My half Irish father and Korean American mother have fully embodied the spirit of St. Patrick ever since I was little. Almost every year we have a big party where everyone dresses adorned in shamrocks, green tutus, and kiss-me-I’m-Irish t-shirts. We party late into the night remembering the greatness of the green isle of Ireland and of course Saint Patrick. I grew up celebrating all kinds of traditions annually on March 17th but the following five reign supreme as being both most memorable and most fun.

5. A Traditional St. Patrick’s Day Meal

Every year my family marks the day with a hearty meal of corned beef, cabbage and colcannon. Cooking up the salt-cured bright red meat is tradition across Irish American homes throughout our country. My grandmother informed me of how corned beef and cabbage came to be such a distinctly Irish American meal. Irish immigrants in New York bought the cheap preserved meat from Jewish butchers when not much else was available. Cabbage has been eaten in Ireland for centuries and was a staple during the Great Potato Famine, while most vegetables struggle in the cool and wet Irish climate, cabbage thrives. Colcannon is the combination of mashed potatoes and stewed cabbage, a hearty and satiating mush that is full of flavor and carbohydrates. The amalgamation of these three foods is full of umami, saltiness and long standing beloved St. Patrick tradition felt throughout America.

4. Leprechauns

Around this time I’m reminded of the childhood photos of me four or five years old where I’m skipping around and peering from behind trees in a full leprechaun getup. Currently my grandma’s condominium is riddled with ceramic and plush leprechauns, dressed up in green buckled suits, wearing Irish caps, and showing off their red beards. In my kindergarten class we would make shoebox traps attempting to catch them and on March 17th we would file in to find green glitter, tiny footprints, and chocolate coins everywhere. Secretly, we were all disappointed our tape and glue traps didn’t work. The mischievous sprites are a staple of St. Patrick’s day. Classically protecting their pots of gold at the end of the rainbow and playing tricks on us humans, I adore these guys. Leprechauns are a quintessential part of the most iconic Irish holiday.

3. Wearing Green 

It’s essential on this day that everyone wears green, it isn’t St. Patrick’s if you don’t. I didn’t realize but the reason wearing green is so vital to our celebrations is because of the Society of United Irishmen, who in the late 1700s used the color green as a symbol of their cause committed to overthrowing their English oppressors. Today in America we all wake up on March 17th and put on our greenest outfit possible. Shamrocks pins, tiny plastic leprechaun hats, and  green springy headbands are available all over during this time of the year. It’s a simple and fun way for anyone to participate in celebrating.

2. Pinching 

I can’t mention the tradition of wearing green without also acknowledging the punishment for not doing so. Those who forgot to mark their calendar of this momentous day and did not wear green get to spend their day being pinched left and right for failing to comply with the dress code. It may not be a fun tradition for the inadequately dressed, but it is a memorable one, and everyone else gets to minutely antagonize the ones who don’t celebrate with their whole heart. What other holiday lets you punish those who don’t celebrate? Very Irish! 

1. Snake Hunt

For those who don’t know, while snakes are a common occurrence in every continent but Antarctica, there are no snakes native to the island of Ireland. Legend goes that St. Patrick chased them all out and banished them into the sea. Because of this, my family would hold an annual plastic snake hunt for all the kids. The adults and older kids would hide tiny plastic snakes we bought from Dollar Tree and one extra large one. All the kids would run outside and try to find as many snakes as possible to win different prizes. Whoever got the big snake would of course get the biggest prize. Different candies, shamrock rings, and green pencils are most commonly given out. Snake hunts are held all over both America and Ireland and have left me with fond childhood memories. Today I continue the tradition, helping hide them and getting to watch as little kids scramble over each other to collect them. 

St. Patrick’s Day is a holiday widely celebrated here in the U.S. by those of us with or without Irish ancestry. Many of its traditions are equally as American as they are Irish. There are countless more that I could write about but the ones above are my personal top five that trump the others in memorability and joy.