick drove the snakes from Ireland.

Another legend explains why on St. Patrick’s day you have to wear something green or risk getting pinched! The legend goes that if you wear green,  you are invisible to the leprechauns and fairies. If you don’t  wear green, the leprechauns and fairies can see you and will pinch you because you are the only thing they can see. 

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! And wear something green!

Gem words:
monastery: a house or place of residence occupied by a community of persons, especially monks, learning religious preachings
patron saint: is a saint who is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person.
perspective:a point of view

Ecuador is one of the most biodiverse places on Earth. It also has a lot of oil reserves at its national parks. It has been difficult for Ecuador to maintain the balance between oil exploration and preserving the national forests.

In just the Yasuni National Park, located in the northeastern part of Ecuador there are 121 different species of reptiles, 150 species of frogs, 596 species of birds and 187 species of mammals and 4 different types of tribal population living there.

But Yasuni may soon look very different. It is believed that close to 850 million barrels of oil lie beneath the park. Oil mining companies want to extract the oil despite the risks to the environment. 

Another facet of Ecuador is that more than a quarter of its population lives below the poverty line, and their average daily income is just $26. Money coming-in from oil companies can help the people earn better and live better lives.

The influx of the oil companies will affect both the wildlife and the people. Some researchers and scientists believe that if done with care, and under strict regulation (that they believe can be imposed now) - oil extraction can coexist with a protected biodiversity of the various species and the indigenous population.

We need to be careful that history doesn't repeat itself. In the 1960s there was oil extraction at the Lago Agrio oil fields of Ecuador. This had caused serious ecological problems resulting in water pollution, deforestation and dislocation of the indigenous people. In 2011 Ecuador's court had fined Chevron the oil mining company a fine of $8 Billion to cleanup the pollution. However, in March 2014, the US court overturned the fine because it found there was misconduct and corruption involved in the 2011 judgement.

It is true that there may have been misconduct involved the judgement that fined Chevron. Now, Chevron does not have to pay the fine. It remains to be seen who will cleanup the ecological damage that oil exploration has caused. After all, the ecological damage effects all of us.

The new oil exploration rules are more stringent. It is debatable whether the oil companies will comply with the stringent requirements needed because it will increase the price of oil extraction. Can Yasuni be preserved as the pristine and biodiverse place on earth as it is today? Will the Lago Agrio oil field mess be cleaned up?

Gem words:
deforestation: clearance or clearing is the removal of a forest so the land can be used for other purposes
dislocation: moving of people or object from its original place
ecological:  The science of the relationships between organisms and their environments.
facet: one side or aspect of something

The 86th Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, was held on Sunday, March 2nd 2014, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. The ceremony celebrates the past year’s achievements in film.  


The Oscars are attended by guests that include film personalities from around the world. Everyone dresses their best for Oscar night, because it is the biggest night for movies.

It is a huge honor to have your film even nominated for an Oscar. Winning an Oscar is amongst the highest honors for anyone in the film industry.

The Oscars are awarded for various categories. The popular categories include Best Director, Best Animated Feature, Best Documentary Feature, and Best Original Song.  While every category is filled with incredible talent, most people eagerly wait for the results of the “Big Three Categories.” They are the Best Actor in a Leading Role, the Best Actress in a Leading Role, and the Best Picture. If a film wins Best Picture, it means that it was voted the best movie for the entire year!

Some past winners of Best Picture are Titanic, The Lord of the Rings: Return on the King, and The Sound of Music, just to name a few. Have you seen any Best Pictures?

The film that won Best Picture this year was 12 Years a Slave,  which is a story about a free man from the north who is sold into slavery. Be careful though! A lot of movies nominated for Oscars are Rated R, which means you have to be 17 years old to see it without a parent accompanying you! The ratings are necessary because even very good movies may have content that is inappropriate for younger audiences.

One movie many of you may have seen is Frozen.  It won the Oscar for the Best Animated Feature.  Do you love the song “Let it Go?” So did the Academy! They voted it Best Original Song.

Mathew McConaughey won “Best Actor” for his performance in Dallas Buyers Club, which is a movie about AIDS patients and is also Rated R.  Jared Leto, who plays his friend in the movie, won “Best Supporting Actor”.

Cate Blanchett, won “Best Actress” for her portrayal of Jeanette "Jasmine" Francis in Blue Jasmine.  Lupita Nyong'o won “Best Supporting Actress” for her performance in 12 Years a Slave. She is the first woman from Kenya to win the award! Wow! In her acceptance speech, she said, “When I look down at this golden statue may it remind me, and every little child, that no matter where you are from your dreams are valid.” Do you dream of winning an Oscar?

There are a lot of awards to get through, and it is the host that makes the entire ceremony go smoothly. The host welcomes the guests, gets the show started, and announces who is about to come on the stage. He or she tries to make the ceremony as entertaining as possible, so they tell a lot of jokes!

This year, comedian Ellen DeGeneres hosted the show. She is known to be funny . The most unexpected joke (and my favorite part) of the evening was her ordering pizza for the audience, and asking a few stars in the front row to chip in to tip the delivery guy!

Can you imagine delivering pizza to Brad Pitt or Julia Roberts? It is a good thing the stars didn’t get any pizza on their fancy clothes!


Gem words:
incredible: so extraordinary as to seem impossible.
inappropriate: not proper or suitable.
portrayal: the way in which an actor plays a character in a movie or a play