I don’t know a lot about my ancestors before they arrived on the North American continent. I know that both sides of my family have European roots. My father’s people came from Germany by a complex route, going to Russia before emigrating to the Eastern part of the United States. My mother’s family is mostly from England, with a few Scottish relatives as well. When I was young I had red hair and a temper to match, so often was asked if I was a bit Irish. Once, when I asked my mother about Irish roots in reference to the celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, she answered that if I had any Irish ancestors, they wouldn’t have celebrated St. Patrick’s Day, but rather celebrated Orangemen’s Day on July 12 - the day commemorating the Protestant king’s victory over Catholic king James II.

We didn’t make too big of a deal about St. Patrick’s Day in our home when I was growing up. However, I remember being careful to make sure I wore a bit of green on St. Patrick’s Day simply because it was a good way to avoid getting pinched at school. Besides, with a father who was a John Deere machinery dealer, there were plenty of green items in my wardrobe.

When we lived in Chicago, however, St. Patrick’s Day was a big deal. A lot of businesses were closed. They dyed the Chicago River green. There was a big parade down town and the streets of the parade route had new stripes painted on them - with green paint instead of yellow. One year a group of us had just returned from a class trip and I was selected to return the rental car on St. Patrick’s Day. I had forgotten about the holiday, and found myself trapped for a very long time in traffic that simply was not moving. When I boarded the train to go home, it was packed.

One of the leaders of the first church that we served was very Irish and made a big deal out of the celebration of St. Patrick’s Day. He and I have become lifelong friends and I try to send him greetings on the holiday each year.

Things are a bit different around here. In Bellingham where we work and go to church, the St. Patrick’s Day parade isn’t even held on March 17. It is held on a Saturday. This year’s parade is set for this weekend on March 11. The parade is dedicated to the fire fighters and police officers of the city. I know there is a long-standing connection between the profession of fire fighting and the Irish, and in Chicago the police force was known to have many Irish officers. Perhaps those service professions have seen more people with Irish descent than others. At any rate around here there is an association between the professions and St. Patrick’s Day.

The web site with information about the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade, encourages “family-friendly and nonpolitical groups” to participate. I’ve never attended a St. Patrick’s Day parade in Bellingham and probably won’t attend this year. Saturdays are days when our grandchildren do not go to school and we generally plan family events. Of course the parade is supposed to be family-friendly and it might not be a bad thing to take the children to see, but so far we have no such plans.

The March holiday in our family is our son’s birthday. He was born on the Ides of March and it is a day filled with memories for us as his parents. We’re very proud of him. His birthday lands on Wednesday this week, which is likely a busy work day for him, so we may do a bit of celebrating on another day of the week.

In Shakespeare’s play, Julias Caesar, a soothsayer warns Caesar, “Beware the Ides of March.” The tradition of settling debts on the Ides of March was a Roman custom and it was that day in 44BC that Caesar was stabbed to death at a meeting of the Senate. As many as 60 conspirators, led by Brutus and Cassius, were involved. In Roman times, each month had an ides or idus. It was usually the 15th, though in earlier times it was the date of the full moon each month. The 15th became the ides in March, May, July and October. The other months had their ides on the 13th. The superstitious vibe of the day came only after the assassination of Caesar. It is unlikely that we would even know about traditions around the ides were it not for Shakespeare’s Play.

I suspect that there will be lots of participants in the St. Patrick’s Day parade who won’t be thinking of the Ides of March, especially since the parade will be held before the Ides. Then again, I suspect that there will be plenty of participants who have no Irish heritage. The wearing of the green doesn’t seem to require a test of one’s genetics in order for one to be accepted as a celebrant.

It is likely that I will forget all about the holiday and my choice of clothing. I don’t own many items of clothing that are green these days. And I am unlikely to get pinched. I think that tradition is fading. My granddaughters, however, are likely to be wearing green on March 17. They both have bright green boots and they wear their boots to school most days. There is no shortage of mud at the farm this time of the year and boots are easy to pull on when heading out the door. There are no laces to tie. The girls tend to wear their green boots every day.

However and whenever you celebrate, I hope you have a good day. I’m sending my greetings along early this year just in case your celebration doesn’t land on the 17th. I suspect that by the time the 17th rolls around, I will have at least had the opportunity to eat a slice of birthday cake. I’m looking forward to the celebration.