A St. Paddy’s with the Babies

Since I love St. Patrick's Day, I'm entering this to Things I Love Thursday hosted by The Diaper Diaries here! If you'd like to share something you're loving today, feel free to join in!



Time to don some green again as St. Patrick’s Day is here! Although originally celebrated as a religious holiday in Ireland, it has crossed over to America and has taken on a more festive flavor. If you haven’t noticed yet, at mid-March, streets are splashed with green and people shift into high spirits. Boy, do we know how to party!

Today, St. Patrick’s Day is welcomed with much merriment through parades, lots of drinking and feasting, and the wearing of green. It is also become a custom to playfully pinch anyone who isn’t wearing green on this day!

HOW IT ALL BEGAN

But if you’d like to know its origins, St. Patrick’s Day is actually an annual feast day that celebrates an Irish saint named Patrick. He is the most commonly recognized among the patron saints of Ireland and his feast is generally celebrated on the 17th of March. It is observed by people of Irish descent all over the world, although it has increasingly crossed over to other ethnicities as well.

It is a well-loved festivity and has been received warmly in the United States. One reason may be because it takes place just a few days before the first day of spring. So it is almost as if it has become the first green of spring.

ST. PADDY'S IN THE U.S.

In Chicago, it would be impossible to miss the Chicago River dyed a cool vibrant green, plus a jolly parade with Irish dancers, pipe bands, spectacular floats and other Irish entertainment. In Washington, the most notable celebration is their Shamrock Festival, which features over 50 bands, Irish dancers and Irish-themed games. In St. Louis, their parade includes various marching bands, character balloons, Irish steppers/dancers, and equestrians. And several bars offer festive drinks and food. And then, of course, there’s New York. Whether a New Yorker goes to church, the parade or a pub, this is undeniably one of the city's most exuberant celebrations. New Yorkers go green: green clothes, green flowers, green hats, and even green beers, green bagels, green water fountains, and a green Empire State Building. Truly, everyone’s Irish on March 17th!

GOING GREEN WITH BABY

But if you can’t join the merry-making because you don’t want your poor little baby getting scrunched up in the crowd, why not have a little celebration of your own? I’m sure that a lot of boutiques will take part of the holiday and offer adorable St. Patrick’s Day-themed baby items.

* Drench your little one in all-green baby gear
From four-leaf clover hair accessories to baby leprechaun costumes to glittery green shoes! And if you are lucky, maybe you can even find a toy pot of gold among the baby items! (If you find a pot of real gold, call me.)

* Crank up some Irish music and do a little Irish jig with your baby
And what baby can resist the fun in some lively dancing? Of course, you will have to make sure that she stays a baby leprechaun without her costume flying all over the place as you dance.

* Here, Clippy, Clippy
I'm sure having to clip and re-clip your baby’s hair accessories is not a favorite chore of yours. Especially when it ends up in her mouth and might even choke her! Those clips seem so small and harmless, but you can never be too careful. So when you choose her baby gear, make sure that the hair accessories are guaranteed non-slip.

You’d want them to stay put on her hair, but you would not want them too tight that they hurt her. Some brands have clips lined with material to ensure the clip’s soft grip. So they rest soft on her head and she might not even notice them ;o)

* Let the fun begin!
Now go look for that rainbow, pick some four-leaf clovers and enjoy this day of fun and festivity while keeping your baby safe!