The green beer will flow tonight in Rockingham, but some wonder why St. Patrick’s Day isn’t a bigger deal for the county.

Hudson Brothers Deli in downtown Rockingham will have its annual St. Patrick’s Day party, but the rest of the county isn’t quite into the swing of things with Irish Day.

“We’re going to have green beer all day long, Irish stew and the party’s going to be right here,” Hudson Brothers Barkeeper Diane Masterson said Wednesday afternoon. “We just want everybody to come get lucky with us on St. Patrick’s Day.”

Hudson Brothers will also have a special on Irish Car Bombs, a drink comprised of a pint of Irish Stout beer with a shot that is three-quarters Irish whiskey and one-quarter Irish cream dropped into it. It must be drank in one swallow, because the cream will curdle in the beer.

A couple of regulars at the Hudson Brothers bar discussed what makes the holiday great on its eve Wednesday afternoon.

“For me, it’s the same every year,” Benji Davis said from his perch at the end of the bar. “Come out to Hudson Brothers in my green (Volkswagen) Bug and drink some green beer.”

Frank Rainwater said he doesn’t understand why a bigger deal isn’t made in the county for the Irish holiday.

“It just seems like as many Irish and Scottish people as there are, there would be more stuff to do to celebrate it,” Rainwater said.

He pointed to celebrations other communities throw for the holiday, such as the festival in Savannah, Ga. where the river is dyed green every year.

“As many people as there are here who are at least part-Irish, it looks like we could have some kind of festival or something,” Rainwater explained.

St. Patrick’s Day began as a Catholic celebration of Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, who was kidnapped from Britain at an early age and brought to live on the Green Isle. He is rumored to have driven all the snakes off the island.

However, in America the day is recognized more as a day of revelry, and it is customary to imbibe alcohol while celebrating it.

Other county bars and eateries will be open Thursday, but aren’t planning to gear their entertainment towards St. Patrick’s Day.

A barkeeper at The Southern Roadhouse in Rockingham said the bar will have its weekly karaoke night, but isn’t planning anything special for the holiday.

“Over here, we’re more into the NCAA Tournament than St. Patrick’s Day tomorrow night,” Sports Connection of Hamlet Co-owner Bobby McDougall said. “We won’t have green beer, but we’ll still be here.”

Staff Writer Philip D. Brown can be reached at (910) 997-3111 ext. 15, or by e-mail at pbrown@heartlandpublications.com.