Paddy's Day in Ireland... bring your green hat!

After our celebrating our 1 year anniversary, we spent the actual anniversary date celebrating our first St. Patrick's Day in Ireland in a completely different fashion. FYI to my non-Irish readers, I learned that it is PADDY's Day, NOT Patty's Day. The difference: Paddy is short for Patrick, Patty is short for Patricia.

Although St. Patrick's Day is now a more secular holiday associated with Irish stereotypes and heavy drinking, the brief history of St. Patrick's Day goes as follows. Patrick was believed to be born in Scotland or Wales (not in Ireland!) in the end of the 4th century. At the age of 16, Patrick was captured by Irish raiders and taken across the Irish Sea, where he spent 6 years in captivity working as a shepherd. During this time, he found comfort in his religion and became a devout Christian. After the 6 years, he went home and studied to become a priest, then returned to Ireland to spread the Christian faith for 30 years until he passed away on March 17, 460 AD. From then on, March 17th was commemorated as St. Patrick's Day. 

Fun fact: the shamrock was used by St. Patrick to explain the concept of The Holy Trinity - the Father, the Son, and The Holy Spirit - and how they are all separate parts of one entity. 

Myth buster: St. Patrick is said to have banished all the snakes in Ireland; however, this is thought to be an analogy for eliminating the Pagan religion and evidence suggests that post-glacial Ireland never had snakes.

Now, having given you the skinny on the Patron Saint and why we celebrate the day, I have to admit I transformed into another person wanting to be "Irish for the day." We figured we're here for a short time, so we might as well embrace it and behave like tourists! Everyone would assume we were tourists that day anyway, so why not go all out? 

What's cool in Dublin is that St. Patrick's Day festivities go on the entire week around the holiday (live music, Irish dancing tutorials, etc.), AND it's a national holiday, so it's a long weekend. As for the day itself... 

We awoke to a cold, rainy day (typical!) and, despite the temptation to stay in, we donned our mandatory green attire and bundled up to go meet our expat friends in town. St. Paddy's was a Sunday this year, so no pubs in Dublin opened until noon (talk about missing out on some serious revenue!), but our friends shrewdly sniffed out the only place serving booze in the morning. So, we started the day with a breakfast of champions: Irish coffee and crisps ( = chips) made with real bits of Shamrock! Ha, apparently shamrocks taste exactly like onions.

After our coffees, we made our way to a great spot to watch the parade - The Lord Edward, across from Christ Church. As it was too cold to be outside and watch, we found a comfy booth on the second floor of the pub, overlooking the church and the parade. It was ideal! Michelle and I are both mildly obsessed with taking pictures, so we ventured into the cold for a bit to get some good shots. It may look like it is easy to balance on the post below, but it was a small area, slick with rain, and it was humorous to watch people fall off (myself included). 

Standing on the bike posts!

Bring your green hat!

My favorite part of the day was sitting next to a cute, elderly choir. They sat and drank and sang Irish tunes -- it provided the perfect entertainment and they appreciated our applause!

Have to include a picture of Guinness!

When the parade finished, we made the bold decision to walk through the Temple Bar neighborhood to view the true Paddy's insanity. And that it was...

After some much needed Zaytoon's kebabs, we walked around some more, said goodbye to our expat friends, and somehow convinced a couple of our Irish friends to meet us for a pint. I say somehow convinced because mostly everyone in my office made a point to get out of town on St. Patrick's Day, or at least steer clear of the craziness in the city centre. I guess that's a good friend for you!

We ended the day with them at a local spot, listening to live music. It was one long day, but well worth it. We certainly had the "Paddy's Day" experience in Dublin. Interestingly, the celebration itself is bigger in Chicago, but it was an unforgettable experience to spend the day in Ireland, where it all started. Great craic! 

Happy Belated St. Patrick's Day to all!!