Saturday 16 March
2019
Today is the day we have waited for! Everyone who signs up
for the Yankee RV Rally in Savannah has one main objective, to see the St
Patrick’s Day parade! With one of the largest St Patrick’s Day Parade in the
US, Georgia’s First City knows how to celebrate St Paddy’s Day right. In
addition to Celtic societies and Irish families, Savannah’s St Patrick’s Day
Parade features pipe bands and Irish dancers. But it’s not limited to that; visitors
from all over the world, even Ireland itself, come to Savannah to celebrate
heritage in our spirited parade through Downtown Savannah.
Floats and marching units will hit the streets at 10:15 am
for the 195th St. Patrick’s Day Parade, which featured more than 350 marching
units and more than 15,000 people. When it started in 1824, the parade was more
of a military spectacle, with soldiers from different regimens marching in
honor of St Patrick’s Day. Except for major wars, including the Civil War and
World War I, Savannah’s St Patrick’s Day parade has run nearly every year for
the past 188 years.
Hundreds of thousands of people poured into the City
of Savannah during this weekend to celebrate St Patrick’s Day, the biggest
celebration of the year for the hostess city. The streets turned green as
thousands of marching bands, floats, and other groups marched their way down
Abercorn, Broughton, East Broad, East Bay and Bull Streets.
“Pucker Up Savannah”, or should we title this section
“Stolen kisses?” or “The Kissing Ladies of St Vincent’s.” As the St Patrick’s Day parade winds through
downtown Savannah, look for young women dressed in green to run toward the
marchers and kiss surprised recipients. It started between the girls of St Vincent’s
and the boys from St Benedictine Military School, but has expanded to many
unsuspecting fire fighters, soldiers and anyone marching in the parade.
Veteran St. Patrick’s Day kissers, explain their
strategy. For starters, they have to dress in style. Wear anything flashy
that’s green. A nice green dress and green heels. Another required item: beads,
lots of green ones. Also required: lipstick, the brighter the better. On parade
day, the kissers hang out together, applying and reapplying lipstick and
studying the marchers for young men they’d like to kiss. When they see a
victim, they race toward him, often with lipstick in hand.
It has also become a custom for the mothers, wives,
girlfriends, or other significant others of the soldiers of the 3rd Infantry
Division, who are based at nearby Fort Stewart, to run up to their soldier as
they passed through on the parade route and to plant a kiss on them as they
walked. The aim was to leave them with a pink or red lipstick mark to sport
throughout the rest of the march.
However, the Savannah parade organizers have asked
that attendees do not attempt to run onto the parade route and to kiss the
soldiers, citing safety issues as their main concern. The army has also
requested that the tradition come to an end, believing that professionalism of
the soldiers should be more respected.
I was surprised how rag-tag the military formations
were in this parade. IT was like the soldiers were out for a stroll in mass,
verses marching in formation. I have to say the Benedictine Cadets and the
marching bands were better in step than our active military. Sad, very sad …
They can't turn the river green, but they do turn every fountain in downtown Savannah green!
The ladies on the rally slow cooked Corned Beef and Cabbage
for dinner after the parade. It was a delicious dinner and another great day
with friends!
Tomorrow, the Adventure Continues!
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