Luck of the (Not-So) Irish

Some+St.+Patricks+Day+decorations.

Some St. Patrick’s Day decorations.

Payton Quinn, Staff Writer

What began as a religious celebration, soon became a minor holiday for American elementary schools to pass out candy and adults to enjoy happy hour at nearly every hour. St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated on March 17th, which is believed to be the death date of the Saint himself, and in Ireland is a day filled with Guinness, dancing, and religious feasting.

As the old traditions have begun to die out and non Irish-Americans adopt this holiday, families have reinvented and recycled St. Patrick’s Day to a day of friendly pinching and embracing the spring season.

“Last year St. Patrick’s Day was on Junior TP Night, so everything was green and St. Patrick’s Day themed so it made it a lot more fun,”  Taylor Jackson said. Her family also follows some of the traditional feasting. “We also have corned beef for dinner,” she said.

Dawson Crosby shared his unique way of commemorating the saint. “Every year I watch the Veggie Tales episode –I’m totally serious –where they have the little sock puppet that talks about Saint Patrick. It’s really freakin’ awesome,” Crosby said.

After asking around, it became obvious that St. Patrick’s Day was not much more than a reason to wear green and eat beef.

“We dye our milk green and have corned beef, sometimes our mom makes super good soda bread,” Serina Penrod said.

Sam Ketchem shared a similar tradition. “We always eat corned beef and cabbage. That’s pretty much it,” he said.