2021 Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day Parade is Canceled
Due to the growing number of coronavirus cases, the St. Patrick's Day Observance Association of Philadelphia has decided to cancel this year's parade. They announced the sad news on their Facebook page last night.
I'm sure there were so many factors that the association took into consideration when they canceled the parade. Factors like the size of the crowds that always attend the parade and the kinds of people who attend the parade. The parade usually has people attending who are drinking alcohol, and when people drink alcohol, they tend to speak louder, stand closer to people to speak and sometimes they can make bad decisions. Even if there was a mask mandate in place at the parade and strict rules, there's no guarantee that people will abide by it. I'm sure all of these reasons had to do with the cancelation of the parade this year.
The pandemic has put a damper on countless events and yearly traditions and I think a lot of people thought we'd be back to living our normal lives by now. However, coronavirus cases have surged again and it doesn't look like events that are supposed to take place in the spring will be happening. Most people won't even get their vaccines (if they are even going to get them) until spring or summertime. People are wishing this pandemic comes to an end, so we can get back to creating memories and living our lives like we used to. Big crowds are where the virus thrives, so I'm not sure when we will be back to parades and big events. Hopefully soon, because events like St. Patrick's Day parades always make everyone happy.