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So, being just under a week until Saint Patrick's day, I cooked Corned Beef today (which will sit in the crock pot with cabbage tomorrow to become the most Irish-American of meals) and, as I was drinking my Guinness, I began to wonder about people's Saint Patrick's day traditions. My family (being partially Irish) tended to break out the Corned Beef and Cabbage for the one meal a year (because my Mom isn't partial to it), perhaps put some green dye into varied things (ranging from bathwater to eggs, the first of which thrilled my sister and I when we were little, the latter simply made fine-tasting eggs look nasty), and remember our Irish heritage. So, what do ya'll do for Saint Patrick's Day (if anything)?

I punch people who try to pinch me for not wearing green, granted that I've forgotten to wear it.

:U It would be fun to be truly Irish though.

My family isn't Irish though we have eaten Corned Beef on occasion. Normally for me St. Patrick's day just sort of creeps up on me from nowhere so I tend to not observe it at all. My sister, on the other hand, has a tradition of wearing orange on St. Patrick's day...yeah...it's probably a good thing we don't live in Ireland...

I have no traditions for St. Patrick's Day. XD I rarely wear green, unless I do it by accident (green is one of my favorite colors to wear, yet I somehow always end up with a green-less outfit on the 17th XD). I like Puguni's idea, though. Punches > pinches. XD

We used to walk down to the Town Parade, which so obnoxiously blocked off our street for way longer than they needed to... but other than that, no traditions. I think the whole town gets drunk, and you're just better off staying indoors for the day.
Besides, I'm not Irish. I'm Italian/English. But the English side of the family has been here since before the Revolutionary War, so any and all culture disappeared a LONG time ago. The really Italian part died out before I was born, so I never knew that culture either. That is, until I married into a VERY Italian family... XD

Hello, can someone tell me what is the history of the colour green being associated with this day? Thanks.

Green is Ireland's national color. "The Emerald Isle" is more than just a passing nick-name, you know.

I'm in no way Irish, but I do have a bit of a fancy for McDonald's Shamrock Shakes.

That should count for absolutely nothing. My brother's bought some Guinness, so maybe that should count for something.

Fish and Chips - Thanks. Is the colour of green associated with Ireland before or after Patrick "made his mark" on the place? And what is the connection (if any) between the green colour and St. Patrick? Or are the two just thrown together because St. Patrick is a national holiday for Ireland (I am guessing it is)?

Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland, but I'm sure they had the whole green-motif running long before his arrival. Essentially, St. Patrick's day is a celebration of "Irishness" in general, pride in one's cultural and ethnic heritage, so it features a wide selection of what makes the Irish, well, Irish; the color green, pubs, leprechauns, shamrocks, and The Man himself, St. Patrick. The Irish are very proud of their Catholic tradition. According to an old English teacher of mine, some pubs will ask it's patrons "Irish or Protestant?"

I celebrate my b'day of course!

Seriously though not much out of the ordinary.St.Patty's Day is actually more celebrated over here than it is in Ireland,btw.
My maternal grandma was born in co.Cork.

FYI:Anyone who is of Scots descent is actually of Irish descent because
the Scots were an IRISH tribe!

mitsuki lover wrote:FYI:Anyone who is of Scots descent is actually of Irish descent because
the Scots were an IRISH tribe!

We're all one big happy Celtic family.

I think the part I still don't get is:

1. Patrick, as far as I know, was in Ireland way (way) before the Reformation and the Catholic and Protestant thing.

2. So then I am thinking the Catholic tradition is not necessarily related to the man Patrick, but just that the majority of Irish people are Catholics.

Yeah, anyway, not sure if you understood what I mean.

Actually Patrick was not the first Christian missionary to Ireland there were others before him,but he is the most noted.There is also a lot of controversy over his actual origins.Although he was certainly a Celt of some type,where he was from is the question.
Aside from Partrick the greatest Saint in Irish history was Columba.

Ultra Magnus wrote:I think the part I still don't get is:

1. Patrick, as far as I know, was in Ireland way (way) before the Reformation and the Catholic and Protestant thing.

2. So then I am thinking the Catholic tradition is not necessarily related to the man Patrick, but just that the majority of Irish people are Catholics.

