San Jose Culture Examiner: Glory be, 'tis once again St. Patty's Day

In glorious ol' Chicago, St. Patrick's Day means the dyein' green
of the Chicago River. And a wee bit o' green beer drinking.
Image by Mathprog777.

St. Patrick's Day snuck right up on me. Must be something about saying farewell to copious ale consumption once you reach middle age. In vino veritas, indeed.

In Chicago, where I'm from, the Irish holiday means guzzling green brewskies and acting a damn fool all over town. Officials also ensure that the Chicago River's color matches the mythic fields of clover dotting the Emerald Isle.

In the old country, denizens of one village are drinking in the media's focus on their generations-past tie to Barack O'Bama, "whose great-great-great-grandfather on his mother's side was a cobbler from Moneygall," says one bankrupt newspaper.

In San Jose, why not read up on a special investigation into public drunkenness to celebrate St. Patrick? After all, the missionary helped take all the fun out of claiming Druidic ancestry.

I mean, now we have Catholics versus Protestants? Beglory! Give me Irish (and Angles, etc.) versus Vikings any day:

In San Francisco, of course, there is no end to the supply of dank, dingy pubs where you can toast the death of pagan gods in Celtic lands. The Chronicle recently gave its take on where to wander for your whiskey.

My tradition as a Mission District dweller was to imbibe corned beef and cabbage at Cha Cha Cha, once a garishly lit Irish pub called Original McCarthy's filled with holdouts from the neighborhood's whiter days.

There's also the lilt of Irish music to put a smile on your mug, as might befall you if you venture into the Tenderloin to hear Culann's Hounds, or perhaps play it safer out in the avenues to hear Andrew MacNamara.

Back in Chicago, one writerly wag was so concerned about the disconnect between the literal point of St. Patrick's Day, honoring a Christianizing influence, and the celebration's execution that she suggests the date might better be called Shamrock Day.

As long as we can pressure McDonald's to sell charitable Shamrock Shakes, it could be a great opportunity for synergy.

Anyway, Erin go braugh. Just try to keep yer teeth in yer head, aye?

For more info: Legend has it that St. Patrick drove the snakes from Ireland, but that's just a metaphor for the routing of Celtic religion, according to this screed.

This post first appeared on my other blog, where my identity is the San Jose Culture Examiner.