Pinch non green

**Macman** · 19th March 20, 11:08 AM

Originally Posted by Oday450

It's an old US custom, starting when in elementary school, that you wear green on St Padraig's Day or get a pinch. The rest was a bit difficult to understand or interpret.

I had not heard of that either. Thanks for the explanation.

**Crazy Dave** · 19th March 20, 08:56 PM

I'm in my 60's and it has been a while since anyone has wanted to pinch me besides my wife -God bless her!

Dave

**MichiganKyle** · 20th March 20, 07:08 AM

Originally Posted by Oday450

It's an old US custom, starting when in elementary school, that you wear green on St Padraig's Day or get a pinch. The rest was a bit difficult to understand or interpret.

American here, and quite familiar with this custom. I've even seen shirts mentioning it - usually playfully inviting the reader to pinch them, or a green shirt saying they're safe from pinching. It's usually not taken seriously by adults and is just kind of a playful thing to get kids in the holiday spirit - kind of a "grandparents gently pinching grandkids' cheek" kind of thing. More of a gentle teasing than anything.

From what I've seen from foreigners' reactions to American celebrations of St. Patrick's Day, I've been lead to believe we go a little crazier with celebrating it than anywhere else, including Ireland. We do have a huge number of people with at least partial Irish ancestry. Wouldn't surprise me at all if this is one of those quintessential American traditions surrounding the holiday which exists nowhere else in the world.

**OC Richard** · 21st March 20, 09:08 AM

Yes Boston and New York had St Patrick's Day parades starting from the mid-18th century, while Dublin Ireland didn't have a true St Patrick's Day parade (with floats etc) until the 1960s.

Until around 1970 the Dublin pubs were closed by law on that day.

So yes the St Patrick's Day march-in-a-parade-and-get-drunk-in-a-pub thing is American.

**Dreaghann** · 21st March 20, 04:08 PM

Irish expatriate comedian Dave Nihill has some pretty funny things to say about Americans celebrating St. Patrick's Day.

If you could use a laugh, have a listen:
"America Doesn't Understand St. Patrick's Day" Dave Nihill, Dry Bar Comedy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hz44cenuv0E