I am one quarter Irish. The closer you get to St. Patrick’s Day, the more I am aware of my Irish heritage. The Irish side of my family has a tradition of celebrating St. Patrick’s Day by going to McDonald’s, and getting a nice, green, minty, Shamrock Shake. This is the kind of tradition that can be shared with the entire family, no matter how old or how young a relative happens to be.
The much coveted Shamrock Shake was first produced by McDonald’s in 1970. I distinctly remember the day I had my very first one, despite the fact that I was a very young child at the time. My grandmother, (my mother’s mother), was visiting, and perhaps that was what made it possible for us to visit McDonald’s for lunch that day. My mom had three kids under the age of seven at that time, and we were generally more than she could handle on her own.
I remember my grandmother asking me if I’d ever had a Shamrock Shake. She clucked her tongue in disapproval when I answered that I’d never tried one before. I think she may have jokingly scolded my mom about “neglecting” us kids. As I tasted the cold, minty, shake, I remember my grandmother telling me that she used to take her kids to get them every St. Patrick’s Day. She told me that she was Irish, and that made me Irish, too. I think my grandmother was very pleased that a big company like McDonald’s was recognizing the Irish, by creating a shake in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, just for us.
When I was little, I assumed that Shamrock Shakes had been around forever, so I pictured my grandmother taking my mom and my uncles to McDonald’s to get them when they were very young. Now, of course, I can do the math and figure out that my mother must have been about eighteen, one of my uncles around nineteen, and the other around twelve, when my grandmother started taking them to get Shamrock Shakes on St. Patrick’s Day. In any case, the tradition my grandmother started with her kids continued with my mother’s kids. My best guess is that my youngest brother, (who had not yet been born when I had my first Shamrock Shake), might be taking his kids to McDonald’s for Shamrock Shakes now.
Every year, I take my husband to get a Shamrock Shake on St. Patrick’s Day, even though he is not Irish. Or, I should say, I try to. It has become increasingly difficult to obtain a Shamrock Shake, and I have no idea why. Finding a McDonald’s that has not completely run out of Shamrock Shakes by St. Patricks’s Day is about as easy as finding the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. When I’m lucky enough to get one, my Irish eyes are smilin’.
Image by maceelaine on Flickr