In the past, I have done this type of article before; i.e. the bastardization of religious holidays into secular excuses to over-spend, over-eat, and over-drink. Probably the worst victim has been St. Patrick's Day. Like Mardi-Gras, it has become a near orgiastic smut fest. An opportunity for women to wear stupid looking hats and thigh-high stockings, guys to act idiotic and drink green beer, and kids to eat little clover shaped cookies and drink disgusting shamrock shakes. In it's new form, just as the consumer culture successfully did with St. Valentine's Day, now just Valentine’s Day, the new feast day is stripped of all original meaning. It's become hollow. I have not been immune; I vividly recall, during my time in porn, at a Castro party, a man running about, screaming “Happy St. Patrick's Day,” while sporting a greenish glow-in-the-dark condom and a leprechaun mask. These evil little imps are the new symbols of the Holy Saint's day. And, although my example is a gross illustration: to what degree have all of us literally bought into the destruction of our religious heritage? My prayer: as St. Patrick once banished the snakes from Ireland, may he intercede in this crazy world and reclaim his day.
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