Leprechauns, shamrocks, pots of gold and lots of green. All of these come to mind when thinking of St. Patrick’s Day, a holiday often viewed as merely a “Hallmark Holiday.” However, while some view it as an excuse to celebrate, drink too much or pinch people unexpectedly, some Whitman students stay more true to the traditional Irish holiday.
St. Patrick’s Day is a national holiday in Ireland, and is celebrated as an annual feast day to honor Saint Patrick, a famous Christian priest who lived from 385 to 461 AD. Originally, the Irish people celebrated Saint Patrick’s Day as a religious holiday, attending mass in the morning and feasting in the afternoon.
It became a one-day reprieve for Christians observing lent, making it a day associated with excessive drinking, eating and celebrating. Nowadays, Irish cities host parades and festivals where live music and a festive atmosphere are present.
Here in Bethesda, many Whitman students honor their Irish heritage by carrying on traditions from their ancestors.
“We always go to the St. Patrick’s Day parade on Constitution Avenue,” junior Campbell McCarthy says. “There’s Irish dancing, along with great floats. You also get to see the bars filled up with people really early.”
Junior Grace McNally has fond childhood memories of St. Patrick’s Day, and sees it as a time to value family tradition.
“Every year we listen to Irish music,” she says. “But when I was little, I’d wear my mom’s handmade Irish step-dancing dress to school. My grandma from Ireland hand-embroidered it when my mom was young. The dress is very special and I’m sure I’ll pass it down to my kids.”
Sticking to tradition, junior Jeffery Gruen’s family has hosted a St. Patrick’s Day brunch for the past 21 years, celebrating all things green.
“It started in ’89 when my family lived in D.C.,” Gruen says. “It started out as a small brunch the Sunday before St. Patrick’s Day, but it’s grown in size as the years have gone on. A few years ago, we had 90 people, because all of our friends from different neighborhoods came.”
Gruen says his mom spends most of the week preparing, and all of Saturday cooking to be ready for the brunch.
“We get bagels and dye them green and buy green cream cheese,” he says. “We stop at green eggs, because that’s a little gross.”
Along with bagels, eggs and bacon, Gruen says they stick to the more traditional Irish foods such as soda bread, Irish porridge and different kinds of potatoes.
“We stock both of our fridges with food for this brunch, and have to move our regular food into our neighbor’s house. We also have to rearrange the furniture on the entire first floor to accommodate our guests.”
Unfortunately, next year will be the Gruens’ last brunch because it will be the last year they have a kid living at home.
“They won’t have me there to move everything around and do all the heavy lifting,” Gruen says. “However, we’ve had a long run and it’s been a great tradition we’ve upheld.”
