St. Pat

(from Allison)

What day do you celebrate Saint Patty's Day on? March 17th.

Do you wear green on this day? Yes.

Do you have any socks with shamrocks on them? No, but I work with someone who has loads of shamrock sox. Guess what: she's a children's librarian. Shocked? No, I thought not.

If you came across a Leprechaun, then what would you do? Pinch myself; I'm obviously dreaming.

How many petals does the "lucky" Shamrock have? Four. Unless you live near a leaky nuclear reactor. [family story]

If you caught a Leprechaun, would you make him tell you all his secrets? Naah, more fun to just hold him down and tickle him mercilessly.

Are you or someone you know Irish? There's a bit of Irish in me. Beast is NOT Irish. Sparky is a redhead. Dunno 'bout him....

Do you celebrate this day? I wear green. That's the extent of my 'celebration.'

Have you ever drank [sic] green beer? I don't drink brown or golden beer; I doubt I could face it if it were green.

Do you decorate for this occasion? The only time of year I decorate is Christmas.

Do you get Saint Patty's Day emblems drawn on your face? Uh, no.

Do you like Saint Patty's Day? I like it fine, yes.

Do you cross your fingers when you wish for things? Have not done this since I was a child.

Have you ever found a 4 leaf clover? No. Then again, I stopped looking for them around the same time I stopped crossing my fingers during wishes.

Do you believe in luck? Not exactly. I did a long post on this somewhere awhile back.

Are you superstitous [sic]? Only about spelling.

Do you pinch people if they don't wear green? Only people I know very well.

If so, where do you pinch them? Arm.

Name something by you that is green? There's green on the cover of a book that's sitting here.

Kiss me, I’m .... healthy. (not)


St. Patrick's Day Trivia

What does "Shake your shillelagh" mean? Well, a shillelagh is a club. I'm not sure you'd want to shake it, really; it's probably heavy. I think it's just a way of suggesting you wiggle your ass around.

Who was St. Patrick? I shall refer you here for the (more or less) complete story. The short version is that he was a slave, a priest, and had something to do with Ireland. The snake story is pretty apocryphal.

What gift do you get if you kiss the Blarney Stone? Eloquence.

How can one find a leprechaun? Heavy drink is probably the easiest way.

Where in the US is a river colored green for each St. Patrick's Day? Chicago. And they use orange dye to make it green. Go figure.

What profession does the leprechaun supposedly practice? They are cobblers, or generally practice other trades involved in making things.

What does "Erin Go Braugh" mean? Well, it's actually "Éire go Brách" but most often written "Erin go bragh." It is generally translated as "Ireland forever."