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WHEN it comes to St Patrick’s Day do you don a Guinness hat and wave green tinsel? Are you dying to sup too much of the black stuff or looking forward to heading out on parade because it reminds you of home?
If so prepare to take on the wrath of atheist celebrant Jeanne Rathbone, who has hit out at March 17 celebrations for being “hijacked by commercialism” and says the Irish should look to St Brigid’s Day as an alternative feast day.
“The last time I had a look at St Patrick’s celebrations in Trafalgar Square it looked very tokenistic, with the likes of Boris Johnson saying we should give the Irish their bit,” she said. “It is just so full of that paddywhackery, the Guinness hats and all that nonsense.”
Jeanne RathboneThe London-based humanist, who performed the funeral of Irish comedy legend Dave Allen, said Irish people could seek out an “antidote” to those celebrations by gathering with friends and family for St Brigid’s Day, February 1.
“It would not be a case of letting the pub take over,” she said. “Instead the day would encourage people to do something at home like explaining the St Brigid’s cross and what she was about, playing Irish music, having a go at making soda bread or potato cakes and things like that.”
The 67-year-old Galway native added that public performances of Irish plays, films and poetry could take place in cities around Britain on the day.
It could also mark the start of an “Irish season” that would include numerous cultural events across the country in the six weeks leading up to St Patrick’s Day, she said.
“We have lost touch with our roots and need to reclaim our heritage with an authentic celebration of it again,” she added.
“St Patrick’s Day celebrations these days completely miss the small and intimate things that people should be doing at home or with friends and family.”
See More: Irish, Jeanne Rathbone, St Patrick's Day
