Green Beer Day
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Green Beer Day (GBD) is an unofficial day-long party near the Miami University campus, where celebrants drink green beer dyed with artificial coloring or natural processes. The tradition was started by bar owners in Oxford, Ohio, and is celebrated annually on the Thursday before Miami University's spring break. Green Beer Day started in the early 1980s after a change in Miami University's academic calendar caused St. Patrick's Day to fall during spring break when students were gone. Local bar owners tried various names for their new day of drinking (including "Wild Irish Fun" in 1981)[1] before settling on the name "Green Beer Day" in 1982.[2] Claims that Green Beer Day began in 1952 are therefore incorrect. Green beer was consumed in Oxford on St. Patrick's Day (March 17)[3] prior to the university calendar change just as it was all over the country. Green Beer Day has been called Miami University's "biggest tradition"[4] although it is not sanctioned by the university.[5]
Students begin to drink at 12 A.M. on Green Beer Day;[6][7] bars in Oxford open at 5 A.M.[8] Many students embark on their first successful entrepreneurial venture on Green Beer Day, selling iconic green shirts[6] to drink in throughout the day. The rise in popularity of this annual celebration has given rise to many pop up apparel companies that sell Green Beer Day apparel in the weeks leading up to the event.[9]
