We tend to be the oddballs of our family and group of friends when it comes to a traditional style of living.  We quit our jobs amidst a financial crisis to travel around the world instead of being conservative and going the more traditional route.  We returned from said trip, and I have been trying my hand at a career change, this time while in my 30′s.  And we still haven’t fast-tracked ourselves to the whole normal lifestyle, with the house and kids.

While we may not be the most traditional people out there, there are certain traditions that simply must be kept.  One of those, at least for me, is not working on St. Patrick’s Day and heading down to Dogtown, a predominantly Irish neighborhood here in St. Louis that throws one of the best street parties of the year.

It Started Many Years Ago

Many of you may find this absolutely absurd and ridiculous, but I have never worked on March 17, and I haven’t done anything responsible since my sophomore year of high school.  I was 15-years-old then.  I’m 32 now.  After my first trip to Dogtown when I was 15, I skipped school the following year.  I did it again my senior year, and once college hit, classes were a no-go for me on this day of Irish celebration.

Once I entered the work force, March 17 was the first day I asked off for.  I may have even lied a time or two to my employer to get off work.  I even got fired a few days after Paddy’s Day one year in my early 20′s.  Part of the reason was my absence on both March 17 and 18.

I Refuse to Give it Up

I have continued the tradition, refusing to give it up (I have missed 2 out of the last 17, both because of travel).  And today will be no different.  I will be down near the corner of Tamm and West Park, as I always am, proudly sporting my green attire with a Guinness attached to my hand all day long.

While I am 25% Irish, my family never really celebrated our Irish heritage.  So yes, I am one of those people.  One of the millions around the world who have very little connection to Ireland or the Irish people, yet still celebrate as though I came over on the boat from Dublin (I did get engaged on top of a castle in Ireland, so that should count for something, right?).

Why is this Day So Important?

To know something of this day is to know a little bit more about my hometown of St. Louis.  You see, St. Louis is the biggest small town on Earth (at least as far as I have found).  In a city of 2.5 million people, it seems as though we are all only 2 degrees of separation away.  Any time I meet someone new, I undoubtedly know someone they are close to, or vice versa.  It’s uncanny.

So everyone in St. Louis knows about the real St. Patrick’s Day parade.  Not the one downtown the Saturday before, but the one in Dogtown on March 17.  The one that snakes through the little neighborhood and closes it down for the day.

Ever since that first visit to the Dogtown parade when I was 16 years old, I was hooked.  The festive atmosphere with thousands of revelers playing hooky from work or school to come down and see friends and have some beers, corned beef, and cabbage.  The friends’ house near the parade route where we have partied most of the last 17 years.  The alleyway where we always watch the parade (and where many of us received MIP’s before being of legal drinking age).

It all brings back such fond memories.  And today, 17 years after my first trip to Dogtown for St. Patrick’s Day, I go again.  And just like every other year, I’m excited.  I’m like a kid on Christmas, and I have that feeling.  You know the one. It’s that same one I get before I’m about to go on a trip.

And while I don’t always see the same people as I did on that very first day so long ago (I still see plenty), there are those that I only see on St. Paddy’s Day.  The ones that I will undoubtedly run into as I do every year.  The ones that I will hug emphatically and promise to get together with, but most likely won’t.

But that’s OK.  It’s all part of the tradition.  A tradition that I hope never dies.  If there’s one day a year I hope to never have to work, it’s this one.  I hope to eventually pass it on down to our kids, to take them down to Dogtown on March 17 no matter how old they are, to share the joy and fun that I’ve been having on this day for over half my life.

No matter where you are in the world, no matter if you have a drop of Irish blood in you, I hope you can at least get out for a nice, smooth, creamy Guinness and toast your friends, your family, and your loved ones today.  Happy St. Patrick’s Day everyone, wherever you are!

Do you have any traditions you feel you must uphold?  I’d love to hear about them in the comments below.