Collegiate Times

Lucinda Jennings, a staff worker in Virginia Tech's University of Architecture, is browsing the vegetables in the East section of Oasis World Market

It's a day of green, gold and Guinness, wild food, amicable drinking and ample tradition -- and St. Patrick's Day traditions are hands down some of my absolute favorite childhood memories.

Looking back, I think we were the only family with but a fraction of distant Irish descent who celebrated St. Patty's Day with roaring enthusiasm. From leprechaun trails leading me and my brothers to "pots of gold" (candy, one dollar bills and gold coin bubble gum) to a serious display of decorations rivaling those put out for Easter, Halloween and Thanksgiving, my mom never let the raucous Irish holiday pass without a celebration. It usually began with breakfast and, now that we're of drinking age, some green beer or even a Guinness. Every year without fail, she would make green eggs, green pancakes and green bacon, and of course, we'd find green milk in the fridge or in our bowls of cereal (which drove my dad especially crazy if it was a new gallon, meaning we had green milk for a good week or so).

My mom might just sound like a fanatic, but I always loved St. Patrick's Day more than most people I knew, because what's not to like about festive food, green booze, pots of gold and plenty of good old Irish cheer?

But in case my family was simply an enthusiastic anomaly, I decided to check out how others celebrate the emerald holiday. Guinness, of course, hardly let me down and made me feel downright part of the crowd, as it reports that roughly half of Americans over age 21 say "everyone is Irish on St. Patrick's day." And we'll soon find out just what kind of company my festive family keeps as Guinness is making a run at helping St. Patrick's Day achieve national holiday status. You can visit www.proposition317.com to electronically sign the petition in which Guinness hopes to compile one million names by midnight on March 16. If the petition reaches the goal, the company says it will formally present the petition to Congress to try to make the official decision.

But despite St. Patrick's Day's lack of official recognition, it's celebrated informally around the world -- and it is really a day of all sorts, toting with it religious significance, traditional foods and customary drinking. For some people, it's all about the corned beef and cabbage or stew and potatoes. For others, the highlight is a good Irish beer at an authentic Irish pub.

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