Hey, where are all the leprechauns and pots of gold? I’m used to Anker community having special events for all the holidays. Does St. Patrick’s day not make the list?
It just seems like a great chance to give away prizes 
In any case, Happy St. Patrick’s to all! What’s everyone doing to celebrate?
Someone wants prizes… 
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I’m torn about wether or not I celebrate st. Patrick’s day. I like what it originally celebrated, a missionary to Ireland. Now I feel like what was a religious, Christian holiday has turned into a holiday celebrating alcohol, and leprechauns. Not that I have anything wrong with drinking alcohol (necessarily), I’m just upset that it’s taken the place of a religious holiday.
Religion, say when priests are allowed to hurt children and when found they get moved on, where defending your job matters more than defending the vulnerable.
Ireland being less religious is substantial step forward. Ireland has moved very quickly to a much better country in recent decades. Remember the Northern Ireland problems had one part of their roots in religion, so less religion is substantial improvement.
To cease the battles of who’s myths are wrong, dump them all, and unite as one species here in the real world with a bit of a laugh, is where we should be heading.
In the US St Patrick’s day is just an excuse to get drunk, bar hop and wear green. Not that any of those things are bad, but I’m sure that’s not what it originally meant
That’s exactly what I mean. St. Patrick’s day was a religious holiday, celebrating a missionary.
Fun fact: St. Patrick wasn’t Irish 
Ha I didn’t even know he wasn’t Irish!
Nope. He was a missionary to Ireland…
The history is so patchy it is not clear if he existed, or is a merger of two people, but as much things in religion an embellished story fills the coffers. Probably less-wrong than King Arthur, or Robin Hood.
St Patrick’s day is more of cultural way of remembering Irish roots, of very poor and significantly oppressed by the British, who traveled far to earn their way, so its probably more of a thing in USA which had a lot of Irish immigrants than in Ireland itself.
Not unlike say Guinness, it is not that popular in Ireland, but doesn’t stop the Irish roots in the advertisements.
Whatever… just a bit of fun… don’t think its got much truth in it (like anything religious in origin its mostly made up).
I completely disagree… but I guess your entitled to your opinion 
If I had a leprechaun’s pot of gold then I could buy every Anker product out there like I wish I could now
I am working tonight so no drinking green beer for me! Anyway yes, in the US this day is simply for getting drunk! And I am not even Irish!
lol
This is an excellent assessment. In Montana, there’s an old mining town named Butte. The underground is crisscrossed with old mining shafts, and it hosts one of the largest environmental restoration projects in the US, the Berkeley Pit. It’s an old open pit mine that is easily the most poisonous thing within 100 mile of where I live.
Not surprisingly, the people that dug the mines and the pit were “poor and significantly oppressed” (the story of the hard luck of the irish isn’t containted to the UK). Naturally, there was a large Irish population in Butte due to the availability of work in the mines, so Butte became an Irish town. There’ a heavy Catholic presence there and they host a huge St patrick’s day festival. According to Wiki “the city’s population is under 40,000 people, and the annual St. Patrick’s Day celebration brings in roughly 30,000 visitors each year, nearly doubling the city’s population for the day.”
It is, of course, the quintessential US St Patrick’s day alcohol fest (Butte is the only city in Montana with no open container laws partly for this reason), but it remains an important part of the culture there. There are Irish dancing clubs, bagpipers, and choirs that practice year-round to perform on St. Patrick’s day. Is it strictly religious? Of course not. The American economy is fine tuned to co-opt all significant cultural events, religious or otherwise, for the purpose of profit at scale. That doesn’t change that people benefit from it.
As far as I’m concerned, if it brings people together and they can connect with one another, through dancing or bagpipes or even beer, then it’s a good thing. Religion has the capacity to do this, even if it isn’t empirically “true.” I still have a Christmas tree (a pagan symbol) for Christmas (a Christian holiday) and buy presents for people (a capitalist practice) every year, even though I’m neither pagan nor Nicene Creed Christian, and it serves the purpose of connecting me with family and friends, so I’m disinclined to take principled stands on its roots. Suffice it to say all the criticisms are accurate, but I’m not sure I would advocate getting rid of it.
For my part, I ate corned beef, potatoes and cabbage at friend’s house, drank some beer, and soaked in a hot tub. It was awesome! Except that he has an off-brand bluetooth speaker that is vastly inferior to Anker! 
Excellent.
Ireland does not actually eat corned beef particularly.
But potatoes and cabbage is common when I was there about 40 years ago.
A true Irish tradition would be to put a dirty boy in the bath, then repeat about 10 times and then put the last dirty boy in.
Catholic, as in large families, is oppression of women into breeding objects and to cook, servile. Not sure those facts of history make much sense to repeat in modern times where all people are equal, including in their gender.
I am next in Dublin, Ireland, on Wednesday. I’ll try to remember to post a picture of a Guinness, in the meantime here is my last few, with Anker product placement.
The notion the Irish were not bright (not that dissimilar to black oppression in USA around the same time) is still recorded:
My favorite Irish beer is Kilkenny, but I do like a Guiness every so often. Also a fan of Irish whisky, but my true love is Islay single-malt. Geographically, that’s like halfway between Ireland and Scotland, right?
I can’t support all of the social outcomes of religion. Gender inequality that’s baked in to a religion’s dogma is always a problem. So is any sort of caste system, martial impulse, or any other means used to justify unethical behavior. But I’d rather the religion evolve than lose a way that people meaningfully connect.
It’s crazy how persistent the need for an other group is. The Irish in the US were just the latest group onshore when they got the (mine)shaft. Now it’s a respected group with political and social influence in large areas of the US. Apparently, we moved on from hating one group to another, and another, and another… 
No “green beer”, no Patrick here.
“Weißbier” only. 
I have been to Ireland 50 years ago.
Hitchhiking for 6 weeks.
In those times the Irish were poor.
But they were incredible friendly and hospitable.
May be it has changed today.
And of course we were drinking Guinness.
One pint, another pint then one more pint…
It’s Monday and I’m in work - joys of moving to England mean it’s not a bank holiday 
Hope you all had a good St Paddy’s day 
I was in New York City on Saturday and got a chuckle out of seeing everyone dressed up for the St. Patrick’s Day parade. 
Luckily, with everyone at the parade, it made other parts of the city a lot less crowded!
