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Issue date: 3/1/07 Section: Features

Media Credit: Sarah Gerace

They fled to America to escape the potato famine only to be welcomed with low-paying unskilled jobs, unsanitary living conditions and coping with being pointed and laughed at by passersby in the street. Since the 1840s, Americans have forgotten how they treated Irish settlers and later, adopted their customs.
Lads and lassies wearing "Kiss Me I'm Irish" pins, green T-shirts with leprechaun, shamrock stickers from head-to-toe, guzzlin' green beer and eating corned beef and cabbage, are a few things we may think were adopted from the Irish. In fact, these are completely American St. Patrick's Day traditions.
"Kiss me I'm Irish"- Seriously, are you Irish? How many other people have bought that line and kissed you? More importantly, the Blarney Stone was kissed first. It's a true Irish tradition said to give people the ability to speak eloquently. Over the years, Americans decided if you can't kiss a stone for good luck, kissing an Irish person is the next best thing.
Wearing green T-shirts with the Lucky Charms character on it probably won't get you a kiss from an Irish person either. Actually, the color green was considered unlucky and is the favorite color of faeries, who are known to kidnap people, especially children, who wear too much of it. Also it's possible St. Patrick wore blue robes, not green as previously believed. The smiling, happy little elf that is symbolized on St. Patrick's Day couldn't be further from the truth. Ever see the movie "The Leprechaun?" Through legends, leprechauns are said to be tricky, grumpy and untrustworthy.
Green beer and corned beef and cabbage are yet another tradition of St. Patrick's Day. The ironic thing is that corned beef and cabbage were considered a delicacy, usually only served to kings. Instead of scrumptious corned beef, pieces of salted pork would have been more likely. Considering St. Patrick's Day is a holy day in Ireland, many of the pubs close. So any beer, especially green beer, wouldn't be appreciated.
The three leaf shamrock is one of the many symbols of St. Patrick's Day. It's also the one we have least stretched from the truth. When Patrick arrived in Ireland and became a missionary, he used a shamrock he picked from the ground to represent The Holy Trinity: God the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
March 17 was set aside for the Irish people to mourn over the death of St. Patrick. It eventually became a day to celebrate and commemorate his life.
Americans have inherited this custom and altered it to fit its preconceived notions of the Old Country. Whether Irish or not and in whatever way St. Patrick's Day is celebrated, keep in mind a popular Irish toast: For each petal on the shamrock, this brings a wish your way - good health, good luck and happiness, for today and every day.

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