After Ireland canceled all St. Patrick’s Day parades, it seemed only a matter of time before the United States would too.
Sure enough:
New York City’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade, the largest such celebration in the world, was postponed late Wednesday over concerns about the spread of the coronavirus, the first time in more than 250 years that the event will not go on as planned.
The announcement, made in a statement by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and parade organizers, followed the cancellation of St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in Chicago in and Boston. Ireland on Monday canceled all parades nationwide.
(The New York Times, March 11, 2020)
Not only have parades been canceled, but pubs/bars across Ireland and the United States have been closed as well in a desperate bid to stop the spread of the coronavirus. What’s more, event organizers worldwide seem bound to follow the guidance the CDC issued on Monday to cancel all gatherings of 50 or more people.
Never mind that, in his Johnny-come-lately, mine-is-bigger-than-yours fashion, President Trump one-upped the CDC on Tuesday. Only this explains the show he made of issuing guidelines to cancel all gatherings of 10 or more people.
But these cancelations and closures do not prohibit celebrating the luck of the Irish in non-public ways. So here’s to the old-fashioned House Party!
Just don’t overdo it – not by drinking too much but by inviting too many people to drink.