Gimme That Old Green Religion
Well, once again it’s St. Patrick’s Day, celebrating the patron saint of snake herders. Kind of the Blarney, a veritable green Bacchus. Truth is, unlike most holidays that cloak themselves in righteous symbolism or jingoist reverence, St’ Paddy’s is a drunkard’s dream, a celebration apparently created for the sole purpose of celebrating. Needless to say, it’s the National Holiday of the bibulous South End, Christmas and the 4th of July wrapped up in Presidents day and Labor Day, what we think of as the Real Thanksgiving.
Course, we treat ALL our holidays this way, but nevertheless, this one there’s no speeches, no symbolism, no prayers offered, no malarkey, no turkey, just bottoms UP!! And bring on the next glass….
Oh, I know, not everyone embraces Dionysian Day. The mizzus shakes her head, Pastor Roy down at the Little Church in the Ravine inveighs against bacchanalian excess, the Law puts on extra deputies —- all to little avail. Us South End hedonists look forward to St. Pat’s the way a Muslim yearns for Ramadan. We just don’t have to make much of a pilgrimage. And, of course, there are a few other crucial distinctions.
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