St. Patrick's Day is a well-known and widely celebrating holiday loaded with the color green, traditional Irish foods, and copious amounts of drinking.
But I have to wonder: how many people celebrate the actual meaning behind St. Patrick's Day, and how many people just use it as an excuse to get trashed for the day?
Somehow, I feel the difference in that ratio would be quite large in favor of everyone just getting trashed.
My interest in Ireland and Irish nationalism kind of surprises me, especially since my Irish heritage is marginal and anecdotal (apparently my maternal great-great grandmother was Irish?). In fact, I almost feel guilty about it, because I'm more interested in Ireland than Poland, being 50% Polish. But I suppose it really began last semester when I signed up for a special topics course on the Irish Famine in order to earn honors credits.
Of course, I was asked numerous times about how an entire course could possibly focus on the Irish Famine. After completing the course, I can now reply, "Oh, quite easily." Hell, people can make (and have made) careers out of this subject. Our discussions were fascinating and focused not only on the historical background, but also on the social, economic, and cultural repercussions of the Famine. I even wrote a term paper that linked and discussed Irish cultural nationalism to its folklore (oh, fun times. . .).
After such an experience, it brings me to question the whole basis of St. Patrick's Day. Of course, it's celebrated as a feast day of St. Patrick and is also a celebration of Irish nationalism. But how many people really understand that? Moreover, why do so many embrace the stereotype of the drunken, brawling Irish? I mean, if you were to ask a person what's the first thing they think of when they hear "St. Patrick's Day," they will probably either reply "green" or "booze." Not a religious holiday, not Irish nationalism, and not a celebration of an independent and unique culture. (I am, of course, probably making a great deal of generalization, considering that the response to such a question would depend on the region from which the person came from. I generalize that these responses would probably be quite typical of Americans in comparison to the Irish.)
Why do we happily embrace and perpetuate such stereotypes? Is there any difference between the views of a typical American, an Irish-American, and an Irish person in regards to St. Patrick's Day?
This kind of stuff almost makes me want to change majors. Almost. :)
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