You know, here in Chicago it goes on for a week before and up until the actual day anyway...there are countless events at bars and two parades...Irish musicians make their nut for the year all week long...it's St. Patrick's WEEK in these parts.

They used to have a serious problem if the day fell during the week because a huge percentage of City Workers would call in sick and then be found drinking in the bars downtown and marching (or staggering as the case may be) in the parade. I think that they've managed to move both parades to weekend dates for that reason. School kids take the day off as well...the Catholic Schools have just declared it a school holiday as a result.

Best

AA