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--- St. Patrick's Day (http://www.gatchamania.net/threadid.php?threadid=4834)
Posted by Springie on 17-03-2015 at 02:09:
St. Patrick's Day
Hope everyone is wearing green tomorrow- you wouldn't want to be pinched! 
From what I understand, Americans observe St. Patrick's Day more than the Irish do (correct me if I am wrong)! I think it's just an excuse for them to drink green beer!
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Posted by ElectricWhite on 17-03-2015 at 02:22:
Springie -- it used to be that way, but there are some areas that are coming around to the American take on the day. (Mostly in the larger cities.)
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Posted by ChrisW on 17-03-2015 at 03:26:
I've already laid out my clothes for tomorrow's flight and wouldn't you know it, my shirt is green. 
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Posted by KT1972 on 17-03-2015 at 07:45:
It's hardly recognised at all here in the UK, I don't know of anyone who will be celebrating.
In fact, I don't think any of the Saint's days (other than St Valentine's) are commemorated over here, at least not in a nationally recognised way. I suppose it would be different if they were declared a public holiday, but for most of us, they're just normal working days.
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Posted by msannomalley on 17-03-2015 at 10:55:
The town I grew up in celebrates St. Patrick's Day for an entire week! It starts when they change the name of the town from New London to New Dublin.
To be honest, I think that St. Patrick's Day is celebrated the way it is because it's an excuse for people to get drunk. I don't remember people celebrating it here in the US when I was a kid as much as they do now.
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Posted by ElectricWhite on 17-03-2015 at 12:17:
It has become an excuse to drink, but it was originally a day for Irish pride. (I guess that was limited to areas in the US with large Irish populations...)
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“There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them." --Ray Bradbury
Posted by Transmute Jun on 17-03-2015 at 12:56:
Well, I wore green today and made sure my kids had something green too. That's about it. Since i don't drink, the alcohol thing isn't an issue for me.
I recall when I was a kid, everyone wore shamrock pins on St. Patrick's Day, just like they wore poppies on Remembrance Day (Veteran's Day for the Americans).
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Posted by Springie on 17-03-2015 at 14:19:
Yeah, that's pretty much it...we always made sure that we wore green, so we didn't get pinched. I remember panicking whenever I forgot to wear green! As a teacher, I always had green stickers on hand for kids who forgot. I didn't want other kids to think it was ok to pinch their classmates, so I forbid pinching. No one gets out of work or school for St. Pat's....but I was always wishing we could get out of school for it. The pinching thing made me crazy!
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Posted by ElectricWhite on 17-03-2015 at 15:46:
...And, as a kid, I drove my parents nuts until we got Shamrock Shakes from McDonalds! 
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“There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them." --Ray Bradbury
Posted by amethyst on 17-03-2015 at 17:07:
It's like Cinco de Mayo, which isn't a holiday at all in Mexico.
Something to think about : today's Mexican-Americans are like the Irish-American 100 years ago. The anti-immigrant feelings aren't new, we've just changed our focus.. The Italians and German also had their turns at being shunned.
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Posted by ElectricWhite on 17-03-2015 at 20:19:
Here's a little something about how the day was marked all over....
http://enews.earthlink.net/article/top?guid=20150317/f2c800ed-3355-478d-b520-d93e2355b59a
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“There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them." --Ray Bradbury
Posted by Springie on 18-03-2015 at 05:00:
That was neat, EW! I'm surprised that they didn't mention Chicago. They always dye the Chicago River green for St. Pats...there is a time lapse video of it on You Tube, but I am having trouble posting the link since I am using my iPad right now...
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Posted by Daniella T on 19-03-2015 at 19:42:
We had a nice party at work, organised by the Irish colleagues, which included green champagne.
Bars in Brussels also celebrate it quite wildly, as this is a city with a lot of Irish people, and a lot of people who wish they were Irish
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Posted by Victoria on 22-03-2015 at 05:51:
I'm sorry. Growing up in a post-communist land made me quite confused when it comes to St. Patrick. I know he's the patron saint of Ireland and all, but if it's not too much of a bother, I'd like you guys to tell me why you celebrate it and how you do it. I... uh... I'd love to do the same with an eastern-European celebration, but I'm afraid that the religion-is-poison motto is too much ingrained in my country's collective mind for me to offer much. (okay. maybe except the Witches' feast, but that's about it.) So... please? I know you drink green beer and all, but anything else?
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Posted by ChrisW on 22-03-2015 at 13:24:
In North America there's little religion to St. Patrick's Day in my experience. If you live in an area with a lot of Irish heritage they might have a St. Patrick's Day parade with lots of green and leprechauns and and pots of gold and all that. Other than that, mostly it's about wearing some green and going out drinking with green beer and stuff. Like others have said, it's mostly an excuse to wear green and get drunk. Would be interested to hear if it's different elsewhere.
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Posted by ElectricWhite on 22-03-2015 at 14:02:
When I was growing up, St. Patrick's Day wasn't just an excuse to drink green beer. I'm 1/4 Irish, and I'm from an area that was first settled mostly by Germans and Irish, so the day was used to mark both the historical significance of St. Patrick and how the hardships the Irish have survived (and thrived.) So, I'd go to church in the morning, go to school (the younger kids would have a little party with green-colored cupcakes while learning stuff like how the shamrock became a symbol of Ireland), and then there would be a little family get-together.
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