Happy St. Patrick’s Day

I hope you’re wearing green today. Otherwise, watch out for punches and pinches! (I have never understood that tradition, so you are safe from me if you are wearing your favorite pink sweater today.)

Growing up in an Irish-American household, we have always celebrated St. Patrick’s Day with the wearin’ o’ the green and a big dinner of corned beef and cabbage. I’m down with the green, but the roommate is out of town, and it seemed a bit silly to make corned beef and cabbage just for myself.

St. Patrick’s Day is also associated with money in a number of ways. I’m not sure how a lot of these supersititions and stories started, but I find it interesting that luck is often equated with a large sum of money. The most obvious example of this is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Many have heard of the tradition of a bride putting a penny or a sixpence in her shoe for her wedding, but this is also common with an Irish penny, as it is said to lead to prosperity.

One of my favorite superstitions is that if your palm itches, you will be getting money, but if your elbow itches, you will be changing beds. Depending on your situation, the latter could be considered lucky or unlucky!

On this very lucky day, let’s hear about your money superstitions? If you see a penny on the ground, do you pick it up and believe that “all day long you’ll have good luck?” What if it’s tails up? Still lucky, or very unlucky?