Yeah, anyway, not sure if you understood what I mean.

I think I understand, and if I follow you correctly, you're trying to say that the connection of Saint Patrick's Day with Catholicism is largely due to the large Catholic community in Ireland, not the fact that Saint Patrick is uniquely Catholic. That is certainly part of it, part may also be that most of the Protestant traditions oppose the Catholic idea of saints (in one way or another), and would be less likely to celebrate Saint Patrick's Day for that reason. Not that they dislike Saint Patrick as a man, just that they may oppose Catholic Saint's Days altogether. Though this varies greatly from Protestant tradition to Protestant tradition, when combined with the overwhelmingly Catholic population it makes sense to me that the holiday is pretty heavily associated with Catholicism.

But, at least for those of us in the US, the emphasis is far more on Irish tradition than Catholicism. Saint Patrick was an honorable early Christian missionary (from all I have read), and I have no problem commemorating his life and ministry to Ireland. Plus it gives me an excuse to celebrate my Irish heritage and eat good food.

Fish and Chips, Mitsuki Lover, and Puritan - I appreciate all the informative responses you've given. At least you guys know more about this holiday than the Irish people I've asked around at work.

You're welcome Magnus.

I just want someone to explain to me why they picked the Ides of March to celebrate it. Then fall Caesar.

Puritan wrote:But, at least for those of us in the US, the emphasis is far more on Irish tradition than Catholicism. Saint Patrick was an honorable early Christian missionary (from all I have read), and I have no problem commemorating his life and ministry to Ireland. Plus it gives me an excuse to celebrate my Irish heritage and eat good food.

That pretty much sums up my exact feelings on the subject. My family is also Irish, and we have celebrated the day for as long as I can remember. We usually eat corned beef, decorate the house, and wear green hats (well I use to wear them when I was a kid, now my head is too big). We also say "Paddy's Pot" to my Dad and previously my Grandpa so we can get some easy $$. Doesn't anyone else do that?? I'm starting to wonder if my Great -Grandfather made it up, but he came from Ireland so that doesn't make much sense...

Here's some good links if people want to know more:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Patrick
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Patrick%27s_Day

Oh and for those that don't know the traditon of eating corned beef is 100% American. Apparently a butcher a long time ago decided to market it as a traditional Patrick's Day meal (because he wanted to get rid of it) and somehow it became a tradition. I don't even think they eat it at all in Ireland...

I do have cousins in Ireland still.Though to be honest since we're Protestant we could be said to be more Orange than Green,if you know what I mean.In fact one of my ancestors preached a sermon for William III just before he took Limerick.

Celebrate my birthday nonetheless,cause I was born on St. Patrick's Day. Also pinch any of my family members and friends who are not wearing any hint of green.

Actually if you go far enough back what we call today the Irish and the Scots are really Spanish.This is because the tribes that the Irish and Scots descend from were among what is called the CeltIberians,the CeltIberians were Celtic tribes that settled inwhat was then known as Iberia and what we know today as Spain and Portugal.
Doing a bit of research yesterday on the internet I found that the came from what is called the region of Galicia in Spain today.
Some of the CeltIberians that stayed in Spain ended up fighting the Romans as 'Allies' of the Carthaginians,really they probably wished both groups would go away so that they could go back to fighting among themselves.
The CeltIberians are not to be confused with the Iberian tribes that lived in the same region at the same time.
Also the Scots and Irish spoke what is known now as Q-Celtic as opposed to the Welsh and European Celts who spoke P-Celtic.

Ah, the glories of being Irish.

*starts singing "Ireland, My Ireland"*

That should be 'Maryland,My Maryland'.So our day in the sun is now over for the year and I have my foot deeper in the grave.Tuesday we go to Spokane and I hope to get a new Inuyasha DVD for my collection.
I also watched the Silent Mobius episode 'Category IV' to celebrate.

I"m not Irish and I don't drink, so I tend to ignore the whole thing.

My best friend [whose birthday also falls on St. Pat's], a friend of his, and I all bought matching kilts on the 17th. w00t.

.rai//