I rather prefer the unofficial holidays in March,by unofficial I mean not moved to a Monday to give government and bank workers an extra day off,that has always seemed presumptuous to me, moving the actual day of a holiday just to get a three day weekend.
First up is Pi 3.14 Day (3/14), there are many ways of celebrating Pi Day,eating pie being one and discussing the mathematical constant is another.
St. Urho day is next up on 3/16. Though a Finnish centered celebration it started in the U.S. in Minnesota in the 1950's where there is a large Finnish population. The legend of St. Urho says he chased the grasshoppers out of Finland,saving the grape crop and jobs of the vineyard workers. His feast is celebrated by wearing the colors Royal Purple and Nile Green. 
March 17th is the more well known of these three with parades and celebrations held in many cities around the world. Most people believe St. Patrick's Day is celebrated because he drove the snakes out of Ireland,but the modern day celebration has almost nothing to do with the real man. The real St. Patrick wasn't even Irish. He was born in Britain around A.D. 390 to an aristocratic Christian family. At age 16 he was kidnapped and sent to tend sheep as a slave in Ireland for 7 years. According to folklore a voice came to Patrick in his dreams telling him to escape. He found passage on a pirate ship back to Britain,where he was reunited with his family. He got ordained as a priest and the voice came to him again telling him to return to Ireland and convert the Irish to Christianity. According to lore,Patrick used the three leaves of a shamrock to explain the holy trinity.
As far as the snake myth goes,snakes never did exist on the island. St. Patrick died March 17,461.
First up is Pi 3.14 Day (3/14), there are many ways of celebrating Pi Day,eating pie being one and discussing the mathematical constant is another.
St. Urho day is next up on 3/16. Though a Finnish centered celebration it started in the U.S. in Minnesota in the 1950's where there is a large Finnish population. The legend of St. Urho says he chased the grasshoppers out of Finland,saving the grape crop and jobs of the vineyard workers. His feast is celebrated by wearing the colors Royal Purple and Nile Green. March 17th is the more well known of these three with parades and celebrations held in many cities around the world. Most people believe St. Patrick's Day is celebrated because he drove the snakes out of Ireland,but the modern day celebration has almost nothing to do with the real man. The real St. Patrick wasn't even Irish. He was born in Britain around A.D. 390 to an aristocratic Christian family. At age 16 he was kidnapped and sent to tend sheep as a slave in Ireland for 7 years. According to folklore a voice came to Patrick in his dreams telling him to escape. He found passage on a pirate ship back to Britain,where he was reunited with his family. He got ordained as a priest and the voice came to him again telling him to return to Ireland and convert the Irish to Christianity. According to lore,Patrick used the three leaves of a shamrock to explain the holy trinity.As far as the snake myth goes,snakes never did exist on the island. St. Patrick died March 17,461.
so if I want to totally avoid snakes I only have a few options - Hawaii or Ireland? Either one sounds great to me.
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