OK, we told you earlier about the ambivalence which the English seemed to be approaching St. Patrick's Day--a day so significant in the American calendar that children have school parties to celebrate, everybody wears green to mark it, New York shuts down for it and the President of the United States makes a point of visiting with Irish leaders. Not so here in England, despite the fact that the English have sought to be overlords of Ireland since the days of Edward I and a good part of Ireland remains in British hands. There was no green here today. The front page of the BBC website doesn't even mention the holiday. There are no Irish-themed sales going on, and the newspapers are full of news about a criminal in Austria and a movie star involved in a skiing accident. Even the pubs don't play up the holiday. While the African-American President of the United States wears green ties, dies the fountains at the White House and drops hints that his mother was of Irish extraction, for Brits, March 17 is just another work day. Weird indeed.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
The St. Pat's Day That Wasn't
OK, we told you earlier about the ambivalence which the English seemed to be approaching St. Patrick's Day--a day so significant in the American calendar that children have school parties to celebrate, everybody wears green to mark it, New York shuts down for it and the President of the United States makes a point of visiting with Irish leaders. Not so here in England, despite the fact that the English have sought to be overlords of Ireland since the days of Edward I and a good part of Ireland remains in British hands. There was no green here today. The front page of the BBC website doesn't even mention the holiday. There are no Irish-themed sales going on, and the newspapers are full of news about a criminal in Austria and a movie star involved in a skiing accident. Even the pubs don't play up the holiday. While the African-American President of the United States wears green ties, dies the fountains at the White House and drops hints that his mother was of Irish extraction, for Brits, March 17 is just another work day. Weird indeed.
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2 comments:
isn't that funny? i looked out at oceans of green clothing as i read to kids in powell butte and paulina and at the library last night ( BTW, had 71 people last night, insane doesn't begin to cover it! :P ) and since green is my favorite color, i loved it. not a drop of irish in this german blood, but i had my green on, anyway! clearly no one wanted pinched yesterday for lack of green! :)
We have learned more since this post was put up. According to a cab driver to whom we spoke, St. Patrick's day was bigger a decade ago than it is today. It fell out of favor after May Ken Livingstone used city funds to pay for St. Patrick's Day festivities but refused to commit any funds to a celebration of England's patron St. George. Apocrpophyl? Can't say, but it's a good story anyway.
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