By: Nate West
If you’re Irish raise your hands, but be careful not to spill your drinks.
St. Patrick’s Day was Tuesday, just in case you didn’t notice practically everyone on campus wearing their “Kiss Me, I’m a Bonnie” shirt. The holiday, named in honor of the actually Scottish-born patron saint of Ireland, has become an excuse for Irish and non-Irish across the world to raise a pint or five.
The holiday is over, and I’ve written before about the importance of having your wits about you while drinking, so I won’t repeat myself. Instead, I’ll let you know how I feel about green beer. When I see it, I say to myself, “Boy, now I’ve seen everything.”
St. Patrick’s Day is more than just a holiday for people who want to drink excessively and eat corned beef and cabbage. St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated every year on March 17 on what is the suspected day St. Patrick died. It was originally meant to be a day to remember and honor him, but it seems that intention has been forgotten by all but a small few.
It’s important to recognize the significance, history and importance behind any holiday you choose to celebrate, and you might not find a more intriguing holiday than St. Paddy’s Day. Don’t believe me? Let me throw a brief history lesson your way.
As I mentioned earlier, he wasn’t born in Ireland. He was enslaved and brought there as a teenager. He escaped at age 20 when God told him in a dream to find freedom at the coast, according to Catholic.org. He found sailors who took him to Britain. He eventually joined the priesthood after, in another dream, the people of Ireland called to him for “We beg you, holy youth, to come and walk among us once more.”
I get religion and religious figures aren’t everybody’s favorite topics to talk about, but you open the door for conversation when you choose to celebrate a holiday centered on a saint.
This is a holiday with a unique tradition and history. St. Patrick’s Day deserves twenty minutes of your attention to learn its history. We celebrate holidays all year long, and I’m as guilty as the next guy for skipping over the true meaning of the day and going straight to the celebrating. So it’s our responsibility to change that.
We missed St. Paddy’s Day 2015, so hopefully you all had a good time celebrating. But let’s take advantage of the opportunity to educate ourselves when the next holiday comes around. For some, that’s Easter and others it’s April Fool’s Day. Whichever, the beer will still be cold when we’re done.
Nate West is the Opinion Editor for The Bona
Venture. His email is westnl11@bonaventure.edu
