Saturday, March 3, 2012

Arianne Go Bragh

If you aren't familiar with the famous phrase "Erin Go Bragh" that's probably because it isn't that famous and you obviously aren't Irish. I'm not Irish either. At least not that I know of. I know of a lot of European blood is floating around in my veins--Danish, English, Manx, German, Austrian, Hungarian, Czech...probably a few others--but as far as I know, I don't have a single solitary drop of Irish blood. So every year when St. Patrick's day rolls around, I begin asking myself:

Should I decorate?
Is there some classy way to make Kelly green blend in with my decor?
Who is St. Patrick anyhow?
Did he clear Ireland of rats with a flute?
Wait, I think that was the Pied Piper.
What IS a blarney stone?
Why are people kissing it?
Can kissing rocks give you weird lip fungus?
If you get a lip fungus, can you get rid of it with Abreva, like a cold sore?
And does Abreva really work?
And how can that tiny 1" long tube cost $18?!?

So you see how the arrival of St. Patrick’s day causes all kinds of upheaval in my life. I just don't know what to do with this holiday. I do like to dress up the house for the holidays a bit. Halloween is my favorite. I can't get enough of the macabre. Christmas is fun, just for the sheer amount of decor you can put up that is Christmas related (at least vaguely, like anything green, red, gold, silver, sparkly, round, star shaped, covered in ribbon, covered in stripes, covered in polka dots, or even plaid, if it's any combination of red, green, gold, silver, or white.), I do a bit of something like a fun wreath and some sparkly hearts around for Valentine's (another saint I have no idea who he is, but at least he comes bearing chocolates and flowers, so he is deemed worthy of my decorating), some pretty pastel eggs and such go in my apothecary jars for Easter. Even harvest might get some pumpkins and gourds and stuff thrown around (though I can't abide cheesy Thanksgiving items. Turkeys and Pilgrims do not inspire me aesthetically). But what to do for St. Patty’s? I perused the aisles of my local craft/decor store today and took in all the shamrocks, clovers, leprechauns, shamrocks, clovers, and shamrocks and...I just couldn't get inspired. I will do green pancakes and green milk on St. Patrick’s day. I'm not a complete Ebenezer Scrooge. (Misplaced metaphor?) But as far as that tacky green decor...well, what can I say? "Kiss me, I'm Anglo-Austrian!"

5 comments:

Hildie said...

I think the only reason people like St patricks day is so they have an excuse to decorate their houses in between Valentines and Easter.

Bjorge Queen said...

And there's the beer. St. Paddys day makes me crave green rice crispie treats because my mom would always let me take them to school for my birthday. That was back when people could bring home baked goods to school for their birthday.

Financial Aid for College said...

Since I never wear green, decorate with green, or even like most shades of green, St. Pat's gives me a reason to wear my one and only green outfit, and to heck with the skin that looks like death.

Good grief! Your passwords are getting more complex and difficult all the time! I didn't even get this least TWO twisted words until the second try. Are you Still getting obscene messages from Korea?

Charlie N. Holmberg said...

Can I "like" Jennie's comment? Er, Hildie's comment? ;)

St. Patrick's Day hasn't been fun since elementary school. Sadness of my life. Maybe I should start drinking.

Ben Davis said...

Um... You are Irish. Not very much, mind you. But it's there in your blood.

Let's do the math...
You have Irish ancestors 7 generations back. That means 1 out of 128 of your g-g-g-g-grandparents was Irish. This is just under 1%.

You should definitely kiss a rock, put up some green decorations, and eat green Rice Krispy Treats.

(And a note for Mom, who asks me every time this comes up. No, mom, you aren't Irish. Our Irish blood is on Dad's side. Sorry.)