Happy St Joseph's Day!

St. Joseph, husband to Mary and foster father of Jesus, has his saint's day today. Many people in Quebec celebrate the husband of the Mother of Our Lord, in response to the widely celebrated patron saint of the Emerald Island, St Patrick.

"SO!" you ask, "what of that day?"

Having lost a lot of weight during my stay here in Japan, I can finally fit into a Celtics Football shirt, that was definitely too tight on me when I would throw it on last summer, but now fits me better. Now, I only look like I have gone to seed in it. For me, that is a triumph. It was a clear day, and I walked to Murphy's. St Patrick's in Japan is definelty not the marketing extravaganza as it is in the states. But, no matter where there is an Irish presence, especially Irish American, there is a celebration on the feast day. It used to be that about 15 to 20 years ago, the only thing that would happen in Ireland would be that people go to church, and that heavy drinking was not specifically associated with that day. Not specifically associated, anyway. For example, if St Pat's was on a Tuesday, the heavy drinking would be known as "Tuesday Night."

But, the feast day has become something else entirely for the US's and Canada's Irish Population (hereto referred as Irish-Americans). As a way to extol the virtues of kin and clan, various groups would get together and organize cultural things, and then go to the pub and "have a few for the Saint." So, we now have the brew-ha-ha that we do today, pun intended. Curiously, this tradition has now been re-imported into Ireland itself, where a newfound hope rises, and so do the bar bills.

What about St. Patricks day in Japan? Well, as mentioned before, if there is an ex-pat community which speaks English in any country, there is bound to be an Irish bar, and therefore St. Patrick is celebrated. In Osaka, the party went on long into the night, and, in some ways, it was just like any other Friday night, with some notable exceptions: green and white decorations, ass-to-elbow amounts of people, and, you guessed it, green beer. "So, do you drink green beer on St. Patrick's Day?" As a general rule, I find the custom to be ridiculous, and refuse to partake. But, this year, the beer was Sapporo, not the usual crap disguised with food colouring that they push on you. I drank green, Japanese beer, and loved it. Plus it was cheap. However, not all the night was consumed in alcoholic abandon; I decided a good way to have some fun, entertain myself, and meet Japanese people would be to concoct a fun survey, and canvas the joint for interviewees.