I love the day, it means a lot to me. My family and city used to celebrate it with an early mass, songs, green carnations and a parade.   Now I live where nobody else gets it.

The parades started in the 19th century as a point of ethnic pride, to prove how mainstream and respectable Irish in America could be. A secondary point was to honor St. Patrick, one of thethe world's greatest teachers and evangelists; a saint and scholar. This was during a time when the No-Nothings wanted immigration of the undesirable poor Irish to be stopped, and prejudice against Irish was real. Today the main parades are still no-alcohol celebrations of civic and ethnic pride, every business and union local and pipe band proud of its place in the community. (Others have degenerated into beer busts, I'll agree).   Since that time Irish-Americans have become the mainstream of society and few feel any need to honor their roots in such a tacky old way.

Our immigrant ancestors were economic migrants, some were abused evictees literally sent forcibly from their homes on coffin ships. They taught their kids to remember the homeland and to wear the green one day a year whether anybody liked it or not. And to be grateful they lived in a time and place where they could wear it 365 days a year without getting thrown in the jug.

If you don't like it, don't celebrate it.