I'm Not Irish
Today is St. Patrick's Day. There will be parades,celebrations,consumption of green beer and feasts of corn bread,cabbage and soda bread. To all of you who have an Irish background, I hope you have a happy holiday.
I will not be celebrating. My background is Italian, not Irish and Patrick is not my patron saint. In fact I'm not even Catholic. This isn't my holiday and now that I am an adult, I don't have to celebrate it.
When I was in school our classroom would be decorated in shamrocks. If you didn't wear green on 17 March, you'd get pinched by other students. I don't know where that awful custom came from, I always disliked it. Green was never a colour I liked to wear and even when I did wear it I almost always got pinched anyway. ("That's green? I didn't see it.")
To me it feels almost oppressive. No other nationality gets a day of celebration. If you look at a Hallmark calendar,Dayrunner calender or any other calendar St. Patrick's Day is always marked. I don't see any days that celebrate Greek, Italian,Welsh,French or German nationalities. (Octoberfest doesn't count. There is much more to German heritage besides beer.) Why does Ireland get such special treatment?
I never understood some of the sayings I would hear on St. Patrick's Day. "Erin go bragh", for instance. Obviously it's in a foreign language,probably Gaelic. I think that's the right word for the Irish language. I never understood it. Why would people go about talking about a woman's undergarment? I finally broke down and asked one of my techs, who has a very solid Irish background. It means "Ireland forever". Another mystery solved.
Actually there is one thing I like about St. Patrick's Day. Shamrock shakes. I like Shamrock shakes and this time of year is the only time that they make them. Actually, make that two,shamrocks are actually sort of pretty.
Today I will continue my traditions of not wearing green, not telling people I'm Irish for the day and not consuming any corned beef,cabbage or green beer. I will however, try to find a shamrock shake.....
I will not be celebrating. My background is Italian, not Irish and Patrick is not my patron saint. In fact I'm not even Catholic. This isn't my holiday and now that I am an adult, I don't have to celebrate it.
When I was in school our classroom would be decorated in shamrocks. If you didn't wear green on 17 March, you'd get pinched by other students. I don't know where that awful custom came from, I always disliked it. Green was never a colour I liked to wear and even when I did wear it I almost always got pinched anyway. ("That's green? I didn't see it.")
To me it feels almost oppressive. No other nationality gets a day of celebration. If you look at a Hallmark calendar,Dayrunner calender or any other calendar St. Patrick's Day is always marked. I don't see any days that celebrate Greek, Italian,Welsh,French or German nationalities. (Octoberfest doesn't count. There is much more to German heritage besides beer.) Why does Ireland get such special treatment?
I never understood some of the sayings I would hear on St. Patrick's Day. "Erin go bragh", for instance. Obviously it's in a foreign language,probably Gaelic. I think that's the right word for the Irish language. I never understood it. Why would people go about talking about a woman's undergarment? I finally broke down and asked one of my techs, who has a very solid Irish background. It means "Ireland forever". Another mystery solved.
Actually there is one thing I like about St. Patrick's Day. Shamrock shakes. I like Shamrock shakes and this time of year is the only time that they make them. Actually, make that two,shamrocks are actually sort of pretty.
Today I will continue my traditions of not wearing green, not telling people I'm Irish for the day and not consuming any corned beef,cabbage or green beer. I will however, try to find a shamrock shake.....
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