You might celebrate St. Patrick's Day by singing "Danny Boy" or raising a glass of green beer to your mouth or sitting down to a dinner of corned beef and cabbage. But this year, I honored it with the whirr of a razor buzzing around my head.

The patron saint of my holiday is a cartoon leprechaun named Lucky, the mascot of the St. Baldrick's Foundation. Begun in 2000 on a St. Patrick's Day bet, St. Baldrick's has raised $50.5 million in the past decade to fund research for children's cancer treatment and to raise awareness of a disease that strikes an American child every three and a half minutes.

Head shaving events -- where volunteers are sponsored to go bald for cancer -- are the foundation's primary fundraiser, according to Foundation spokesperson Sara McCarthy. The parties are thrown by volunteers across the country to bring folks in the community who care about kids and cancer together to pony up their ponytails while friends and family plunk down money "on their heads" that will help St. Baldrick's fund grants for scientists searching for the cure for childhood cancer.

In the past decade, 130,000 people have plopped down in a chair at a St. Baldrick's event in the past 10 years and said so long to their hair to raise money to fight children's cancer. I'm proud to count myself among those 130,000 brave -- and bald -- souls. Since 2006, I've had my head shaved at four St. Baldrick's fundraisers, starting a year after the birth of my daughter.

My child has been blessed with good health, but time after time in the community newspaper business, I was forced to write articles about fundraisers for local children with cancer. And sometimes a year later, sometimes two years, I would sit down to write that same child's obituary. Each one tore away another piece of my resolve, until the journalistic code -- don't get involved in the story -- was no more.

I shaved first because I had to do something; I shave now because I've found joy in an unlikely place. In baldness, I've found the beauty of feeling like I have power over childhood cancer. I suppose it comes down to this: I'm Jeanne Sager, and I'm a mom, and I'm addicted to shaving my head to fight childhood cancer.

And fortunately, I'm not the only one.

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In case you haven't heard, March 20th is the day when the stars align for lovers everywhere -- literally, it's the vernal equinox, the best possible day to get down on one knee and pop the question ... or something like that. In other words, it's Proposal Day, a holiday created by John Michael O'Loughlin as a chance to get all those procrastinators in long-term relationships to go ahead and take the plunge. Or maybe it's just written in the stars.

So, does it actually work? Are you more likely to get a yes if you propose on Proposal Day? To answer this question, I went to the founder himself, John O'Loughlin. According to data that O'Loughlin has collected over the years, Proposal Day has been a resounding success.

How did Proposal Day come to be? "Decades ago," O'Loughlin told Holidash, "one of my cousins had been in a very long-term relationship with a man, and all of us in the family were wondering when he'd pop the question to her... Well, sir, my cousin waited in vain for years before moving on with her life. And, it seemed to me, that there are some who really need to have it spelled out for them..." And so O'Loughlin marked off a day for hesitant suitors to make the commitment.

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When it comes to finding the best parade to check out on March 17th, what criteria would you go by? Are you looking for the parade with most number of attendees? Or the oldest parade in the nation? Do you judge a St. Patty's Day parade by the number of kilts, bagpipes, or green beer-guzzling participants? Or by the sheer enthusiasm of the participants?

Obviously, all of these are important factors in what makes up for an ideal St. Patrick's Day parade. So, without further ado, here's a list of superlative St. Patrick's Day parades around the nation.

Largest Attendance: Not surprisingly, the best-attended St. Patrick's Day parade happens in New York City. Often mistaken for being the nation's original one, the NYC St. Patrick's Day parade is easily the largest on the planet in terms of spectators -- an estimated two million revelers line the streets to watch the kilt-clad hordes march by.

Oldest Parade: Unsurprisingly, the nation's oldest St. Patty's parade took place in what is considered by most to be the cradle of Irish Americana: Boston. Beantown's first parade dedicated to the Irish saint was held in 1737.

Longest Running Parade: The title for longest-running St. Patrick's Day parade belongs to New York City, which has been going green steadily since 1762.

Most Participants: Where can you go to see the most leprechauns, kilts and bagpipes. I'm starting to feel like a broken record here, but it appears that with an estimated 150,000 marchers, the Big Apple once again takes the top spot.

Shortest Parade: The title of quirkiest St. Patty's parade belongs to Hot Springs, Arkansas -- hands down. Hot Springs' 98-foot long parade is not only the official "Shortest St. Patrick's Day Parade," it's also been labeled "The Zaniest St. Patrick's Day Parade on Earth" by the Smithsonian Magazine, on account of the parade's Irish Elvises, San Diego Chicken, and Lards of the Dance troupe (middle-aged Irish folk dancers).

Greenest Parade: Chicago not only hosts one of the nation's largest St. Patty's Day parades, it's takes the award for the greenest parade, literally speaking. Each St. Patrick's Day, the city's Journeyman Plumbers dump 45 lbs of dye into the Chicago River, making it the greenest by far ... though not ecologically speaking.

