Getting Bagged
One Irish pub in New Jersey has a curious custom. For the past 24 years they have held a post-Saint Patrick's Day party known as "Bag Day." Revelers at The Irish Pub must attend the celebration wearing a paper bag as a hat.
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - Paul Murphy came all the way from Glasgow, Scotland, to stand against the back wall of The Irish Pub with a pint in his hand and a paper bag on his head.
ADVERTISEMENTHe did not stand out in the least at the bar, which was packed Tuesday afternoon with people wearing brightly decorated paper bags atop their heads, for this was Bag Day, the second-greatest day of the year at The Irish Pub.
Each March 18, the day after St. Patrick's Day, people come from far and near to jam the joint, most wearing some sort of bag fashioned into a hat atop their head. The tradition dates back 24 years to a group of exhausted waitresses and casino workers who realized they had worked through the entire night and missed St. Paddy's Day.
"We said, 'We didn't have too much fun on St. Patrick's Day; let's start our own holiday,'" said Cathy Burke, who owns the pub. "The bartender had just brought out a pile of bags that they use behind the bar, and we put some on our heads and said, 'We declare today Bag Day, the official holiday of The Irish Pub and anyone who has to work on St. Patrick's Day.'".
Well, you've heard of getting bagged before. This seems logical. After the wearin' o' the green comes the wearin' o' the bag. Of course, after two days of non-stop partying, many people will experience the unheralded third event: the usin' o' the bag.
By feeblemind, Wednesday, 19 March , 2008 @ 7:36 am
Someone travels all the way from Scotland to wear a bag on his head while drinking beer? There must not be much for excitement in Scotland.
By Mockinbird, Wednesday, 19 March , 2008 @ 11:54 am
On the contrary, feeblemind; there’s the eatin’ o’ the Haggis.