In my family, today is a valued holiday, bigger than Christmas. My grandparents hail from ye Ireland, Donegal to be exact. There is still quite a clan of us in Donegal. My grandfather is full of stories of Ireland, when I got older I was informed of the other not so pleasant, political horror stories and such, shattering my childhood dreams of leprechauns and pots of gold. Today means more than just wearing green. St. Patrick’s Day is a day when we celebrate very heartily and remember to take great appreciation for our family and our friends.

The Irish culture is beautiful and full of fascinating folklore. There are so many versions of every story, it’s quite impossible to know where fact ends and fiction begins and St. Patrick’s Day is no exception. I know several versions of the story of the patron Saint Patrick (who was really a Brit); from chasing pagans away and bringing Christianity to Ireland, using the shamrock to teach the Holy Trinity, chasing snakes away and luring the last into a box with a drink and tossed the snake into a lake, another about a dragon and so on and so forth. As my relatives would say, “If you don’t like the story, change it a bit, it’s the Irish thing to do.” As Irish folk tend to be remembered for their story telling.

Whichever reason you celebrate, enjoy St. Pat’s. Just remember if you’re drinking today in honor of St. Pat, you better be drinking Irish, and I don’t mean green American domestic beer!

Get into the Irish Spirit:

• Bake some Soda Bread
• Listen to classic Irish music
• Drink Guinness!
• Then Listen to the Dropkick Murphys
• …REALLY LOUD!

Instead of green beer, drink Irish tonight:

• Guinness
• Caffrey’s Irish Ale
• Murphy’s Irish Stout
• Murphy’s Irish Amber
• Harp Lager
• Or try a Black and Tan or an Irish Car Bomb

Saint Patrick was a gentleman,
Who through strategy and stealth,
Drove all the snakes from Ireland,
Here’s a toasting to his health.
But not too many toastings
Lest you lose yourself and then
Forget the good Saint Patrick
And see all those snakes again.