Paul Murphy came all the way from Glasgow, Scotland, to stand against the back wall of The Irish Pub with a pint in his hand and a paper bag on his head.
He did not stand out in the least at the Atlantic City bar, which was packed last Tuesday with people wearing brightly decorated paper bags. The people were celebrating Bag Day.
Each March 18, the day after St Patrick's Day , people come from far and near to jam the joint , most wearing some sort of bag fashioned into a hat atop their head. The tradition dates back 24 years to a group of waitresses and casino workers who realized they had worked through the entire night and missed St Paddy's Day.
PHOTO: AP
"We said, 'We didn't have too much fun on St Patrick's Day; let's start our own holiday,'" said Cathy Burke, who owns the pub.
"The bartender had just brought out a pile of bags that they use behind the bar, and we put some on our heads and said, 'We declare today Bag Day, the official holiday of The Irish Pub and anyone who has to work on St Patrick's Day.'"
That day, the staff handed out bags at the door, telling people they could not enter unless they wore a bag on their heads. As the years went by, people started bringing their own bags.
Lois Werth of nearby Margate said, "You meet so many interesting people here on Bag Day. It's not like a typical drinking night. People come from all over for this."
Derek Berkett, who traveled about 80km from Bellmawr for the festivities , summed up the appeal of Bag Day.
"You can wear a paper bag on your head and fit in with everyone else in the room," he said. "When else can you do that?" (AP)
一路從蘇格蘭格拉斯哥趕來的保羅．莫非就是為了要手拿一杯啤酒，頭戴一個紙袋，站靠在「愛爾蘭酒吧」的後牆上。
他這樣的裝扮在大西洋城這間酒吧裡 一點也不醒目；這間酒吧上週二擠滿了戴著鮮明裝飾紙袋帽的人，這些人聚集在這裡慶祝「袋子日」。
每年三月十八日也就是聖派翠克節隔天，從各地而來的民眾把這間酒館擠得水洩不通，他們大多頭戴用各式袋子作成的帽子；這項傳統可追溯至二十四年前，一群女服務員和賭場員工在聖派翠克節當天工作了一整晚後，才赫然發現他們錯過了這個大節日。
酒館老闆凱西．柏克說：「當時我們就說：『既然我們沒有好好過聖派翠克節，現在我們就自己來狂歡過節吧！』」
「當時酒保剛好拿出一大疊吧台用的袋子，我們就抓了一些戴在頭上說：『我們宣布今天是袋子節，是愛爾蘭酒吧和所有必須在聖派翠克節工作的人的公定節日。』」
那天，酒吧員工在門口發送袋子，並告訴民眾，只准頭戴袋子的人進入酒吧；這幾年來，民眾已經會自己準備袋子。
來自附近馬蓋特市的洛伊斯．沃司說：「在袋子日，你可以在這裡認識很多有趣的人，這和平常飲酒作樂之夜不同，人們為這個節日從各地而來。」
從八十公里外的貝爾瑪爾遠道而來的戴瑞克．柏凱特，用幾句話概括了袋子節的吸引力何在。
「你可以和屋裡所有人一樣把紙袋套在頭上，」他說：「除了此時此刻，你還有什麼時候可以那樣？」（美聯社／翻譯：袁星塵）
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