Oh come on its just an excuse for a party. And I love to party so come on Paddy`s show me some riverdance.!!!馃檪
"how could you leave your goose feather beds
how could leave your moneyo
How could you leave your newlyweded lord
all for a raggle taggle gypsyo"
"what care I for my goose feathered bed
what care I for my moneyo
I rather have a kiss from a yellow gypsy lips
I`m away with a raggle taggle gypsyo"
Waterboys - Raggle taggle gypsyo
St David is the Welsh patron saint and St Andrew is for Scotland. Ratcat is right, it is a joke. If I was Irish I'd be offended that people(not anyone here) who couldn't care less about Ireland are all of a sudden celebrating all things Irish just for a laugh.
I know a guy who owns a pub in a town near me. He was born in Scotland and all his family are from here but he runs an Irish pub because he says people think it's "freindlier".
Ratcat your right about England. It seems that you can't celebrate being English or you are accused of being racist.
St. Patrick's Day is big in the States purely because of the Irish minority there taking good and proper use of their right to be heard. On the other side of the Atlantic, all four of the Union's (and Ireland's) Saint days go by with barely a mention- with a few notable exceptions in some places. And my fellow Englishmen shouldn't panic- English patriotism is alive and well, TOO alive and well in some places. Only in extrmees does it appear racist to be pro-English.
The point is, St. Patricks day in Ireland, by now, is as much to do with its cultural roots as Christmas is to do with the pagan festivals it developed from. It's probably not serious enough to be truly insulting to the Irish- irritating, perhaps. But as an excuse for a party... why not? But only, really, in the States.