Kiss Me I'm Irish

Tomorrow, March 17th, in Tayug, Pangasinan, Philippines, my home town, the town folks are going to celebrate what is called the Town Fiesta. In my time, town fiestas were celebrated with a parade featuring beauty queens on floats, procession of students from various schools from the villages, marching bands of all sorts, etc. There was also a dance or a formal ball in the town plaza. Visiting vaudeville shows, circuses, freaks shows, bingos, other small time gamblimg schemes, ferris wheels, everything one can think of were everywhere. In short, it's just like a regular small town carnival or county fair here in North America. People spend a bit of money to have fun.

Someday, I would like to go back there for vacation and join in the festivities. Perhaps it will just be like the good old days or maybe, a completely modernized event. In whatever form fiesta takes now, I am sure everybody still looks forward to it.

These town fiestas are celebrated on the dates where the town's patron saint is believed to be born or is simply associated, in any way, with such date. In the case of Tayug, the fiesta falls on March 17 because the town's patron saint is San Patricio. In case anyone does not recognize the saint's name, he is no other than St. Patrick. Yes, the same guy that the Irish venerate or drink to, as the case may be.

Come to think of it, that might make me and all Tayugenians, Irish. If that is so,

KISS ME, I'M IRISH!

Happy town fiesta, kailian. Happy Saint Patrick's Day.
http://pangasinan.org