This Friday is Saint Patrick’s Day, a holiday that is supposed to celebrate the life of Saint Patrick, a 5th-century bishop who converted many Irish pagans to Christianity. It is still a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland.
The holiday was first celebrated in the Thirteen Colonies by the Charitable Irish Society of Boston in 1737.
It became an important way for Irish immigrants to hold onto their culture during the mass migration from Ireland to the USA during the 19th century. Cities like Philadelphia and New York City have had huge celebrations for centuries.
Today, only about a quarter of the American population can trace their lineage back to the Irish people. Nevertheless, Saint Patrick’s Day is celebrated by many.
The bizarre thing about Saint Patrick’s Day is that very few people here celebrate it for its original purpose. Plenty of people don’t even know who the bishop Saint Patrick is, let alone anything about how to accurately honor Irish culture.
I don’t think it’s inherently wrong for people who aren’t Irish to celebrate Saint Patrick’s day; the beauty of this country is that everyone is free to celebrate and believe in what they want. The world is full of so many diverse holidays, and I love that we have the opportunity to experience them all.
The problem emerges with how it is celebrated. Today, Saint Patrick’s Day is mostly an excuse for people to drink and party. People like to wear green and drink Irish beer to feel like they are actually honoring Irish culture and its history, but at the end of the day, that’s not what it’s about.
More than anything, Saint Patrick’s Day ends up perpetuating long-standing stereotypes about Irish people. In reality, the Irish don’t dress in green leprechaun costumes and only eat corned beef and cabbage for dinner.
I don’t think that Irish-Americans are suffering from these stereotypes on a day-to-day basis, but Mexican-Americans are a different story.
Cinco de Mayo is a holiday that celebrates Mexico’s 1862 victory over France in the Battle of Puebla. It is celebrated far more in the United States than in Mexico.
In Colorado, it is celebrated by many Mexican-American communities, but also by many people of non-Mexican heritage. However, rather than listening to the people who actually know how to celebrate, people drink Mexican beer and eat nachos.
I have heard so many people over the years misidentify Cinco de Mayo as “Mexican Independence Day”, even though these are two separate holidays. In general, people just don’t care whether you get it right or not.
Again, I don’t want either of these holidays to disappear. I am all for celebrating and honoring these cultures, I just hope people can be more educated. When celebrating Saint Patrick’s Day, Cinco de Mayo, or any other holiday that doesn’t belong to your culture, remember that you aren’t the expert, and you can’t rewrite holidays to your own desires. Listen to the people who actually know.