Saint Patrick's Day

Sunday was Saint Patrick's Day and I got to be in the parade!  Mercyhurst carried a bunch of flags at the front of the parade. We were right behind the official marching band.  I carried a smaller Irish flag but some of the students carried huge flags.

Some of the flags were from Erie, Pennsylvania, and the U.S.  There was a 'Don't Give Up the Ship' flag and the blue one in the next pic is the PA flag.
 

After the parade, we went and celebrated at the sailing club.  There were four girl musicians playing Irish music and there was good food.

At the end of the day, I took a pic with Tom in his Irish outfit.

The parades in Ireland for Saint Patrick's Day are actually pretty new.  They added parades to their traditions after parades have been going on in the U.S. for a long time. Some of their traditions are wearing shamrock on their jacket (and a lot them dress up but don't wear green), they go to mass to celebrate Saint Patrick, and the day is a national holiday.  Because Saint Patrick's day was on Sunday, everyone gets Monday off from work and school.