St. Patrick’s Day falls on the Sunday of spring break this year, so you know we are going to party the week before and party it up on the day of — wherever us Badgers are for vacation. When March rolls around, everybody is Irish and everybody should celebrate.
Before we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, we should know the day’s history. St. Patrick was a boy who was kidnapped and taken into slavery in Ireland at the young age of 16. He eventually escaped to a monastery and converted to Christianity. He went back to Ireland to convert more to Christianity and became a bishop, hence how he became Saint Patrick. Each year on the day of his death, Ireland celebrates his accomplishments. The celebrations became more prevalent once they began immigrating to America as a way to stay connected to their heritage. It is the perfect excuse to take a break from studying for midterms. There are many ways to celebrate St.Patrick’s Day, and if you need ideas, keep on reading!
1. Wear Green
Time to pull out the “Kiss Me I’m Irish” shirts! Wearing green is one of the easiest and most common ways you can celebrate. Dress head-to-toe in green, wear just a green sweater or wear one of the St.Patty’s Day themed shirts. Fun fact: The original color that was associated with St. Patrick’s Day was blue, but green has taken over the holiday. While wearing green, you can go and see the Madison St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Capitol Square at 1:30 p.m.
2. Eat Traditional Irish Food
Get into the Irish mood by eating traditional foods like Shepherd’s Pie and lots of potatoes. The Irish sure do love their potatoes. Potato pancakes is another popular form of staple Irish food. You can also add some Guinness beer to your recipes; Guinness pies and stews are my favorites.
3. Drink like the Irish
Booze it up! Start your day with coffee spiked with Bailey’s Irish Cream followed by Guinness Beer and Irish Whiskey later in the day. The Irish are proud of their alcohols.
4. Decorate your Place
Shamrocks everywhere! May they bring you some extra luck! There are so many cute inspirations on Pinterest of how to decorate your dorm or apartment. You can even hang up the flag of Ireland if you’re feeling a little extra.
5. Drink a Shamrock Shake
Personally, this is my favorite McDonald’s shake there is, and I probably gain a good three pounds during Shamrock shake season. The minty creamy goodness is worth the walk to McDonald’s or ordering off UberEats. A tip to cut down on the calories and sugar is to ask for no whipped cream — if you don’t want to totally ruin your diet.
6. Make Green Food
Get that green food coloring out and go crazy. Green pancakes, cookies and cake, oh my! Other St.Patty’s Day themed treats are also fun to make and eat; making garlic bread in the shape of the Celtic trinity knot or some Irish beer cheese soup is always a fun break from school work.
7. Watch Disney’s Luck of the Irish
Disney used to play this movie so many times during the month of March — it’s an oldie but goodie. The movie is about a teenage boy who has to find a gold charm in order to win the battle and avoid having evil leprechaun’s take control over his family.
8. Pub Crawl
Lucky’s is hosting a pub crawl on March 16th, but you can always organize a pub crawl of your own. What’s better than drinking and getting drunk with your friends? Going to multiple bars across Madison and getting drunk with your friends! Another annual Madison pub crawl is Regent Street St. Patrick’s Day Pub Crawl, March 9th at 12 p.m. Happy Dartying!
Take a break from school and celebrate the Irish heritage! Badgers will use any excuse to validate dartying instead of studying for a midterm, and St. Patrick’s Day is the best one. Grab your green clothes and your friends to start off spring right. Bottoms up!