St Plastics Day

Right on!

It is that time of year again when thousands of non Irish (or Irish because a great great uncle once removed was) pretend to be Ireland's favourite son. *Sigh* St Patrick's Day has become as bloated as Halloween and Christmas. An obscene parody of Irish played through the eyes of plastic 'Irishmen' and for a Celt it makes for uncomfortable viewing because it feels like our race, our traditions are being poked fun at by the mindless hordes. Believe you me, a pub full of grown adults dressed as Leprechauns singing out of tune Irish rebel songs is a very bitter caricature indeed.
Why do people (Americans in particular) do it? Faux Irish bars bursting at the walls with people guzzling foul looking (and no doubt tasting) green beer and wearing those dreadful "Kiss Me Im Irish" tee shirts. You do realise you are offending the real Irish right? (Although I guess not since you are still doing it.)
Of course there will be a few who think im just being a jealous Welshman, envious of Irelands dominance in the days of patron Saints but not at all! It would make me perfectly sick to my stomach to see St David's Day go the same way as St Patrick's Day. I love Irealnd and visit regularly (its only a short hop from Wales) and though Irish folk are the most welcoming and friendly people you are ever likely to meet on this planet, I know that some get mightily annoyed by 'bandwagon jumpers' on St Patrick's Day. And quite right too! Hell for the other 364 days of the year they don't give a toss about Ireland. It goes beyond fake and divebombs straight into cringeworthy. Give your heads a shake!

But to all on the beautiful Emerald Isle I say, Go bhfillead go hÉirinn go brách ! You'll know its for you as you wont have to use Google translate.

An Agent For The Holidays

Tomorrow it is Thanksgiving Day in America and as an eager participant of over indulgance and alcohol I shall be celebrating with gusto as if the hounds of hell are at my heel. Nevermind that I am Welsh and living in the wilds of West Wales, the turkey will be roasted, the bread sauce whipped and Jagermeister chilled to within an inch of its beautiful life.
November is usually a miserable month in Britain, with its dark early evenings and biting, cold winds so hijacking another countries holiday to brighten up a few days is a much needed boost to the chilled marrow system.
The modern Thanksgiving holiday I understand stemmed from a 1621 celebration at the Plymouth Plantation, where the Plymouth settlers held a harvest feast after a successful growing season, so it might be argued it comes from the British. And as a limey desperate for action I have taken this information as licence to celebrate on turkey flesh and alcohol.
We globally share so many holidays I am suprised we haven't latched on to this one too. Little matter regarding the real meaning as most have abandoned the spirit of other more grand holidays. Halloween has become a gore fest and Christmas long ago been insulted by greed.
Thanksgiving 'feels' like a dressed down version of Christmas from this side of the Atlantic. It is how the Silly Season should be without the silliness and without being bloated to vulgar states. We know of Thanksgiving here and some celebrate it (I cannot be the only one can I?) but we don't laden it with gifts and carols. Of course if I were to skip over the pond it would no doubt feel different but as it is right now, to a writer hammering this out from the lush, green bosom of Wales, it feels right.
Eat, drink and give thanks for Life and a bountiful harvest but forget about the tinsel and gaudy baubels. Who had the Christmas number one song, or gave the biggest gift is neither important or classy. To be blunt they serve only as further proof of how cheap a person is.
It is quite honourable to give thanks to simple things and for one will be in merriment and giving thanks in earnest. It is the only proper thing to do, and one can only hope next months festivities get restored to a more humble level. We are supposedly celebrating the birth of a Saviour afterall. Humans are ever so fallible and often get lost to real meaning and all the cards and glitter in the world won't mean a thing if we forget that.

Happy Thanksgiving all !!