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College Student’s Rite of Spring: St. Patrick’s Day

The weather is getting warmer, flowers are starting to bloom and spring is right around the corner.  No doubt, college students will be searching through their closets for something green to wear for St. Patrick’s Day.  While less than 15% of American’s can trace their roots to the Emerald Isle, it seems like most students lay claim to being Irish on March 17.  What started as a Catholic holiday honoring St. Patrick, one of its revered saints, has been transformed into one of the biggest social events of spring on college campuses.

In 1737, the Irish immigrants and the British Colonial Army marched down the streets of Boston, Massachusetts where the first St. Patrick’s Day parade was celebrated. This day, would be the first of many Irish culture parades that is celebrated by not just people but brands as well.

College campuses have created their own traditions to celebrate. Iona College became so anxious in September about the holiday, they hosted a “half-way to St. Patrick’s day” concert. Iona College may be very eager, but it isn’t the only university excited about the day of the Irish. Numerous campuses host parades, brunches and events. The top 10 colleges who share the pot of gold for The Most Irish Colleges[1] follow:

1. Boston University–This number one ranking may not surprise many people, given that Boston has the highest concentration of people of Irish descent of any American city.  The university celebration merges with the community festivities, as crowds gather festooned with green, white, and orange. The first St. Patrick’s Day was celebrated in this city of 70 sq. miles and the students of this city are going to make sure it’s always celebrated right. According to the Huffington Post College article, “The College boasts a world-renowned collection of Irish literature, an Irish Fiddle Festival, and an Irish Institute.” Can’t really celebrate being Irish much more than that!
2. Northeastern University–students taking advantage of the proximity to Boston, know how to celebrate!
3. Fordham University–The University’s location allows students to enjoy New York City’s St. Pat’s Parade and the multitude of Irish pubs make for an entertaining day.
4. Dartmouth College
5. Trinity College–Near Dublin–Need we say more…the capital city of Ireland!
6. Penn State-Students may need to do more private partying, as the city subsidized local bars to not serve alcohol on the expected celebration date, March 16.
7. Notre Dame “The Fighting Irish” Will the celebration be diminished, as March 17 is the last day of the students Spring Break?
8. Liverpool
9. Iona College If your nickname is the Gael’s and your band is comprised of bagpipes, you take St. Pat’s Day seriously.
10. University of Albany This school socialized a little too much and the administration shifted spring break to fall over St. Pat’s Day, diminishing the students in town for the holiday.

As the festivities begin, a glass is taken from the shelf, a fresh bottle is cracked open, and poured slowly into the glass…what type of drink could it be? Many college students are eligible to consume alcoholic beverages, but for the ones who are not, there are a couple Irish brands who didn’t forget about them. By using social media, Jameson Whiskey and Guinness beer were able to come up with creative ways for everyone to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.

Jameson Whiskey: “Embrace Your Irish Spirit”

This year, you don’t have to be 21 to celebrate with Jameson Whiskey! On March 17^th Jameson is not only celebrating in the physical world, they’re celebrating in the virtual world. On their homepage, Jameson is hosting St. Patrick’s Day Live Dublin, where they will feature the whole Bombay Bicycle Set live and “bring you an authentic live Dublin experience to the world”. The site also includes a pervious video from the Bombay Bicycle Set, a broadcasting link and a St. Patrick’s Day Party Kit. Jameson isn’t leaving anybody out this year, no wonder they are one of the best-selling Irish brands!

Guinness Beer: “Help Guinness Give Back”

To get ready for the upcoming holiday Guinness is hosting a Helping Guinness Give Back event, for a good cause! Guinness is using their webpage and texting to get customers attention, by texting “Guinness + your name to 878787” the brand is going to donate $1 to the Leary Firefighters Foundation. That may seem like enough, but there’s more! After texting your name it gets submitted into a $100,000 pour, where you are able to visit their website and see your name in the class of Guinness to show how much money has been raised for the firefighters.  Guinness is definitely giving back to everybody who has given to them.

Students will have plenty of choices on how to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.  You can be sure they will be out in numbers, sporting green attire, and finding ways to warm their souls and celebrate this classic ‘rite of spring.’

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