One of the year’s biggest collective drinking celebrations—right up there with Christmas, New Year’s, Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day, and Canada Day—is fast approaching. That would be good old Saint Patrick’s Day, widely celebrated through epic parades, dying rivers green, eating cabbage, and of course, drinking emerald-tinted inebriants.
When I recently noticed a Saint Patrick’s Day Survival Guide on display at the SAQ, it dawned on me that my involvement in all of these collective merrymaking occasions has been steadily dwindling.
Upon reflection, I realized it’s been several years since I made it to midnight on New Year’s Eve—forget the bubbly; I’ve been fast asleep by 10pm. I vaguely remember hearing the boom of July 1st fireworks this past summer, though I was massively pregnant in front of Netflix rather than lakeside nursing a cold one. The reason I no longer attend such events is a life lived with small children, where the shapes of construction paper on the refrigerator now mark the year’s formerly rowdy celebrations.
I’m not complaining. It’s a special time in our family lives that leads us to earlier bed times and, sure, less green beer. My brood is not as likely to attend a public celebration—be it Canada Day or Saint Patty’s—if we can’t count on easily maneuvering a double stroller, speedy access to bathrooms for the toddler and change tables for the baby, or happens past our bedtime (which sadly means even a late showing movie is out for now). In this respect, the early child-rearing years can resemble our golden ones, with more time spent inside our own four walls, and less community participation.
While many of these events are about good old-fashioned revelry, it behooves us to also remember that they can serve an important purpose. Collective rituals like Saint Patty’s have social impact in their capacity to bring people together to promote and protect our varied heritage. Though some might rightly say these festivities are overly commercialized, they also have the potential to increase tourism and support local talent and commerce. Not to mention that a dose of March fresh air does us all some good right about now.
Nevertheless, for now I’ll say, “See you in a few years,” to Saint Patrick’s Day. “It was fun while it lasted. Look us up when the kids are potty trained and we’ll do our best to be there with shamrocks on.”
