A Year of Blogging: March 17, 2011

I think everyone knows what March 17 is. It is St. Patrick's Day. The day we're all Irish. Or so they say! Here in the US, it's a big deal. I think it's more of an excuse to drink and party, because so many people who aren't Irish partake in the festivities as enthusiastically as those who are Irish. In school, I remember children pinching each other if you weren't wearing green. You could try to get away by saying you had green underwear on (or the pattern had green in it), but in my school, they'd want to see proof! As an adult, no one seems to care. At least not at my work. I think only two of us were wearing green today. Most households in the US probably had Corned Beef & Cabbage for dinner tonight. It's really not one of my favorite meals, and I thought I had gotten by without it this year, but we were in the store the other day and they had Corned Beef on sale, and Erich noticed.... so we had it for dinner. Well, sans cabbage. I don't like cabbage, and he didn't want to fix it just for him. So we had corned beef, potatoes, and carrots. Now we don't have to have it for another 365 days! I know this is a day to celebrate your Irish roots. But what if you don't have Irish roots? The one Irish root I have is so minuscule, it's hard to find in my big tree. One of my great-great (or maybe it's 3 greats) grandfathers came from Ireland. So it's like 1/16th of my genealogy is Irish. There's more Native American (or so I'm told- I have yet to confirm that) in me than there is Irish. This great-great grandfather married a woman who immigrated from Germany. I wonder how they got along. Perhaps she spoke English. They had at least a dozen children, so they must have found some way to communicate! I am hoping my world-wide readers will comment on this blog. Do you celebrate St. Patrick's Day in your country? I have been wondering if it is a world-wide celebration, or if it's just the US and Ireland. If you do celebrate it, how is it celebrated? Do you drink green beer and wear green from head to toe? Do you make an Irish dinner? Inquiring minds want to know!