Little Books of Savannah

Well, here it comes. St. Patrick’s Day in Savannah. If you are not familiar with St. Patrick’s Day, or St. Patrick’s Day in Savannah, GA, then let me fill you in. Savannah, or more specifically the Savannah Saint Patrick’s Day Parade Committee, puts on one of the biggest, if not THE BIGGEST St. Patrick’s Day Parades in the country. Not only does Savannah put on this spectacular St. Patrick’s Day Parade, but it also hosts essentially the biggest St. Patrick’s Day Party around. If you’ve never been, you owe it to yourself to go. It really is something else. If you have been, then you know what I am talking about. There really are no words to describe the celebration. Suffice to say, “It Rocks!”

For one thing, about 250,000 visitors come into the area for St. Patrick’s Day in Savannah. This pretty much doubles the population of the metropolitan area. So if you like crowds, then you will love the festivities. If you do not like crowds, then stay away from Savannah on St. Patrick’s Day or any day near or around St. Patrick’s Day because the festival usually last from 5-7 days. And that’s all I’ve got to say about that. Also, if you enjoy alcoholic beverages, then you will be in heaven. For those of us who do not drink, there is still a lot of fun to be had. From the Mass at the beautiful Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, to parade going, to people watching, to enjoying green grits with breakfast, to the bands playing down on River Street and up in City Market, and pretty much everywhere else, to checking out the green fountains flowing in the parks and squares, and eating lots of corned beef brisket with cabbage and potatoes, one can find many things to do besides drinking.

If one did find themselves without anything else to do, one could always take to collecting beads. This is a custom similar to the one carried out at Mardi Gras in New Orleans. But be cautious if you do begin amassing a collection of beads around the neck. Some bead givers may expect more than you are ready to give in exchange for a string of the colored beads.

Whatever you do this St. Patrick’s Day weekend–whether you come to Savannah or not–be careful and stay safe. Above all, DO NOT drink and drive. It is not only dangerous, but it is stupid.

So that is pretty much St. Patrick’s Day in Savannah in a nutshell. I have written a poem I would like to share about St. Patrick’s Day in Savannah, entitled, what else? St. Patrick’s Day in Savannah. It is from my book The Little Poetry Book of Savannah. Enjoy….

St. Patrick’s Day in Savannah

The beautiful, sacred Cathedral

Of St. John the Baptist,

Worshipping and praising,

Celebrating St. Patrick,

The patron saint of Ireland,

Steeple spires reaching to the high heavens…

A parade to beat all parades,

Green, green, glorious green,

A party to beat all parties,

Beads, beads, glorious beads,

River Street like you’ve never seen,

People, people, everywhere.

What a day!

Unbelievable!

Imagine the unsuspecting tourists

Coming to see historic sites

And enjoy Savannah’s laid back pace,

Seeing water in the fountains

Flow and splash and spray liquid emeralds,

Like the bright green beer down on the river

And at City Market,

And everywhere…

Man, oh man, what a spectacle!

The luckiest day of their lives?

One thing is for sure.

The display definitely ranks high

As something to call home about!

St. Patrick’s Day in Savannah….holy revelry!

Don Newman (2012)