by Margaux Sky

Created on: March 10, 2009   Last Updated: March 11, 2009

The wonderful thing about St. Patrick's Day is that you don't have to be Irish to celebrate. An Irish attitude that any Irish person will give testimony to: "The more the merrier!" And this applies when it comes to partying, celebrating, eating, talking, and in general, just sharing. That's what families do, too, share.

Though drink and food feasts are highly associated with St. Patrick's Day, there are many other ways to celebrate, too, especially if bringing the family together for the holiday is important. Most large cities and many small towns celebrate St. Pat's Day by hosting parades through the town and city streets. Floats, caricatures in costume, singing, acrobats, Unicorns (horses dressed up as Unicorns, rather!), brilliant, rich, decorative green costumes, and lots and lots of candy thrown from the pot o gold bucket for the children are regular features at these parades. They are great fun to bring the family and meet up with friends and neighbors, too.

Afterwards, head over to almost any Irish restaurant/tavern and sink into a plate of juicy corned beef and cabbage and listen to an authentic Irish band. Oftentimes, they have a great sing-along you can chime in with and quite often, too, they'll have a wonderful show of Irish dancers. Children absolutely love watching the Irish dancers perform. It's thrilling for both adults and children. There's really nothing better than Irish music and Irish dancing to keep memorable this spectacular holiday and bringing the family to experience such authentic music and dance is a rewarding endeavor not likely to be forgotten.

If the afternoon is still young or the evening early, libraries often have Irish poets or writers that will read their Irish poems and stories to an audience clinging to every word the author reads. Irish authors cherish the opportunity to read their works aloud and an audience in the library is the best place to do this. Libraries master and deliver an ambiance of bona fide storytelling and when the holiday is St. Patrick's Day, the stories are filled with dragons and leprechauns, unicorns and faeries, imps and trolls, and all the exciting mythology of Irish folklore.

Parks are a wonderful place for the family to experience the many colorful characteristics of the Irish people and their country. On St. Patrick's Day, many parks hold festivals and sell Irish food, jewelry, music, clothes, books, and sweets, and they hold little skits and plays that give the audience an idea of the beautiful

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