As Americans, we love celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with green beer, wacky shamrock sunglasses, corned beef and festooned parades. But if you are one of the 33.3 million Americans who claim Irish ancestry (or you’re just curious), why not spend this St. Patrick’s Day in a more traditional Irish way? Here are four ways to spend your St. Patty’s Day in the way of the Irish of yesteryear:

 1. Skip the parades and hullabaloo.  For centuries, the Irish honored the patron saint of Ireland St. Patrick by observing March 17 as a holy day with a feast. This included attending mass and gathering for a large family meal. In fact, until the 1970s, many of Ireland’s pubs were closed on St. Patrick’s Day in observance of St. Patrick, who died on March 17, AD 461.