St Patrick Day – a guest author discusses the strange phenomenon that is St Patrick’s Day

Top ‘o the bloody morning to you.

Apparently St Patrick’s Day is big in here, stores sell green stuff, schools celebrate with green cookies and there’s green beer, although I have never seen this thankfully.

Why the innate need to celebrate your inner Irish?

Until yesterday I had never met anyone here with Irish lineage, Cinco De Mayo I get that with our large Mexican population and on the east coast with large Irish communities it makes sense but here it’s at the same time puzzling and a little bit weird.

People even tried to start celebrating it in England to which my friend Shaun proclaimed “It’s bloody stupid.” I concur.

“Come on get in the spirit!” I hear you say, but at the first sign of green in the supermarkets my bile starts to rise. Another stupid holiday made bereft of meaning by commercialism,  unless you’re from the Emerald Isle, which I and apparently everyone apart from one that I know in this city are not.

So knock it on the head, next year when someone mentions St Patrick’s Day, simply respond…”Why it’s a load of arse, I’m American (or insert appropriate nationality)” and take no part in the whole sordid affair.

While we’re on the subject might I suggest that on April 23rd you celebrate St George’s Day. He’s the patron saint of England. As you would expect there’s no resorting to beer, just wearing a red rose in acknowledgment. For some reason there will be no cards over here, no pretending to be English, no t shirts in your local stores. We like it that way.

Or even more exotically let’s celebrate Naadam this year, it’s a Mongolian holiday and will fit right in as you probably don’t know any Mongolians either but it might be cool to pretend to be one. You could as tradition permits, wrestle with your friends, take part in an archery contest or play games with sheep’s knuckles. Better still you get to take 3 days off to watch all the shenanigans.

So what’s your favorite holiday?

Is St Patrick’s Day a load of cobblers?

Will you be wearing your rose on St George’s Day?

And who will you wrestle for Naadam?

1st person to leave a comment with the meaning of pogue mahone wins a 4 leaf clover!

We await your response with baited breath.

Till next time…..

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