Why do people get pinched on St. Paddys Day?
I was raised in the suburbs of Northern Virginia, and I’ve never met anyone who hasn’t heard of this pinching thing. It started in elementary school in the 80s, and people were still joking about it at work today. Consider that one more data point, I guess. For the record, I’m Indian (from India, not Native American) and went to elementary school with a mix of kids. I don’t think any of us ever thought it was a “real” Irish thing, though. Ok, one more data point, my Mexican friend who moved to the US in 1989 remembers hearing about it on her first St. Paddy’s Day in the US (in New Mexico), and has considered it standard operating procedure ever since.
