You know you`ve moved to an Irish-American enclave when...
...your children HAVE A DAY OFF FROM SCHOOL today.
Yes, St. Patrick`s Day is a school holiday here. Our church was built in the 1920`s, in what was then a working-class Irish neghborhood, and named for a sixth-century Irish saint. Our school was founded in 1964 and originally staffed with nuns from Cork. The holiday tradition lives on, even though Hispanic and Philippino parishioners now far outnumber those of Irish descent.
Our sports teams are called, "The Shamrocks." It is bad enough that I have to dress my children in uniforms with little shamrock logos, but NO WAY will I ever be caught dead cheering, "Go Shamrocks!"
I`ve decided the only possible explanation is that God compelled me to send my kids to this school to punish me for all the years in which I stubbornly refused to acknowlege St. Patrick`s Day, let alone celebrate it. I figure this means God is not only Catholic, but Irish Catholic, and He is laughing his ass off at me right now.
Oh, I suppose as a small child I must have worn green clothing to school before I fully understood the implications, but not after I found out that St. Patrick`s Day celebrated an ethnicity to which we did not happen to belong. I mean, we didn`t wear tribal costumes in honor of Kwanza -- why the hell should we wear green on St. Patrick`s Day?
So instead of green, I used to wear red and white to school -- the colors of the Polish flag. I was prepared to defend my fashion statement to anyone who asked. No one ever asked.
For a while in high school, I dated an Irish-American boy, and I was utterly baffled at the extent of his ethnic pride. He read books on Irish history and followed current events there. To hear him talk, you`d think his family ties to the old country were fresh and strong, but the truth was that his ancestors had come over many generations ago.
"I don`t get it. Your family was already well-established in America when my family was still plowing fields back in Poland and Lithuania," I remember saying, "and you don`t see me waving any little flags and marching in parades."
No, my ethnic traditions consisted of going to the Polish church with my grandmother every now and then, and learning a few recipes. The only Polish words I know are food words like "capusta" and "galumpki." (If you ever meet people who pronounce the "l" in the latter word as a "w" sound, you can bet they know their Polish cooking.)
Polish food includes many dishes consisting of cabbage and boiled meat, which is something else that annoys me about St. Patrick`s Day. You`d think the Irish invented cabbage and boiled meat, the way they go on and on about it. They didn`t, and even if they did, is their cuisine really something to be so proud of? At least we Poles don`t boil our potatoes, too -- we fry them up into yummy little pancakes, and serve them with sour cream. And my Lithuanian grandmother, before Alzheimer`s stole all her marbles, could make one mean kugeli.
Okay, so the Irish did give the world Guinness, which is widely appreciated. But krupnikas, the Lithuanian spiced liquor? Mmmmm! A few shots of that, and even badly boiled beef would taste good.
I spent most of my adult life in Tokyo, where St. Patrick`s Day is celebrated in a few Irish pubs and private homes, but not by the general population, so it was never an issue. This year, though, St. Patrick`s Day came around, and I found myself trying to explain it to my newly repatriated, Japanese-centric kids.
"Why is it supposed to be fun to be Irish? Because they get to drink a lot?" asked Big Son.
"No, Mama`s not Irish, and I drink a lot, don`t I? So that can`t be it. The answer is, I don`t know, but you don`t have to worry about it." (I`ve found that last line to be a very useful parenting tool, by the way.)
Little Son came home from his preschool yesterday proudly wearing a big paper shamrock. Okay, fine -- but the teachers wrote his name on it, and "Irish-ized" it. For instance, if Little Son`s name were "John Smith," they wrote, "John O'Smith."
I know, I know -- I should lighten up, it`s all in good fun. Yeah, whatever. But that "O" really bugged me. The paper shamrock went into the trash as soon as he went to bed, and fortunately he didn`t look for it this morning.
We`re already dealing with enough identity issues in this house. I have enough of a challenge convincing my kids they`re American, without making them wear another culture`s ethnic symbols and changing their names.
Do you think my antagonism toward St. Patrick`s Day might have something to do with the fact that I was born in 1965, the year of the snake?
I wonder.
Yes, St. Patrick`s Day is a school holiday here. Our church was built in the 1920`s, in what was then a working-class Irish neghborhood, and named for a sixth-century Irish saint. Our school was founded in 1964 and originally staffed with nuns from Cork. The holiday tradition lives on, even though Hispanic and Philippino parishioners now far outnumber those of Irish descent.
Our sports teams are called, "The Shamrocks." It is bad enough that I have to dress my children in uniforms with little shamrock logos, but NO WAY will I ever be caught dead cheering, "Go Shamrocks!"
