Friday, March 16, 2012

Unicorns and Lecherchauns

Happy St. Patrick’s Day everyone! This is one of those holidays that has been grossly skewed over the years. It’s the day when, suddenly, everyone is Irish: “Luck o’ the Irish”. You’d better have some green on, too: “Wearin’ o’ the Green”. If you live in a medium- or large-sized town, there may be an Irish festival, complete with music, dancing, beer, corned beef and cabbage. There may even be a 5k or 10k foot race or a parade! Above all, much of the population will use St. Patrick’s Day as yet another excuse to get drunk.

So what was St. Patrick’s Day originally? Here’s some data from history.com and the always-accurate (ha ha!) Wikipedia:
- It is the anniversary of the death of St. Patrick (who was born in Britain).
- It was originally a religious occasion.
- The first St. Patrick’s Day parade was held in New York in 1762.
- Some cities have their own unique ways of celebrating St. Patrick’s Day. For example, Chicago dyes the Chicago River temporarily green.
- St. Patrick’s Day parades aren't just held in Ireland and the UK, they are also held around the world, including the US, Canada, Australia and Japan.
- Up until the 1970’s, pubs were closed on March 17.
- The color originally associated with St. Patrick was blue.

Whether you are Irish or not, I wish you a Happy St. Patrick’s Day! In honor of St. Patrick and my Irish roots, I will raise my glass of Guinness and sing the “Unicorn Song”. Don’t forget to put the glass on your head at the appropriate moment…. Oh, and don’t mix up your cats and rats.;-)

Here’s the sober version:



Here's a drunk version:


Ladies, if you participate in a drunk version, watch out for those lecherchauns who want to see your pot o' gold at the end of their rainbow. Oh, and if you hear even one version of "Danny Boy", run for the hills!

4 comments:

  1. LOL, looks like I've been missing out all these years. My dad takes his Irish'ness' very seriously and Irish Rovers are a staple in my parents home but never have I seen hand actions before!

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  2. haha! I'm hardly ever in a bar, let alone on St. Patrick's Day. It's possible that go played somewhere, but I just wasn't around to hear it. Or see the action that goes with it. lol

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  3. Great post,I really like your article

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  4. Hahhaaa loved the Unicorn song...that sure takes me back a year or two.

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