by Robyn Kirkey Walker

Created on: June 27, 2009   Last Updated: July 03, 2009

What could be better than St. Patrick's Day? Seriously. You have corned beef (yum), cabbage (double yum), green everything and lots of drinking. We celebrate St. Patrick's Day, most of us not really understanding why. It's really an excuse to eat cool food, drink and have parties, right? The real question is, what is St. Patrick's Day? At least, what does it mean to us as a society? What are some of our St. Patrick's Day traditions? Where did they come from?

It is considered a national holiday in Ireland. In the US it is a "non" official holiday. We eat Irish food, or what we perceive to be Irish food- corned beef, potatoes and cabbage. We drink Irish drinks like Guinness. We wear green, cover ourselves in shamrocks and say things like "Blimey."

Where do these traditions come from? Do they really have anything to do with the Irish? Well, to start off the shamrock represents the Holy Trinity because of the three leaves. This holiday was originally a religious holiday because St. Patrick was a Catholic Saint. Now, we wear green because green is lucky and the Irish are said to be lucky. If you don't wear green you will get pinched- so beware! Everyone wants to be Irish on St. Patrick's day so don't be shocked when non-Irish people pinch you. It's best to stay safe and wear green. And a shamrock button just in case.

What about the great St. Patrick's day parades? The New York parade date to 1762. Some native Irish soldiers had a fake march with their regiment band. Today you can find these parades pretty much everywhere. Even small towns celebrate with parades.

Why corned beef and cabbage, though? The Irish didn't start eating corned beef until they came to America. It was a cheaper cut of meat that the Jewish Butchers sold. So, brisket became known as "Irish" food. In Ireland they actually ate different varieties of sausage. Irish soda bread is also an invention that the Irish Americans came up with. It is a little cheaper to make.

So, whatever your St. Patrick's Day traditions are, make them your own. Make your own family traditions and make the holiday special to you. What is important is that you have some sort of tradition and, of course, wear green. No one likes to get pinched. And eat corned beef and cabbage. It's truly cheap right before St. Patrick's day. Stock up, freeze some corned beef- you'll be glad you did.

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