Paint the Town Green

Xanga Featured Question: Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Any Special Plans for the Day? How Do You Like to Celebrate the Day?

LJ Writer’s Block Question: Do you plan on celebrating St. Patrick’s Day? If so, how? What memories and feelings do you associate with this holiday?

I don’t really St. Patrick’s Day, especially since I’m not Irish or Christian.  The only thing I would probably do is put up simple St. Partick’s Day decorations and wear a little green.  When I was a child, my reason for wearing green was to protect myself from being pinched and bullied.  Now, it’s just to have some fun.

In early elementary school, I didn’t know about wearing green, so I got pinched, teased, and bullied for not wearing green.  Many students took the chance to bully and attack me.  I eventually learned and remembered to wear green on St. Patrick’s Day.  However, in jr. high and high school, wearing green didn’t prevent me from getting pinched or bullied.  Students would often made excuses, such as "I couldn’t see it," "That’s not enough," and "That’s not green."  They would even be picky on the different varieties and shades of green just to find an excuse to pinch and bully.  Fortunately, that ended when I reached college.

Being pinched and bullied is the main reason why St. Patrick’s Day is a holiday I’m not really into.  The other reason is commercialization and loss of its main purpose.  Originally the holiday was to celebrate St. Patrick’s influence on Christianity in Ireland, but over the centuries, the purpose has changed, just as with many other holidays’.