It’s March 17 again, Wickeds. Do you love it, wear green, eat soda bread and drink green beer, celebrate your Irish heritage (or pretend to have some)? Or would you rather ignore the festivities and go about your business? Dish!
Jessie: I love to celebrate, at least in a small way. My kids love corned beef so I always buy one for the day and a second to pop into the freezer for another occasion. Sometimes I also make soda bread. This year, a monthly gathering I host falls on the day so I will be throwing a party with green decorations and a themed menu!
Julie: I love the celebration of Irish heritage, though in Boston it can get messy with drinking and partying. I make a wonderful Irish soda bread (here’s the recipe) and will happily eat a boiled dinner. My ancestry has many threads that lead back to Ireland, and traveling there is on my bucket list. So yes, a day to celebrate. But not in a bar.
Barb: Saint Patrick’s Day is huge in Key West, involving as it does a combination of drinking and costumes, which are irresistible to most of the citizenry. Two St. Patrick’s Day memories stand out for me. In March, 2020, the city had been shutting down for the pandemic for a few days. The port was already closed and the hotels and short-term rentals were ended. At 5 p.m. on Saint Patrick’s the bars shut, an irrefutable sign to all that this party city was closed for business. My husband Bill was out taking pictures and many Key Westers wandered the streets in a daze. The other memory is the time when Lucy Burdette and I and some other friends booked a literary walking tour, completely forgetting it was Saint Patrick’s Day. As we toured around the houses and haunts of Ernest Hemingway, Tennessee Williams, Elizabeth Bishop, Robert Frost, Shel Silverstein, Thomas McGuane, etc, etc, the revelry around us increased exponentially and by they end we were dodging partiers in the streets. Still it was fun and funny.
Cindy and Mac McCausland ready for St. Patrick’s Day.
St. Patrick’s house decorations in Key West.
Edith/Maddie: I also love St. Patrick’s Day, drawing on my Flaherty ancestors. These days I mostly get into the holiday for food inspiration, but I draw the line at green beer. I had fun writing Four Leaf Cleaver and kind of going all out on American interpretations of the Irish.
Liz: I love it too but I don’t do anything formal. I’ll probably hit up a coffee shop for a shamrock latte or something fun!
Sherry: I love the green hats on our photo! I love it and claim to have a bit of Irish on my paternal grandparents side. I do love soda bread but haven’t had any this year.
Readers: Will you be nibbling on soda bread in your green shirt, or hiding from the festivities?