The celebration of St. Patrick's Day in the United States may bring to mind images of parades, beer, and partygoers decked out in green.

Bridget Haggerty, though, remembers marking St. Patrick's Day very differently. A 41-year U.S. resident who was born to Irish parents in England, Haggerty is the author of The Traditional Irish Wedding and the Web site Irish Culture and Customs.

As a child in England during the 1950s, Haggerty remembers that her expatriate Irish family would receive a package from her mother's relatives back in Dublin before each St. Patrick's Day. The package contained live shamrock and small cardboard badges emblazoned with a golden harp, a symbol of Ireland.

Family members would each pin a sprig of shamrock on