We live on the park in New York where there seems to be a parade at least a few times a month for every possible nationality there is. One of the biggest is St. Patrick's Day, which of course thrills my husband. There's nobody named Donahue who doesn't love a St. Patrick's Day parade. Phil and I marched in the parade one year, green beer and all!
My brother and sister and I also marched in the Italian Parade to celebrate my mother's side of our family. It was very lively and fun, just like my mother. In fact, all the parades I've ever watched are joyful and exuberant celebrations and everyone who marches in them is very, very proud of their heritage.
While many parades are celebrations of national heritage, others celebrate holidays like the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, which thrills kids of all ages and has become a holiday tradition unto itself. Other parades have been inspired by a cause, like the Gay Pride Parade that began as a social statement and went on to become one of the most fun, colorful and outrageous parades of the year.
But regardless of the cause, the holiday or the nationality, it's the shared excitement and sense of belonging that gives a parade its meaning and energy. It's the feeling that we are a part of a larger whole, and that we can all celebrate one another. After all, you don't have to be Irish to enjoy the St. Patrick's Day parade (I'm Italian and Lebanese!) any more than you need to be gay to celebrate Pride.
A great parade is more than just a street party - it's an opportunity to come together and connect with others in a traditional, fun and joyful way. And in a world where people are increasingly divided by politics and isolated by technology, that's a good thing.
So, that's why I love a good parade, but it's not just the big ones that count! All around the world, people have been coming together and starting parades in celebration of some very unique and often hilarious themes. Take a look at our slideshow of some of the most wacky, colorful and kooky parades taking place today. I had no idea these were even out there!
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Join our Irish Heritage program April 14-22 http://cubapeopletopeople.blogspot.com/2012/02/irish-heritage-program-april-14-21.html
I know you're tired of it, but I've got to say I've been CRAZY into TG since they recently started showing it again here in Chicago. Your look and spirit were literally in a class by themselves-and STILL there’s nobody that can carry that off. I wonder if coming home from school and seeing That Show every day way back then left a weird imprint on me; is that why I moved to NY for my acting career? 'Course I also watched a lot of Batman, and no tights, so maybe that theory is flawed.
Speaking of Chicago, I'm sure you recall from your days out here with Phil how St. Patty's is...well, "eventful."
So I recently did some Marlo research and am amazed with all you and your family have done for others. And everybody still looks great! Wow.
not to mention it having been impossible for "saint" patrick to have driven all the "serpents" from ireland... considering that reptiles have never lived in ireland in anything resembling recent geological history...
more likely that "serpents" refers to the burning and killing of countless pagan irish men and women that happened with the coming of the church.
Could be ... except that that never happened.
One does need to be straight though, or need to be pretending to be straight.