I`ve decided the only possible explanation is that God compelled me to send my kids to this school to punish me for all the years in which I stubbornly refused to acknowlege St. Patrick`s Day, let alone celebrate it. I figure this means God is not only Catholic, but Irish Catholic, and He is laughing his ass off at me right now.
Oh, I suppose as a small child I must have worn green clothing to school before I fully understood the implications, but not after I found out that St. Patrick`s Day celebrated an ethnicity to which we did not happen to belong. I mean, we didn`t wear tribal costumes in honor of Kwanza -- why the hell should we wear green on St. Patrick`s Day?
So instead of green, I used to wear red and white to school -- the colors of the Polish flag. I was prepared to defend my fashion statement to anyone who asked. No one ever asked.
For a while in high school, I dated an Irish-American boy, and I was utterly baffled at the extent of his ethnic pride. He read books on Irish history and followed current events there. To hear him talk, you`d think his family ties to the old country were fresh and strong, but the truth was that his ancestors had come over many generations ago.
"I don`t get it. Your family was already well-established in America when my family was still plowing fields back in Poland and Lithuania," I remember saying, "and you don`t see me waving any little flags and marching in parades."
No, my ethnic traditions consisted of going to the Polish church with my grandmother every now and then, and learning a few recipes. The only Polish words I know are food words like "capusta" and "galumpki." (If you ever meet people who pronounce the "l" in the latter word as a "w" sound, you can bet they know their Polish cooking.)
Polish food includes many dishes consisting of cabbage and boiled meat, which is something else that annoys me about St. Patrick`s Day. You`d think the Irish invented cabbage and boiled meat, the way they go on and on about it. They didn`t, and even if they did, is their cuisine really something to be so proud of? At least we Poles don`t boil our potatoes, too -- we fry them up into yummy little pancakes, and serve them with sour cream. And my Lithuanian grandmother, before Alzheimer`s stole all her marbles, could make one mean kugeli.
Okay, so the Irish did give the world Guinness, which is widely appreciated. But krupnikas, the Lithuanian spiced liquor? Mmmmm! A few shots of that, and even badly boiled beef would taste good.
I spent most of my adult life in Tokyo, where St. Patrick`s Day is celebrated in a few Irish pubs and private homes, but not by the general population, so it was never an issue. This year, though, St. Patrick`s Day came around, and I found myself trying to explain it to my newly repatriated, Japanese-centric kids.
"Why is it supposed to be fun to be Irish? Because they get to drink a lot?" asked Big Son.
"No, Mama`s not Irish, and I drink a lot, don`t I? So that can`t be it. The answer is, I don`t know, but you don`t have to worry about it." (I`ve found that last line to be a very useful parenting tool, by the way.)
Little Son came home from his preschool yesterday proudly wearing a big paper shamrock. Okay, fine -- but the teachers wrote his name on it, and "Irish-ized" it. For instance, if Little Son`s name were "John Smith," they wrote, "John O'Smith."
I know, I know -- I should lighten up, it`s all in good fun. Yeah, whatever. But that "O" really bugged me. The paper shamrock went into the trash as soon as he went to bed, and fortunately he didn`t look for it this morning.
We`re already dealing with enough identity issues in this house. I have enough of a challenge convincing my kids they`re American, without making them wear another culture`s ethnic symbols and changing their names.
Do you think my antagonism toward St. Patrick`s Day might have something to do with the fact that I was born in 1965, the year of the snake?
I wonder.
posted by L. at 6:17 PM
17 Comments:
Never would have figured you to be jealous of the Irish, L! ;)
Erin go Bragh!
I wore orange on St. Pat's for a couple of years just to be stubborn. Some of my relatives are from the north of Ireland; some from the South. I'm half Italian as well.
The girls' school has outlawed pinching - I'm not sure how they plan to enorce it. Elcie and Rochelle wore green, Rebecca said she didn't like green and that was that.
We did do the corned beef and cabbage. It's the best season for prices on corned beef and everyone likes it.
Until I was about ten, I grew up in a polish neighborhood. But during March you would swear that only Irish lived there. Enculturation? (I didn't know that gwumpki had an "L" in its spelling!)
I went to an Irish catholic school (or a dogan factory as my scots grandfather would say) and enjoyed the unpronouncable galician treats my grandma (other side) made for us weekly and the point of the comment is lost to me now, but I can advise the school colours were purple and gold and there is not much good I can say about that.
I'm afraid to post...my name really does have an O in it even though, ethnically, I'm more English and French Canadian.
