Happy St. Patrick’s Day! On this day that celebrates green, Daps Magic wishes the luck of the Irish will be with you all! For those who are at Disneyland, stop by Adventureland and check out The Little Man of Disneyland’s residence. Just outside of the entrance to the currently under-refurbishment Indiana Jones Adventure, Patrick Begorra has decorated his home for the holiday. The decorations include rainbow bunting that leads to a pot of gold (is this the end of the rainbow!?!), some ribbon on the door, and also some garland.
The Little Man of Disneyland
The Little Man of Disneyland was first introduced in 1955 in Disney’s Little Golden Books series in a book called The Little Man of Disneyland. The Little Man of Disneyland is the story of a leprechaun who lives at Disneyland.
In the original book, Begorra lived in the middle of the Anaheim orange groves before Disneyland was built. One day Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Pluto come walking through the orange groves. They have tools and construction plans for Disneyland. Begorra demands to know what is going on. After all, he wants to live peacefully and quietly. This leads to him getting a helicopter ride to The Walt Disney Studios where he gets to see what is planned for Disneyland. After seeing all of the plans, he asks to have a place that is he can live that is quiet and tucked away. Disneyland gets built and while it does, Begorra thinks about being the last leprechaun in the area after the rest had moved away. He does eventually end up moving into his new secret home in a tree in Adventureland that is only known by him (and a few observant guests). Since the original book was released, a sequel has been released as well.
Throughout the year, Patrick Begorra has also decorated his little home for other holidays as well. Be sure to stop by and check out his home regularly to see if it has new decorations!
About St. Patrick’s Day
St. Patrick’s Day is an annual celebration of the death of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. Through the years, the holidays have grown to become a celebration of Irish culture with parades, special foods, music, dancing, drinking, and wearing green. Saint Patrick was a 5th-century Christian missionary and also a bishop in Ireland.
The tradition of wearing green has many different origins. Some say that people wear green to be invisible to leprechauns and not get pinched by them. This most likely is an American-originated tradition more than Irish, however. The green also has been connected with St. Patrick, who is said to have used three-leaf shamrock in connection with the Trinity. However, St. Patrick is shown wearing blue garments in early depictions. This might not be the end of the connection though. Green became the color of Irish defiance against the English. The three-leaf shamrock was worn on St. Patrick’s Day in defiance by the Irish, as opposed to the English-imposed sky blue. This eventually would lead to a green background for the Irish flag instead of the blue one made by the English. The Irish also used green as the color of their cause when they sought independence in the late 1700s. The meaning behind wearing green was perhaps best captured in the song The Wearin’ o’ The Green. This songs lyrics are as follows:
When law can stop the blades of grass from growing as they grow;
And when the leaves in summertime their verdure dare not show;
Then I will change the colour that I wear in my caubeen (hat),
But until that day, please God, I’ll stick to wearin’ o’ the green.
As the Irish arrived in the United States and other countries, the tradition of wearing green came with them. In fact, it only grew. This was especially true on St. Patrick’s Day when boisterous parades took place throughout the country. By the 1930s, the tradition of wearing green on St. Patrick’s Day had become so widespread that even President F.D. Roosevelt joined in, even though he had Dutch ancestry. The custom has grown through the years, as have the celebrations.
What do you think of The Little Man of Disneyland’s decorations this year? Have you seen them in person? Share your thoughts and opinions in the comments below!
