There's No Place Like Ireland for the Holidays

The Children in the parade representing their local sports teams	The Spainish Arch where we all hung out after the parade	A girl showing off her Irish spirit

Pot Luck breakfast to start off the celebration	Friends at the parade waiting for it to start

March 17, 2015: St. Patrick's Day in Ireland. Food, friends and of course, a parade. As a visiting student in Ireland, I had no idea what to expect for this celebration. I spoke with a few of my Irish friends to see how we will celebrate. The conclusion was, in Ireland it is the visiting students, specifically the Americans that make a huge deal about celebrating St. Patrick's Day. The Irish do get dressed up and there is a parade; however, it is more about respecting the culture of Ireland, then about just having a big party.

Typically I have heard that New York does a bigger, over the top celebration. The parade here consisted of hundreds of children representing their clubs or sports that they play in Galway. The parade did not have advertisements or marketing ploys like I would typically see in a parade back home. The city center, which is our downtown, was crowded, but not chaotic. The sun was shining and the air was warm and everyone was just sitting around on the grass enjoying each others' company.

As the CEA group, we have all become really good friends. On the morning of St. Patrick's Day, we all brought a part of breakfast to one of the houses and had a big group meal before heading to town. The picturse that I took captures some of the friends that I was with for the celebration. Overall St. Patrick's Day was really fun, we even had the day off from school. I respect Ireland and the Irish people for their enthusiasms to their culture and their pride in their country.

Stephanie Norman is the Spring 2015 CEA MOJO Photographer in Galway, Ireland. She is currently a second year at Northern Illinois University.