You don't have to be Irish to enjoy St. Patrick's Day in Erie, Pa. This is a city with strong ethnic ties, and people from all nationalities have been joining together in robust fashion for years to celebrate the feast day of Ireland's patron saint. Yes, March 17th is always special.

Part of it is that Erie has long had a large Catholic population, and many folks who give up drinking for Lent conveniently "fall off the wagon for St. Patrick's Day." In other words, this is a celebration where the green beer and Irish whiskey flow freely. Irish music, green clothes, authentic Irish food and other vestiges from the "Old Sod" help enhance the partying.

Many stories in the Erie Times-News in recent days have touched upon all those enjoyable aspects of the day. But the newspaper's editors have been careful to present the dangers of too much celebrating. Stories appeared in today's paper about traffic accidents on St. Patrick's Day in which alcohol was involved and left four people dead.

It served as a reminder that, while celebrating he spirit of St. Patrick and the Irish can be a lot of fun, those who party must also act responsibly.

-- Kevin Cuneo

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