Well, now joining my list of religious or quasi-religious holidays where corporations are desparate to make a buck is St. Patrick's Day.
I guess it has been this way for a while, now. Like Christmas, there are two St. Patrick's Days. There's a religious aspect buried deep in there that practically no one knows of. It's about the Christian Roman citizen (Patrick, but originally named Maewyn) who was taken to Ireland as a slave, swore to God if he escaped he'd preach His word to the pagans, escaped, fulfilled his vow, went back to Ireland some decade later, and instituted a completely bloodless, peaceful change to Christianity which left all of Ireland Catholic in 100 years. (It was the first, and only, time in history that the existing religious structure wholeheartedly embraced Christianity and willingly spread it to their constituents. There was no power struggle at all. Not an arrow was fired, not a sword or fist raised.)
And then you've got the secular aspect that everyone knows about. Which in this case is all about beer, shamrocks, beer, leprechauns, beer, music, beer, corn beef and cabbage, beer, whisky, and for a change of pace, more beer. If you're lucky, maybe some schoolkid will tell you about how St. Patrick drove all the snakes out of Ireland or something. Not surprisingly, the beer and spirits purveyors are the ones really pushing St. Patrick's Day celebrations of this type, as they're the ones with the most to gain.
While I was aware of the commercial aspects of St. Patrick's day, it was always on the edge of said awareness. I heard about the parades on the news. I heard local bars with their radio commercials, done in an over-the-top faux Irish accent. Maybe there might be a street fair or two, populated by celtic crafts, corn beef, cabbage, and potato victual stands, and beer gardens. I never went to one.... until last night.
My mother had an old friend of hers playing a gig in an Irish bar not too far away, so she wanted to go. Since I like Irish folk music, I went with her. We didn't have a parking problem because she has a handicapped placard, and gets the best spots. But then we got INSIDE the bar.....
I expected the wall-to-wall people, maybe. It is one of the busiest nights of the year for bars, and especially Irish themed ones. But it was the tchotchkes that got to me. Good Lord, it was like Mardi Gras. They had glow-in-the-dark green stuff from here to eternity. We got there early enough to get one LED pin, one LED-lit plastic neckalce (the ones where the magnetic clasp in back decides whether it's on or off), two Bud Light plastic shamrock-laden plastic bead necklaces.... The light-up shamrock we got from Guinness Draught said "Happy St. Patrick's Season". That's right, SEASON. I guess they want to encourage you to celebrate for the week of St. Patrick's Day, instead of just the day alone.
And the final indignity....
For the beer garden in back, they put these slap-on paper bracelets around your wrists to keep track of things. Said paper bracelets were a bright color, so they were visible....
Said paper bracelets were HUNTER ORANGE!! AAAARRRRRGGGGGGGGHH!!!!!!!
