Celebrating the anniversary of the British pullback properly takes the luck of the Irish
As holidays go, Evacuation Day isn't the most prominent. It is not as widely celebrated as Thanksgiving or Christmas, not as solemn as Veterans Day or Memorial Day. In fact, the holiday commemorating the Redcoats' retreat from Boston during the Revolutionary War just might be the most obscure holiday in Massachusetts.
Evacuation Day is perpetually doomed to second-rate celebration status, and, in all fairness, it probably deserves it. The British occupation, which resulted in the Boston Massacre and the closure of Boston's port, was certainly not a pleasant experience. When the Tories left the city in 1776, it was a significant victory for the Continental forces. On the other hand, it doesn't have quite the emotional impact or historical significance of, say, the Battle of Gettysburg or D-Day.
Evacuation Day, however, is a perfect excuse to party. Very conveniently, it just happens to coincide with St. Patrick's Day. Boston schools are closed, ostensibly to celebrate the British withdrawal. The fact that leprechauns are abundant, clovers abound and green beer flows freely simply adds to the festive atmosphere. What better way to commemorate the British withdrawal from Boston than a massive celebration of Irish culture and pride?
Unfortunately, Harvard students won't be joining the party until classes are over. Apparently neither Evacuation Day nor the luck o' the Irish will convince the administration to cancel classes for the day. All too typically, presented with an incontrovertible excuse to let students loose from the monotonous schedule of readings and response papers, the administration has decided that students would gain more from another day of classes than from a day of carousing.
Fortunately, students have no excuse not to don green garments and party tomorrow night. In the midst of your revelry, however, don't forget what you're really celebrating: the fact that the British finally got fed up with Boston and left. It's something that can bring us colonists and the Irish together.
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