Growing up in an Irish Catholic family up, St. Patrick’s Day was a big deal. I remember lots of green and shamrocks and leprechauns, endless bagpipes and “Oh Danny Boy” renditions, and dinners of corned beef & cabbage and Irish Soda Bread. I don’t remember learning too much about the why, all I knew was we were Irish and for whatever reason this was a day to celebrate that. Good enough! My grandparents immigrated from Ireland so I figured it was a celebration of their culture and it seemed to be a big deal here in the states, so celebrate we did.

As I grew older and eventually left my parents’ Irish Catholic nest (and influence), St. Patrick’s Day kind of lost its luster. I was in a new city and I began to see St. Paddy’s Day less as a cultural celebration and more as a day that people just got sloppy drunk and did stupid stuff while wearing green.  It didn’t resonate with me, at all, and I slowly grew indifferent to my Irish heritage and especially to the American version of St. Patrick’s Day. And while my interest in my Irish roots waned, almost everyone in my family seemed to become more and more Irish with each passing year. I am definitely the odd woman out in this regard.

But then, I had a baby. And guess when that baby decided to be born? March 17th – St. Patrick’s Day. He was not due until April 6th, but our little leprechaun had other plans. I remember calling my mom to tell her that I had the baby and her response was “Today??!! On St. Patrick’s Day???!!!!!!!” I think she was more excited about the baby’s birthdate than the actual baby. And then she came over to meet him, all decked out in green and shamrocks, and proceeded to fall in love with her new little Irishman fittingly named Finnian.

Finn’s birth gave me a new reason to celebrate March 17th but it also gave me a new opportunity to understand why we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. Finn is now four and is curious why so many people celebrate on his birthday. He wants to know about this St. Patrick character and why we wear green and what it means to be Irish. These are all good questions worthy of some thoughtful reflection on my behalf. His curiosity has made me aware of my own ignorance that I am just now starting to unpack.

I am just now learning more about the resistance and resilience of the Irish people and am developing more of an appreciation for my heritage. But like much of history, it’s complicated, for the Irish story is one that involves the conflicting experiences of being an oppressed people but also participating in the oppression of African Americans here in the states as a means of “becoming white” and climbing the social ladder.  In order to celebrate what it means to be Irish, we must understand the whole history and the culture from which it’s borne, not just the feel-good snippets and leprechauns. This article is a good start: This St. Patrick’s Day, Have a Pint—But Celebrate Irish Resistance, Too

So that’s where I am; I’m learning about my family’s heritage and the history of the Emerald Isle all thanks to my sweet little St. Patrick’s Day baby who dared ask “but why?”. Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all who celebrate and happy 4th Birthday to my sweet Finnian!