Students celebrate March 17 to different degrees. Some don’t even remember the holiday until its happened, others eat the popular St. Patrick’s Day meal.
“I have up in the air plans. We might go to O’Dwyers and get corned beef and cabbage. It’s my favorite meal. We’ll also do some day drinking,” secondary English education major and journalism minor Cheyenne Hume said.
Corned beef, cabbage and potatoes are a popular Irish-American dish on St. Patrick’s Day, according to National Geographic.
According to History.com, the holiday is believed to originate from Saint Patrick who was a declared patron saint of Ireland after his death for his missionary work. Saint Patrick was taken to Ireland for slavery, according to National Geographic. He escaped slavery and was ordained in the Christian religion and returned to Ireland.
In the 1600s, after Saint Patrick’s death in 5 CE according to History.com, March 17 was declared a feast day and the popularity of the holiday was spread by human migration according to National Geographic.
“I’ve been lucky that even with St. Patty’s Day my plans haven’t been thwarted by what’s happening,” Hume said. “It’s my favorite holiday because I have my favorite memories associated with St. Patty’s Day.”
Brittany Stadler, an accounting major, does not celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.
“Most of the time I’m never aware it’s St. Patrick’s Day until I see people wearing green,” Stadler said. “I volunteer that day but it’s not centered around St. Patrick’s Day. Back in Colorado we have a St. Patrick’s Day parade on the weekend and who doesn’t like free candy.”
When she was younger, Stadler said her family had a tradition of being visited by a leprechaun.
“Growing up I loved the leprechaun thing where parents messed up the fridge and the leprechaun left mold that cute little tradition. My parents made the bread moldy for a bad leprechaun who would mess up the house,” Stadler said.
Hume and Stadler both said they are not fans of the pinching tradition.
“I don’t like getting pinched and I don’t remember what day it is so I get pinched a lot. I’m a personal space kind of person so I don’t like people coming into my bubble even though it’s tradition,” Stadler said.
Sites Used:
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/saint-patricks-day