And I dreaded mom's cooking on St. Patrick's Day. I mean what the heck...cabbage? Talk about fart contests afterwards.
hehehehe i do love your posts girl!!!
coming from a very german family on one side and scottish on the other i could never realy understand the day either
My great-great-great grandparents were from Ireland. My great-grandmother was the very last person in our family that knew SOME Irish Gaelic. She did not pass this down to any of her children, grandchildren or great-grandchildren. And why? Because where we lived in Louisiana, it was shameful to be Irish just like it was shameful to be Cajun. You needed to be 'American'. So, there were no wild St. Patrick day parades in our area or "I'm So Proud to be Irish" moments. It was all really kept under wraps.
I never wore green on St. Patrick's day. If some kid tried to pinch me, I'd give him/her a bruise they'd never forget (if I was feeling spiteful) or I'd say, "My eyes are green and that's enough for me." ;P
I sympathise with you, L!
I can't believe I just "got" your year of the snake comment. Damn, I'm losing my Catholicity fast!
I come from a Polish/Bohemian family, and I am damn proud of that. But, my childhood was overshadowed by annoying Irish people as well - even my grandma who was about 2% Irish would paint her nails green and where a "Kiss Me I'm Irish" pin. I went to a Catholic school where the priest was a red-head and you guessed it, he was Irish, and he favored all the McKids in our school. I was not among them being that my name ended with a "ski." I was jealous of all those McKids and have had a complex ever since.
McMandeJ
I'm glad I decided not to make boiled potatoes!
Hahahahaha! I loved this post. But I admit that even though I am not Irish, I still enjoy the day. I drank green beer for the first time last night (well, it also had vodka and grapefruit juice in it, and tasted like Sprite).
I enjoy the revelry!
I kind of like St. Patricks day, because it's a chance to celebrate that doesn't require gifts or candy! That's a good thing. I'm a snake, too, by the way.
We celebrate a lot of different holidays. I'm from british decent, my husband Indian. My mother is athiest, my father Quaker, his father Episcapalian, his mother Hindu, his step-father morman. What a group we are! So, we celebrate Christmas, even though we don't consider ourselved Christian. We celebrate Hannukah, even though none of us are Jewish. We celebrate Diwali, because of his Hindu mother. We just love to celebrate any chance we get. :) It does get confusing for my daughter, though. I heard her telling her Jewish friend that we're Jewish, too, which had me wondering if her parents would think we were making fun somehow, by lighting a menorah and making latkes for Channukah. They thought it was fine. :)
I just went and read your Halloween post! So spooky! I'm glad you didn't buy that land. Yeah, there are bones everywhere, but still. Ugh.
I don't think we "do" St. Pat's up here like you do down there. Some kids wear green to school, but none of the kids in this neighbourhood came home bearing shamrocks or shileleighs. University students use it as an excuse to drink - but then, university students use anything as an excuse to drink!
And what's with the pinching? Never heard of it. A tradition I'm happy to report we don't have up here - at least not in the bits of this province I've lived in!
Hummm after a wiccain friend of mine outlined what the catholic's actually DID to Ireland I could never make myself celbrate it again. I just could help but think of all the heathens that they rounded up and killed like dogs and even tho it was a long long time ago the catholics did SUCH a good job of it that the entire Irish Identiy changed. It just made me sad.
St Patricks Day in America is nothing like the celebrations at home in Ireland. The whole boiled dinner thing? American! Cornbeef to me is something you get in a deli and put in a sandwich. Irish cuisine is actually quite varied and tasty, it's the Irish-American kind that leaves something to be desired - usually flavour! Can't control what your school does with your kids, maybe you should have a chat with them about celebrating ethnicity rather than jumping on a cliched bandwagon?
As a non-Catholic Irish woman I have huge issues with St. Patrick, celebrating a man who introduced Christianity to my country doesn't sit well with me.
By the way the Mc thing is Scottish not Irish.
hey yeah soo i think you should stop bashing st. paddys day ...okay just remember how many of your people are living in ireland ....
I grew up in California where patrick is just a name and the day is just another day that some people celebrate but for the most part nobody cares.
Moved to Ohio a couple years back and all I have to say is wow. All the catholic schools, the irish bars everywhere. This sort of incestuous relationship they have with other people who are irish. A little wierd and scary I must admit.
The st patricks day thing is really an event here and its sickening. Everyone "irish" is bound to call in sick or be on vacation. Its not a big surprise that this region is going down the tubes, a bunch of idiots drowning in alcohol and religion.
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