Drinking. The only thing Americans seems to do to celebrate. Whether it’s a wedding, a religious holiday or even winning a men’s softball game, it’s almost expected that a cooler will be full of ice along with various brands of domestic canned and bottled beers, or that at nearly any fancy party there will be a full open bar filled with fancy imported wines and fifths of various liquor.

Americans have expanded this drinking not only to weddings and birthday parties, but also to religious holidays and other countries’ holidays.

Think about shopping for these holidays. You walk down the aisles at the grocery store, and you start your way at the chip aisle and eventually make your way to the alcohol and buy as much as you can before the “day before” rush comes in.

Alcohol is the biggest headline at a party. Say you go to a wedding and it’s an alcohol-free reception. How many people do you actually expect to stay at this party? They’re going to drive around the corner to the closest liquor store, drink in the parking lot and come back into the reception hall in a much better mood.

Let’s hike over the border to Mexico, while we still can, to celebrate a little holiday called Cinco de Mayo. In America, Cinco de Mayo is the biggest day for Mexican restaurants, posting deals for two for one tacos, $3 margaritas and loud festive live music. People get wasted in Mexican Town in Detroit or have color fiestas at home with fun colorful drinks. But do people know what they’re really celebrating? They’re celebrating the only battle that was won by the Mexicans against the French in 1862. Now we’re walking down the streets in Mexico and you know who’s not celebrating this day? The Mexicans. Why? Because it’s considered a ceremonial military holiday, which means that there will be military parades in some parts of the country and some people don’t even celebrate at all.

Now for all of you scratching your heads saying, “No, that can’t be it because Cinco de Mayo is Mexican Independence day,” you’re wrong. Mexican Independence day is the single most important national holiday in Mexican culture. It takes place on Sept. 16 and represents the start of the revolution. Now if that’s not the holiday on celebrants should be slamming back a margarita on the rocks, I don’t know what holiday they should be doing it for.

Now let’s sail across the Atlantic to a place called Ireland to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.  Americans, believe it or not, have trashed this holiday too. How, do you ask? I get it, it’s usually celebrated by drinking in Ireland with Irish beer and whiskey, but get this, they actually go to church first and not just wake up and start pre gaming at 11 a.m. No you see, St. Patrick is kind of a big deal, he even has his own legend.

The legend goes that St. Patrick banished all the snakes from Ireland because they had attacked him during his 40-day fast. Also, he is noted to have explained the Holy Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) by using the leaves of a clover or shamrock. It’s also important to remember he was a real person. He was born in Roman Britain and was kidnapped and brought to Ireland as a slave at the age of 16. He eventually escaped, but went back to Ireland and is credited with bringing Christianity to its people.

His sainthood is celebrated on his traditional death date of March 17. The holiday was originally celebrated with fancy banquets and very formal dinners, church services and restrictions on drinking and eating. It wasn’t until the American Revolutionary war that the first St. Patrick’s Day parade took place and it was mostly of military officers, fire brigades, cultural organizations and charitable organizations. The first parade in Ireland was nearly two centuries later.

Once again, Americans had taken a strictly religious holiday and turned it into a green, flashy carnival with booze, eats and loud music. It’s not necessarily a bad thing; it’s just that in glitzing up a holiday we forget the true meaning of the holiday itself.

So before you paint yourself green or buy your two for one tequila shots, go out and research what you’re truly celebrating and the beauty of its traditions. Go on YouTube and watch a traditional ceremony or read an article or cultural text about the events being taken place in its region of origin because traditions never die.