And here it is St. Patrick’s Day again — it’s also the closing ceremonies for Cinco de Marcho, that started on March 5. Check the blog entry for March 5th if you’re confused.
St Patrick’s Day, or the Feast of St. Patrick, is a religious and cultural celebration held on 17 March — the death date of Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated in the United States, but it’s not a “holiday.” In the Republic of Ireland, today is a national public holiday, and the banks are closed. The first St. Patrick’s Day parade in the American colonies was held in New York City in 1762.
I think I’ve mentioned before that when I was working, a guy in our office always went out to lunch for St. Patrick’s Day, leaving about 11:30. You could pretty much set your watch that the phone would ring at just about exactly 4:30. The voice on the other end always said, “ I won’t be back today, I’ve been kidnapped by leprechauns.” Lots of people celebrate the day by tipping a few — green beer used to be very popular, but not so much anymore. Nonetheless, there’s lots of Irish drinking jokes and poems, like: I went out drinking on St. Patrick’s Day, so I took a bus home…that may not be a big deal to you, but I’ve never driven a bus before.” And one of my favorite Irish poems is:
There are many good reasons for drinking,
One has just entered my head,
If a man doesn’t drink when he’s living,
How the heck can he drink when he’s dead?
Happy St. Patrick’s Day to everyone!
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