I have the SSPX calendar right next to em. If I see that clear outline of a fish, I don't eat meat. Just a reminder to all, according to said calendar the 21, 23, and 24 are ember days, with Wed. and Sat. partial abstinence, and full for Friday.
I do not know how exactly things were from locality to locality before the Revolution, but here is what I think about these things and certain feasts. If anyone knows what the rules were, please correct me.
From diocese to diocese, or even town to town, feasts took on different significances. For example, last year I was in the village in Mexico where my paternal roots originate. The patron and even name of the city is San Miguel, and the main local church is the Church of San Miguel. I believe that if this feast were to fall on Friday (September 29), and I just happened to be there, I would be okay with eating meat, as it was a solemnity and maybe in pre-conciliar times the Archbishop of Guadalajara would dispense the obligation due to a local solemnity. BTW, the town is San Miguel de Tarimoro.
Here is the future Juan Jesus Cardenal Posadas Ocampo saying his first Mass in said Church of San Miguel, date unknownL
Anyways, with regard to St. Patrick, big cities like New York always get the dispensation if his feast falls on a Friday. In San Francisco, the same is true, and I follow it because I believe in the glory days before V2, the archbishop would grant a dispensation to the large number of Irish we have in the City. If I am ever informed to the contrary, I will accordingly adjust my views.
Of course, I also graciously appreciate the dispensation of H.H. Pope Pius XII the day after Thanksgiving, and enjoy my one grandma's ham, and my other grandma's turkey. :ready-to-eat: :ready-to-eat: :ready-to-eat: