While February is the shortest month on the calendar – Leap Year not withstanding – it can often feel as long as waiting in the deli counter line at Shop Rite. Seriously, I’ve witnesses relationships begin and end all while waiting to order and receive a half a pound of Black Bear chicken breast. The second month of the year is just depressing – football season ends (Yea Giants!), the weather is just dreary and cold (usually), Valentine’s Day can make one feel like they play for NJIT’s basketball team and I think the NHL has an All-Star game but one can’t be quite sure.

But then those annoying decorative pink and red hearts eventually give way to cheerful and happy looking green shamrocks. Much like the red chest of the robin and the crocuses breaking through barren looking soil, these emblems of Irish pride are a clear indicator that Spring isn’t too far away.

With Guinness served from Boston to Barcelona, St. Patrick’s Day is a worldwide celebration. It seems like no matter where you go, there is an Irish pub. Here in Hoboken, St Patrick’s Day is celebrated a little earlier than the actual holiday – this year a whole 16 days prior. Local tradition dictates the parade takes place on the first Saturday of March. But we aren’t the only ones to celebrate early this year. Because March 17th falls on Monday of Holy Week and no liturgical services in honor of a saint can be celebrated during Holy Week (the time period between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday for those of you scratching your heads), most religious observances of this once secular holiday will take place on Saturday, March 15th. In many cities and towns, parades and other festivities have also been moved – even though NYC will still paint the town green on the 17th.

As far as I am concerned, you can never celebrate St Paddy’s day enough – March is like Irish Mardi Gras!

The green stripe that adorns Washington Street on March 1st indicates the celebration of all things Irish: our culture, our ancestry, our struggles, our faith and our contributions to the world. The green stripe means it is St. Patrick’s Day… and you just thought it was a reason to party, which is definitely something else the Irish are good at.

So before you head out to drink a few pints and down a couple of Irish Car Bombs, here are some interesting facts that you can use to enlighten and impress that fair-haired lad or freckled lass that you might have the pleasure of meeting while celebrating the great people called the Irish.

(Drinking Tip O’the day: Irish Car Bombs really only work with real shot glasses – those plastic ones, best used for Jell-o shots, just float instead of sinking like the Titanic)

St. Patrick: Better known as Naomh Padraig (if you speak Gaelic) is the Patron saint of Ireland who is credited with bringing Christianity to the Emerald Isle, and hence caused hundreds of years of Irish Catholic guilt. If you’ve ever read Angela’s Ashes, you know what I mean. But shockingly enough, St. Patrick himself was not Irish. Born in the late 4th century in Wales, Maewyn, as he was originally named, arrived in Ireland when he was sold into slavery at the age of 16 after he was kidnapped from his wealthy family. It was during this time that he became a devout Christian, using faith to cope with his unfortunate situation. Eventually, he escaped and became a missionary.

Because of his familiarity with the Irish, he was given the task of converting the pagans, who at the time followed the Druid priests. It is during this period that he became known as Patrick. In addition to helping bring Christianity to the Irish, legend also has it that St. Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland. Unfortunately, this is probably false because it is believed that there have never been snakes in Ireland. More likely, this myth evolved out of the belief that St. Patrick abolished pagan rites which often used the serpent as a symbol. Hence, ridding the land of paganism, he got rid of the snakes. It is also thought that he died on March 17, which is why his feast day is celebrated on that day. In Ireland, it is not only a holy day but a national holiday. The Irish actually get the day off!

Speaking of it being a National Holiday, Guinness is looking to make St. Patrick’s an official holiday. Sign the petition if you agree!

Shamrocks: Quite possibly the image most often associated with the Irish and St. Patrick ’s Day. (Surprisingly, it is the Celtic harp that is the national symbol of Ireland.) Considered a source of good luck, the clover was used by St. Patrick to help explain the Holy Trinity to the pagans. For those of you who did not have 18 – yes, 18 – years of Catholic education, the Holy Trinity is made up of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost and they exist as one entity.

The shamrock was a sacred symbol prior to St. Patrick as well. The Celts used the clover to symbolize the rebirth of spring. Later, during the 17th century when the English were wrecking havoc across the land and making life insufferable for the native Irish by suppressing the use of the Irish language and the practice of Catholicism, the shamrock emerged as a symbol of pride and a way of express displeasure with the English.

The Parade: New York maybe known as the Big Apple but it could be call the Big Shamrock because the first St. Patrick’s Day celebration took place right in 1762 when Irish soldiers serving in the British Army gathered to listen to Irish music and enjoy a little bit of home. Over the past 300 years, the New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade has grown in to the largest in the world with more than 150,000 marchers and millions of spectators. Over the centuries, the parade has become a way of celebrating Irish pride and power, even in times where the ethnic group was widely looked down upon and mocked.

It has only been more recently that St. Patrick’s Day has grown in Ireland into the kind of celebration we know it as. Traditionally more of a religious occasion, pubs were actually closed (gasp!) up until the 1970’s. As tourist flocked to the country to celebrate, the government realized that they had a unique opportunity on their hands. In the 1990’s the St. Patrick’s Festival was born.

Fightin’ Irish: The University of Notre Dame du Lac, a school widely associated with Irish Catholics, was actually founded by a French priest named Father Sorin. The school’s full name is French for "Our Lady of the Lake." So how did a school in Northern Indiana, founded by a Frenchman and whose football program grew famous under a legendary Norwegian coach, become known as the Fighting Irish? Well, there is some debate about exactly where it came from but the term was officially adopted by the school in 1927 and the widely held belief is that term was coined by the press. According to the Notre Dame Football media guide, the nickname was supposed to characterize the school’s athletic teams "never-say-die fighting spirit and their Irish qualities of grit, determination and tenacity."

Unfortunately, the term most like started as a negative and abusive expression, as Irish immigrants and their offspring were not held in high regard at the time and the football team was made up of mostly Irish kids. But instead of letting the term remain a negative one, the nickname was embraced as a way of recognizing the struggles and heritage of those who played for the University. It was almost like they were saying "You want to call us that? Fine, because you know what? We’re gonna kick you’re ass!" Prior to that, Notre Dame competed under the nicknames "Catholics" and the "Ramblers". The Leprechaun became the school’s official mascot in 1965.

(And lately, the Irish have fallen on hard times on the gridiron. But the Notre Dame faithful – students, alums and the famous Subway Alumni – all know that tradition never graduates and the "fight" will be back and it will be wearing Blue and Gold! Oh yeah – and our basketball ain’t to shabby either!)

Claddagh Ring: Frequently spotted on the hands of those claiming Irish descent, the ring is often referred to as the Irish friendship ring and used as a traditional wedding ring. The Claddagh is a heart held by a pair of hands and adorned by a crown. The hands represent friendship, the heart love and the crown loyalty.

The trick of the ring is in how it is worn. On the right hand, with the crown in and the heart pointing out, the wearer is free and their heart is open. If you want her, go a courtin’. However, if on the right hand with the crown out and the heart pointing inward, the wearer is taken and love is being considered… so layoff. Lastly, if the ring is worn on the left hand with crown out, the wearer is happily married.

Celtic Cross: Not just a band! This traditional cross has a circle overlying at the points where the lines meet. Legend has it that St. Patrick (this dude was very busy apparently) created the cross, again combining a pagan symbol (the circle which may represent the moon or the sun) with the Christian symbol. The circle now has a few meanings. It can be a symbol of God’s endless love or a symbol for eternity or it may represent a halo.

Irish Americans: Since 1820, almost 5 million immigrants have arrived on the shores of America from Ireland. Today, 34 million Americans claim Irish ancestry, second only to those who claim German ancestry. During the Great Potato Famine of the 1840’s, millions of Irish Catholics came across the pond to escape the persecution of the British and this is the time period to where many of Irish ancestry can trace their roots.

Life was not was not easy for those who braved the journey. Many found work as manual laborers or domestics. A good portion of the buildings that stand today were built with the blood, sweat and tears of the Irish. The common stereotype of Irish Americans was one of a person with a fiery temper, prone to violence and with a fondness for the drink, which lead to alcoholism.

Hoboken St Patrick’s Day: Last year, the city implemented a zero tolerance policy to help stem some of the wild and Bourbon Street-like behavior that was starting to enhance or ruin the day, depending on your POV. This policy means you can get tickets for disorderly conduct, public urination (yuck), open container and public drinking. Lest you say you don’t know about the regulations, VERY LARGE posters will be on display throughout the Mile Square, many at the bars. Last year, the fines collected totaled more than half a million dollars, which is more than enough to cover the costs of police and sanitation overtime related to the Parade. I mean, why should bar owners be asked to help pick up the tab – it’s the city that puts on the parade and if they didn’t, the city probably wouldn’t be such a popular destination.

Bars will again open at 11:00 AM – the old days of open at 6:00 AM have gone the way of a Knicks' winning season. Also like 2007, 16 port-o-potties will be in strategic locations and this is courtesy of the bar owners who will be picking up the $1,650 tab. Hopefully they will have remembered to stock up on toilet paper. And beware - the Hoboken SWAT team may reunite to relive their ill-fated New Orleans charity (party) trip.

Enjoy your celebration, hold your liquor as best you can, remember to eat and drink some water occasionally, don’t be an asshole and be generous to the bagpipers.

I will leave you with these thoughts:

There are many good reasons for drinking,
One has just entered my head.
If a man doesn't drink when he's living,
How in the hell can he drink when he's dead?

'Sláinte chuig na fir, agus go mairfidh na mná go deo.'
(Health to the men, and may the women live forever!)

Amanda Dwyer is semi-regular contributor to realhoboken and as far as records indicate, she is 100% Irish. She is still trying to decide which of her many green shirts to wear when out and about on Saturday. Send any comments to realhoboken@yahoo.com or post them in our message forum.