Why St. Patrick’s Day is not Catholic
St. Patrick - it’s hard to find an image of him that is not green. (Huh! Green = Ordinary Time. Irish Green = ordinary people. I’m on to something here!)
St. Patrick’s Day - March 17 - it’s almost here!!!
It seems to me half of the population in the United States is Irish, and on St. Patrick’s Day it seems the entire country becomes Irish for a day. The St. Patrick’s Day parade in NYC is a big deal - politically, especially since gay people are always so anxious to have a place in it.
My Grandmother’s maiden name was Rooney - so that Irish heritage thing was always shoved down our throats. She owned a millinery shop in Downtown St. Paul, and fancied herself “lace curtain Irish” as opposed to the lower class “shanty Irish”. She was a big snob, and a big drinker. For my family, St. Patrick’s day was a day to hang one on, dress up in green, and become a bit debauched. Hence my assertion, the celebration of St. Patrick’s day is not Catholic - even though Nana considered herself more Catholic than the Pope.
Once, when my parents were out celebrating with my Grandparents, my dad told some joke about the Irish. Nana got mad and slapped him across the face with her sea shell encrusted handbag, calling him a “G– D— Swede!” sending him to the emergency room with multiple cuts. She was such an exemplary Catholic.
In the ’50’s, if my family may have been the exception to the exaggerated celebration of St. Patrick’s day, nowadays, they would be the norm. It’s a debauched and alcoholic holiday. It has nothing to do with St. Patrick, save the name. It has become an excuse to party, to behave in the most rude, vulgar and undignified manner possible by the ‘best of people’, all in the name of a saint.
While most of the revelers wouldn’t be caught dead in a Catholic Church - well maybe they would if they are Irish descent. They like their parties, so a Catholic wedding and Catholic funeral would be important to them- bookends for their life as it were. I hear baptisms and First Communions are pretty chic for them to celebrate as well. They have to show off the “lace curtains” you know.
Yeah, St. Patrick is one of the very few saints I have little devotion for. And I usually try to hide the fact that I have Irish heritage…which is hard to do now since I’ve inherited that awful Rooney nose!
I only warmed up to the Irish as a people when I actually met real Irish nationals as pilgrims in Lourdes. They were not at all as obnoxious as the American Irish. (Think Kennedy family when you read ‘obnoxious’.) The folks from Ireland were humble, devout, and normal - no big nationalistic pride was evident - and they didn’t want me to kiss them because they were Irish. Not a few Irish Americans want that - people to kiss their…er…butts.
My apologies if I offend any Irish out there. 
Just remember, I grew up in an Italian neighborhood, and my inlaws are Italian descent - they can be just as obnoxious as Irish Americans, while Italians in Italy are the most loveliest of people. Go figure.