As the saying goes, on St. Patrick\u2019s Day we are all a little Irish. From Tokyo to Chicago to Buenos Aires, St. Patrick\u2019s Day has become an international holiday.<\/p>\n
While corned beef and green rivers are popular parts of the tradition, for many the holiday is about one thing: drinking. St. Patrick\u2019s Day and the weekend before it see some of the biggest spikes in drinking of the year. As a result, law enforcement agencies around the country are stepping up their patrols and DUI checkpoints with the expectation that drunk driving and other alcohol-related crimes will rise.<\/p>\n
But one community is taking a very different stance. Recently, the city council in Savannah, Georgia, asked the state legislature to allow the city\u2019s bars to serve alcohol on the Sunday before St. Patrick\u2019s Day<\/a>.<\/p>\n Under Georgia law, only restaurants\u2014defined as establishments that make most of their income from food sales\u2014may serve alcohol on Sundays. Last year<\/a> Savannah was able to get permission for the city\u2019s bars to serve alcohol on Sundays that fall during St. Patrick\u2019s Day celebrations between March 16 and March 18. But this year Sunday falls one day short of that exception.<\/p>\n Members of the city council argue that they want to be fair to bar owners and to meet the tourist demand for alcohol during the city\u2019s St. Patrick\u2019s Day celebrations.<\/p>\n