jmair Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 I know in several states here in the US, if you don't wear green in school, other kids get to pinch you. This morning at breakfast my 9 year old asked "Do they do that in Ireland?", referring to pinching other kids who aren't wearing green. My wife chimes in "I think they wear uniforms in school", that's when I went "Clearly none of us know squat about Ireland". So my question is. Do other countries partake in the annual St. Patrick's Day tradition of having a free pass to pinch somebody who isn't wearing green on St. Patrick's Day, (particularly Ireland)?
CAM Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 I've never heard of this practice before. And in the UK and Ireland it is very common for schools to have uniforms.
elsiegee40 Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 (edited) This one goes with dying beer green. We lived near a US base in the 1970s and the "Irish traditions" we got told about by the Yanks beggared belief and certainly most did not originate in Ireland. I suspect this one is closely related to "a pinch and a punch for the first in the month".... traditional respomse "a thump and a kick for being so thick" And hear's a Snopes thread on the subject http://message.snopes.com/showthread.php?t=58765 Edited March 17, 2015 by elsiegee40
LiamH Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 Living in the US now i notice it a lot. My wife (American) said she would pinch me this morning if I hadn't accidentally put on a green shirt. People have decorations up and green lights outside their house, I think Americans in general just love an excuse to be other the top! I understand a lot of Americans have Irish roots but I find the whole thing odd, especially when you hear 4th/5th generation Irish descendants talking with a full blown accent, noticed it with Italian descendants and Scottish too, they hold onto those roots more than full blown Scots/Irish/Italians do.
elsiegee40 Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 Apparently there are more Americans claiming Irish heritage than is mathematically possible
pcstru Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 This one goes with dying beer green. We lived near a US base in the 1970s and the "Irish traditions" we got told about by the Yanks beggared belief and certainly most did not originate in Ireland. Or they did, but all the people that did them were deported to the states.
LiamH Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 Apparently there are more Americans claiming Irish heritage than is mathematically possible I know when we have kids i'm going to be trying my best to give them the broadest Yorkshire accent I can. "Aye'up as'thee dun thee omewok yet love?"
MattDLEA Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 I know when we have kids i'm going to be trying my best to give them the broadest Yorkshire accent I can. "Aye'up as'thee dun thee omewok yet love?" I've taught my little one that horse is H'Os and she wont count unless the number one is pronounced in a Yorkshire accent to
Grey-gear Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 I don't think may countries partake in this event, not sure it's all that big in England (most likely wrong about this) just a reason to get drunk I guess.
hardtailstar Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 I think there is more Irish people in England too. All my friends celebrate it just as excuse to drink. I don't personally celebrate it as I am half English and Scottish.....
Garacesh Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 I know when we have kids i'm going to be trying my best to give them the broadest Yorkshire accent I can. "Aye'up as'thee dun thee omewok yet love?" You will simultaneously be the best parent in existence.. And arrested for violating the code of Human Rights. I don't really thing the English care about ol' Paddy that much, just an excuse to toss back the Guinness and be a lout (at least if round 'ere is anything to go by!).. Same for St. Patrick's day. Pubs use it as an excuse to get patrons in and the rest of us* use it as an excuse to knock a few down us in the name of patriotism. Personally, I partake in neither. * generally speaking.
LiamH Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 You will simultaneously be the best parent in existence.. And arrested for violating the code of Human Rights. I don't really thing the English care about ol' Paddy that much, just an excuse to toss back the Guinness and be a lout (at least if round 'ere is anything to go by!).. Same for St. Patrick's day. Pubs use it as an excuse to get patrons in and the rest of us* use it as an excuse to knock a few down us in the name of patriotism. Personally, I partake in neither. * generally speaking. If they have a English accent in America they will be good, amazing how much time i get to pitch idea's at work partly based on the fact people love listening to my accent!
mikeyd101 Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 Also Brit in a small town Texas, USA. I also worked for an Irish company for 12 years and never heard of pinching until today.
Ric_ Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 I didn't wear green and nobody offered to punch or pinch me Maybe Boston's Irish heritage means that they know it's not a thing... maybe people just hate me?
Dos_Box Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 I know when we have kids i'm going to be trying my best to give them the broadest Yorkshire accent I can. "Aye'up as'thee dun thee omewok yet love?" When we do shows in the US we often get 'I love your accent, where are you from?' from visitors to the stand. For Shaun it's easy. All he had to say was 'Aberdeen' and straight away they knew oil, whiskey, golf and could point to it on a map. Now, I'm from Preston and the conversation usually goes something like this: Where are you from? A little city called Preston I don't know that It's near Manchester Sorry Liverpool? No, I don't know where that is either Have you ever seen Wallace and Gromit? I've also lived and worked with plenty of Irish guys when I was in the army and never once heard about pinching. Drinking yes. Pinching no. Talking of pinching, St Patrick was British and was pinched as a chld by Irish pirates!
Ric_ Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 I checked with an American colleague who has Irish heritage. I shall quote his response: Fortunately not, though it sounds like the kind of stupid thing Americans would do on St. Pat's Day 1
LiamH Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 When we do shows in the US we often get 'I love your accent, where are you from?' from visitors to the stand. For Shaun it's easy. All he had to say was 'Aberdeen' and straight away they knew oil, whiskey, golf and could point to it on a map. Now, I'm from Preston and the conversation usually goes something like this: Where are you from? A little city called Preston I don't know that It's near Manchester Sorry Liverpool? No, I don't know where that is either Have you ever seen Wallace and Gromit? I've also lived and worked with plenty of Irish guys when I was in the army and never once heard about pinching. Drinking yes. Pinching no. Talking of pinching, St Patrick was British and was pinched as a chld by Irish pirates! I usually go down this route; Small town outside Bradford Its near Leeds Manchester? Sheffield? Do you watch game of thrones? Okay Sean Bean... Eddard Stark.. Yes I'm from Winterfell *facepalm* 1
elsiegee40 Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 (edited) We usually do OK with Manchester due to Manchester United ... The traditional response being a big smile and "David Beckham" When I lived in Harrogate, Leeds United did the same job. Now I just say I live near London, but have had people look mystified even then! Edited March 17, 2015 by elsiegee40
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now