Brittany Westerberg

Usually the infamous Pub Crawl is celebrated the weekend immediately following St. Patrick’s Day, hence the green drinks, the usually green-costumed people and its true name: the St. Patrick’s Day Pub Parade.

This year, however-in a fluke that has not happened since 1940 and is not expected again until the year 2160-St. Patrick’s Day falls on the Monday of Holy Week, the sacred seven days preceding Easter beginning with Palm Sunday.

Because of Holy Week-which is also Spring Break for SDSU students-Pub Crawl was moved back a week.

According to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, liturgical rules dictate no other celebrations can be held during the week leading up to Easter. This means that no Mass in honor of the saint can be celebrated on March 17.

Many Roman Catholic leaders want parades and other festivities kept out of Holy Week, as well.

Catholic Bishops in Ireland have officially moved the holiday to March 15, the Saturday before Palm Sunday, in order to keep with Catholic rules. March 17 will still remain an official day off of work in Ireland, though.

In the United States-which is one of the few countries in the world to retain any religious traces of St. Patrick’s Day, according to Mike Cronin, co-author of The Wearing of the Green: History of St. Patrick’s Day-cities and towns are facing the choice of whether to move up their celebrations to the week before, postpone their festivities, drop them altogether or let them go on as planned on March 17.

The city of St. Paul, Minn., will be celebrating St. Patrick’s Day on March 15.

“Nothing can ever impinge on Holy Week,” Dennis McGrath, director of communications for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. “Holy Week is inviolate.”