Imagine this. Shamrocks and beads, glitter and gems, fur-balls
and crowns, the colors of green, white and orange…falling from the sky in a
myriad of madness and celebration, while the sound of bagpipes fill the air
like thunder to one’s ears, almost piercing through the sky like splashes of
starlight leaving a trail of glimmer behind.
This is a moving picture of what I painted in my mind’s eye of
St. Patrick’s Day 2013…only that I had this envisioned on 16th March
2013, the day before the celebration that was to take place at the South End of
Boston. It was a dream, a vision, a pure image of incredulity the night I lay
on the fluffiness of my bed. Boom. Bang. What? I had it all wrong! 17th
March 2013 proved to me that my vision, that moving picture that crept into my
mind in the darkness of the night…was nothing but an exaggeration and in fact, only
a dream that was partially accurate.
St. Patrick’s Day is a cultural and religious holiday celebrated
on the 17th of March. It commemorates Saint Patrick and the arrival
of Christianity in Ireland. This day is celebrated not only in Ireland, but
also in countries such as the United States, Canada, Britain, New Zealand,
Argentina and Australia.
Believe or not, blue was the original color associated with St.
Patrick’s Day. The shamrock (three-leaved clover) was used as an association to
the Holy Trinity in which Saint Patrick spoke about to the pagan Irish, and it
became a significant symbol of this day. The Irish soldiers wore green uniforms
in the 1798 rebellion to make a political statement. Thus, the wearing of the green means to wear a shamrock on one’s clothing
and so this explains the shift in its symbolic color from blue to green.
As I was mentioning, this year, J
and I decided to participate in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade that was held at
the South End of Boston. The train stations were packed and I hardly had any
breathing space. My nose was constantly almost brushing against the piece of
loose thread sticking out from the side of that lady’s pea coat! I felt as
though I was in an open-air club in broad daylight; people screaming with excitement,
music blasting…all that white noise. But it stirred up inside us an excitement
like none other, as we neared Andrew Station and observed all that green, white
and orange around us.
Andrew Station.
Spot-on passers-by.
This guy in shamrock glasses was so intrigued by me taking a picture that he had to pose. Haha.
People across the street from where we were.
Hungry kids digging into their pizzas and fries.
Decked in green!
After about 3 hours of patient waiting,
the parade officially started. Here are some captures from the event…enjoy!
Is that a market trolley?
The man himself showed up!
Amazing horses charging toward us.
These horses were pretty tame. Some even had shamrocks painted on them.
How could Coca Cola not miss this advertising opportunity? Love the retro display.
One of the many bagpipe groups.
People trying to climb over the barriers to run across to the other side. The police had to intervene.
Do you recognize this?
Miss Boston made an appearance.
I thought this was really cute. Eye-catching advertising by Gillette!
Going all out to be green.
This adorable princess was getting a little restless but still managed a smile for us!
The Elvis of Boston.
Hmm...renting fire engines? That's a first.
Notice how tiny these trucks are? How tiny are their drivers?
Not very tiny at all!
The Girl Scouts! Their hand-made cookies are to-die for.
He's not really who you think he is. Haha. Captain Jack Sparrow!
The Boston Bruins.
Yep, the garbage truck companies did not want to get left out from the parade either. Don't worry, no pungent smells were detected.
Amazing cyclists.
Have a good one!
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