St. Patrick's Day, Friday March 17, 2017

USA Today/Sean Rossman, 3/16/17, "How to celebrate St. Patrick's Day the authentic way."

This float reminds me of home, especially
when someone mentions development.

May the "good luck" of the Irish
be with you on this special day!

"Early Irish-American immigrants couldn't foresee the St. Patrick's Day celebrations of today... After all, 19th Century immigrants celebrated St. Patrick's Day — always March 17 on the Feast of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland — as a way to honor their heritage while embracing their new homeland. It often came with parades, food and a little bit of partying.

It wasn't until later on that St. Patrick's Day was celebrated in Ireland. There it's a national holiday with schools and government buildings closed. Eamonn McGrath, a native Irishman and executive director of the Irish Cultural Center of New England, equates the day to the Fourth of July, where people spend time with family, attend a special Catholic mass, drink, eat and go to a parade.

McGrath claims St. Patrick's Day is 'more raucously and widely' celebrated outside of Ireland than inside, a phenomenon he said makes sense. All people with Irish heritage, he said, long for home." 'You have to really leave it to know what you've left,' he said. 'It makes sense that it's more poignant and more expressive.'  .... 'Pub culture was never about getting drunk,' said Professor Christopher Dowd of the University of New Haven, 'It was about socializing, usually around music or storytelling.' That means any St. Patrick's Day revelry should be kept social and celebratory. Here are other ways to celebrate St. Patrick's Day the right way."   Read article.

Our environment could be
our economy, probably not.

Chasing snakes out of town, bad idea.

Reference.  History.com, "St. Patrick's Day. St. Patrick’s Day occurs annually on March 17 in observance of the death of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. What began as a religious feast day in the 17th century has evolved into a variety of festivals across the globe celebrating Irish culture with parades, special foods, music, dancing, and a whole lot of green."

Related. Careful driving if you drink. Pacifica Patch/San Mateo Patch/Renee Schiavone, Staff, 3/16/17. "Peninsula police plan DUI enforcement operation. Police say they'll be out in full force this St. Patrick's Day weekend." "The Burlingame Police Department will launch DUI saturation patrols between 6 p.m. Friday and 2 a.m. Saturday "...in areas with high frequencies of DUI collisions and/or arrests," the agency said." DUI enforcement may occur in other regional locations as well.

Note photographs/graphic.  Left: Shamrock from St. Patrick's Hotel/Gozo,Malta. Three young ladies from TV 3 WKYC.com, a Tegna Company, "Cleveland St. Patrick's Day guide 2017." Right: Frog Flickr image to City of Dublin, Ohio USA, 3/16/17, "The greenest, grandest St. Patrick's Day Parade, Saturday, 3/18/17.  St. Patrick and snakes from History.com/video 3 minutes,"Bet you didn't know St. Patrick's Day." 

Posted by Kathy Meeh