Don’t be a leprechaun tonight, Yuma
Enjoy St. Patrick’s Day – and then call for a ride home
Don’t forget to wear some green apparel today, as it is March 17 … St. Patrick’s Day!
In honor of the occasion, WalletHub released some interesting statistics.
In the United States, 56.1 percent of Americans plan to celebrate the occasion in some way, shape or form, with an estimated $5.3 billion to be spent today.
Food, of course, plays a major part in those expenditures. An estimated 31.4 percent of Americans plan to cook a special dinner today and there is a 70 percent increase in cabbage shipments this week to accommodate those meals.
And WalletHub reports that 82.5 percent of those celebrating today plan on wearing green.
Why green? We researched it, and found a report from the Christian Science Monitor which notes that the tradition stems from the early 1700s, when American revelers thought that wearing the color “made one invisible to leprechauns, fairy creatures who would pinch anyone they could see (anyone not wearing green).”
Today, those “leprechauns” tend to be humans who target those who aren’t wearing something green on St. Patrick’s Day.
For many adults, St. Patrick’s Day is about more than green clothing, leprechauns and corned beef and cabbage. In fact, it’s the 4th most popular drinking day in America, behind New Year’s Eve, Christmas and Independence Day, WalletHub reports. And worldwide, 13 millions pints of Guinness will be consumed.
The sad part is, every 72 minutes, an alcohol-related car accident claims a life on St. Patrick’s Day, WalletHub reports.
This year, with St. Patrick’s Day falling on a Friday, people might be inclined to throw caution to the wind, without fear of hangovers.
In Yuma, there’s no excuse to drink and get behind the wheel. Be smart, and have a designated driver. Or, leave the keys at home, and take a cab, Uber or Lyft to the festivities and back home again.
Make sure you — and those around you — get home safely tonight.
DO YOU AGREE WITH THIS OR NOT?
Here is my memory of St. Patrick’s Day:
61 years ago, on St. Patrick’s Day, my Marine boyfriend with three of our friends drove from Southern California to Yuma for us to be married in one of the many wedding chapels. We had known each other for nine weeks. He was 19 and I was 18 and by the time we were 25 and 23, we had three beautiful daughters. We live in South Dakota but are snowbirds every winter in Yuma! My husband is part Irish so he has that reason to celebrate the holiday. It’s been a wonderful life for us.