Top O' the Marnin' to Ya!

So, I was substitute teaching in primary yesterday (so fun) and one of the 7-year-old girls informed me that tomorrow (meaning today) wasn't actually St. Patrick's Day because they had moved it this year to be on the 15th. I looked at her in sort of a confused manner, wondering who "they" was and what she could possibly be talking about, but thanked her for the enlightenment and wondered if I had really been living in such a bubble that I wasn't aware of the new holiday switch.

Luckily, Jay and I were able to turn to the never-failing source of most worthwhile knowledge to discover that this year is, indeed, a particularly special occurrence... at least if you're Catholic. Apparently, since St. Patty's happens to occur during passion week (the week before Easter), they (Catholic church authorities) moved the holiday up a couple of days so that it wouldn't be during this holy week.

So, now you know.

So what does this mean for the rest of us? Are we not allowed to pinch Catholics if they don't wear green? Can they wear green, even if they're not technically celebrating? Did I miss St Patrick's Day without even knowing it? Or maaaybe it's like when Halloween occurs on a Sunday in Utah and even though people will go out on Saturday to get their treats instead (so as not to break the Sabbath), the non-Mo's get to reap the benefits and go out both days for a double whammy! Too bad I didn't know about this St. Patty's shifting earlier, else I probably would have been pinching since Saturday. Oh well.

For the rest of you, who may be slightly confused or unsettled by this doubling of holidays- not to worry. This will probably not occur again in any of our lifetimes, as the next time will be in the year 2160! We are so lucky to have been given this chance to notice such rare technicalities.

It's sort of an interesting concept... holidays... really anyone can declare any day a holiday. It seems to me that what makes a holiday is just some sort of celebration or tradition occurring on a particular day. Any thoughts on that?

One last thing, and then I'm studying. (Funny how my blog posts seem to get more frequent when I should be preparing for finals, eh?)

So, I pinched Jay this morning... yes, it was a bit unfair as he was about to get in the shower at the time... but anyway, I pinched Jay and said, "Ha! You're not wearing green!" and he looked at me like a lunatic. "What are you talking about?" Now I was the one to stare... after all, he actually is Irish. Turns out this is a tradition unheard of for him. Apparently people are more loving in the East and you get kissed for wearing green, but not punished for forgetfulness. I learn somethings new every day.

On that note, Happy St. Patrick's Day and may I be lucky enough to graduate unscathed.