St. Patricks Day Traditions; New and Old
by Ronnie Neiman
In looking through older articles of the Quill concerning St. Patricks Day, a few things are commonplace. Wear green, be loud and proud Irish and partake in Alcohol (safely). For myself the holidays traditions are a bit different this year. As I am part Irish on side of the family, I always update myself on Irish politics and news. On the other side of my family, my great-grandmothers birthday is on St.Patricks day. However, sadly she had passed away during the previous summer. I’ll be raising a glass to her memory this St. Patricks Day.
On a lighter note, there are some fun traditions to take part in regardless of being Irish or not.
Wear some green! Grab some body paint and go wild. Then, as a means to both celebrate the warming weather whilst simultaneously acknowledging that this is in fact Manitoba and the bar for warmer weather is pretty low, do a mad dash in all your green-nudist-mildly-inebriated glory. I’d recommend some sort of undergarments of course, less out of concern for the individual partaking in this particular event as they will be having more pressing problems shortly, but rather to spare the eyes of those unfortunate enough to witness this newfound all-natural tradition.
And who says you have to stop at body paint? Toss some glitter in there, green streamers to attach to your nipples, a cape, a hat, maybe even a mask to cover up your face so your parents don’t end up realizing that studying isn’t the only thing you’re doing at university.
Decorate for the holiday! While advice for amassing your own pot of gold to hide away is sadly beyond reach (unless chocolate gold coins count), in the spirit of this gold encased holiday lets talk about taking advantage of holiday themed treats.
Each holiday retailers are frantic to get consumers to spend hard earned cash or digital funds on seasonal themed goods. For instance, Valentine’s Day had chocolate ranging up and down the aisle in cute little hearts, affection is bought after all, then the next day they place all of it on sale. Within days of that Easter takes over the scene with the occasional nod to the in between holidays like St. Patty’s Day.
So take advantage of this weakness in the system. Wait a day after the holiday- don’t fall for those fake day before sales, wait for those desperate clear-out sales that’ll give you the most bang for your buck. Think, if you wait a mere day after the fact it’s like boxing day for every minor seasonal money grab.
Expensive stuffed toys? Fancy and financially straining treats!?!? Seize the means of production and make it yourself! Grab a pre-made brownie mix and add extra chocolate, search the ground for dropped treats. Pinch those pennies till they’ve made like coal and turned to diamonds.
All the leprechaun does is run around one day of the year and chill at the end of the rainbow with his pot of gold- and you too can have this means of financial fulfillment. Hoard up that money in a stray cooking pot or classic money jar and watch the money grow until you’re set up to flee into the wilds and live at the end of rainbows.