St. Patrick's Day Parade

As I look down and see I'm wearing my Celtics tee and my once-a-year green pants (TMT might get a kick out of these; they are Marithé et François Girbaud and were in fashion back in the early 90's!), I realize that today could only be one day: St. Patrick's Day.

Many things come to mind (besides the green pants) for those who celebrate this holiday commemorating the death of the patron saint of Ireland. There are the plastic green derbys, the bad Irish brogues, Darby O'Gill, the consumption of LOTS of Guinness and green beer (usually starting around 10:00am), and, of course, the St. Patrick's Day parade.

I was surprised to learn that the very first St. Patrick's Day parade was held here in Boston, not in Ireland, by the Irish immigrants back in 1737 (a general concession, though there seems to be some debate about this), marking the first time the holiday was celebrated publicly. To put that in a different perspective, we've been having St. Patrick's Day parades and celebrations almost four decades longer than we've been a country.

For Bostonians, the parade is a rite of passage, albeit usually in a drunken mess kind of way. Boston PD basically surrounds Southie (South Boston) and lets no one neither in nor out until most of the day is done. There is a better chance of seeing more fights in a five hour period in Southie on St. Patrick's Day than in the bleachers at Fenway at all Red Sox-Yankees games in a season combined (which is, needless to say, not a small number thanks to Yankee Yahoos). The actual parade is full of marching bands, dancing troops, and at least three people dressed as leprechauns (of the Lucky Charms variety, not the kind from the 1993 horror flick).

Whether you are one to brave the chaos that is Southie today or one to stay and watch from home, have a Happy St. Patrick's Day today!