Like almost any holiday, we tend to forget the reasons why we celebrate them in the first place. How many people can tell me why we dress up in costumes on Halloween or why a giant Easter bunny hides eggs in our yards? Over the years, traditions and customs change, distorting the original importance of these days. Well, I for one can’t tell you one single thing about St. Patrick’s Day without quickly wikipedia-ing it. (Yes, I turned Wikipedia into a verb)
When I was in elementary school, the festivities of St. Patrick’s Day consisted of wearing the slightest bit of green. So when my friends pinched me for not wearing green, I would laugh and get the ultimate revenge; pinch them back. Yes, I know, I was a pretty cool kid, but I know I’m not the only one that did this. Other than that, I remember drawing pretty pictures with rainbows, pots of gold, and funny little leprechauns. And now in college, besides the drunk people, green beer, drunk people with green tongues from the beer, and funny green t-shirts that have many sexually innuendos that are worn by the drunks (at least the drunks are eco-friendly), I still associate St. Patrick’s day with colorful rainbows, pots of gold, and those funny little leprechauns. But, that’s as much as I knew about this holiday to be completely honest and I knew it has nothing to do with actual history.
So after I quickly used Wikipedia, I have absolutely no idea where in history rainbows, gold, and leprechauns came into play. Thinking to myself, though, without these silly little traditions, holidays wouldn’t be the same. One thing that I have definitely noticed is how these traditions and customs make everyone genuinely happy, for the most part. So if everyone is happy and drunk, what’s is the problem? O yeah, that’s right, school. St. Patrick’s Day unfortunately has a set date, meaning it could potentially fall on a school day. But I mean, hey, sometimes people just straight up skip class that day or show up to class completely blotto. But for some, like me, who have strict attendance policies, skipping class might result in a full letter grade lower. (Completely unfair, I know) But have no fear because this Saturday is the pseudo-holiday that every college campus has grown to love, St. Practice Day!
St. Practice day, for WMU at least, takes place on the Saturday before St. Patrick’s Day. It consists of a full day of none other than drinking. Similar to shopping on black Friday, students line up at bars multiple hours before they open at 8 a.m. Parties start at the crack of drawn with multiple kegs emptied by noon. Like the title of this article states, practice make perfect. It’s not shocking that someone in this world created another day for an excuse to drink, because let’s face it, college students will find any excuse to procrastinate from homework.
For those who did not partake in the day-drinking festivities last year or did not watch the news afterwards, you may have missed when a WMU block party was raided by 20+ cops with tear-gas in hand. So watch out, if you’re not wearing proper protective shamrock shades. And remember to wear lots of green. You might have that one kid that never grew up, come up and pinch you. Have fun. Be safe. And Erin Go Bragh! (Ireland forever).