Oldest Leprechaun: While I'm at it, I feel compelled to tip my hat to the "World's Oldest Leprechaun," 96-year-old Dr. Albert Habeeb, who participated in last year's parade in Hot Springs. Whether he will make an appearance this year is yet to be announced.

Got a burning desire to hop a flight to attend one of the nation's lesser known -- yet totally enthusiastic and worth it -- St. Patrick's Day parades? Everybody knows that New York City's got the size, Boston's got the pride, and Chicago's got that whole green river thing going for it, but if huge crowds and metropolises aren't what you're looking for this year, fear not.

There's just as much, if not more, fun to be had at many of America's lesser known St. Patrick's Day parades. What these second-tier (don't tell them that) St. Patty's festivals lack in size, they more than make up for in spirit, originality, and quirkiness.

Savannah, Georgia
Think things will be polite and subdued in this historic southern town on March 17th? Guess again. Savannah boasts some major Irish pride with a massive St. Patrick's Day that draws about 100,000 visitors to the mid-sized city of about 275,000, according to the Savannah Area Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Not only Savannah's St. Patrick's Day parade well-populated, it also happens to be old ... and fanatical. The first public procession (there were a few private forerunners) was held in 1824, and since then the city has only canceled six parades, two of those during the Civil War. So, it doesn't matter what the weather forecast looks like, you can pretty much guarantee that Savannah's 185th St. Patrick's Day parade is on.

Parade time: 10:15 am on Wednesday, March 17th

Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City isn't particularly well known for anything other than having great barbecue and being the home of a couple of pro sports teams. However, one thing they do big in KC is St. Patty's Day. The town's fairly young parade has a reputation for being the most spirited annual display of Irish pride west of the mighty Mississippi and certainly the largest.

As it goes with many St. Patrick's Day parades, the idea for the KC march was hatched over a few happy hour drinks at a bar in 1973, according to the KC Irish Parade Committee. Although Kansas City is credited with having a robust and vibrant Irish population, the town had been without a proper parade for decades until the aforementioned happy hour. Since then, the tradition has been picking up major steam. In recent years, the parade has reportedly been drawing crowds of over 300,000 onlookers. Also worth noting, the Kansas City marchers really give it their all, because they're all competing for the grand prize: An all-expenses-paid trip to Ireland.

Parade: 11:00 am on Wednesday, March 17th

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Micheal Flatley and Riverdance may have made it cool, but Irish Step Dancing has been around for centuries. And with St. Patrick's Day right around the corner, it's time to get jiggy.

Although there are many different types of Irish dancing, they can generally be divided into two groups: Social dances and performance dances. The Irish Step Dancing most of us are familiar with falls into the performance category. It's characterized by quick and precise footwork performed while keeping the upper body rigid and arms held straight. And then there are the costumes. Beautifully embellished and colorful, the costumes are as much a part of the spectacle as the dance itself.

If you are interested in learning the art of Irish Step Dancing, chances are good that there's a school near you. FeisWorx has a comprehensive listing of accredited Irish Dance schools in North America. Or check out Irish Dance Teachers Association of North America for links to associated partners.

But those of us with two left feet would probably do better to skip the lessons and sit back and enjoying an Irish Step Dancing performance. Check out the Riverdance performance schedule or one of these upcoming St. Patrick's Day celebrations.

New York City: Since 1766, New Yorkers have paraded down the streets to honor the patron saint of Ireland. The tradition continues on Wednesday, March 17th, 2010 with bagpipers, bands and, of course, Irish Step Dancers.

Chicago: The windy city does St. Patrick's Day right. Not only do they dye the river green and stage a giant parade, they also feature eight days of Irish Step Dancing performances. Beginning March 12, more than 200 dancers ages 4 to 18 will take the stage at the Irish American Heritage Center.

Dallas: From March 5-7, dancers from various local schools of Irish dance will be featured at the North Texas Irish Festival in Fair Park, Texas.

Boston: The Boston area will be hopping with St. Patrick's Day celebrations this year. In addition to numerous parades featuring the traditional Irish dance, the O'Shea-Chaplin Irish Step Dancers will be performing at Fuddruckers, of all places, on Wednesday, March 17.

Philadelphia: The city of brotherly love's annual St. Patrick's Day celebration will be held on Sunday, March 14 and will include performances by local Irish Step Dancers. If you can't get to Philly, watch it live here.

The global urge to "go green" may have reached a fever pitch in the past few years, but it was the push to protect our waterways that gave Chicago one of its best-known traditions.

The Chicago Journeyman Plumbers Local 130 call it the eighth wonder of the world: Dyeing the Chicago River green on the morning of every St. Patrick's Day Parade.

"Plumbers, they can do anything they want to do," jokes Kevin Sherlock, parade coordinator for the plumbers union, which has been putting on one of the world's biggest St. Pat's celebrations for more than fifty years. The Chicago River once flowed into Lake Michigan, the lake that provided drinking water for all of Chicago, Sherlock tells Holidash. Thanks to the plumbers, the river was re-routed more than a century ago to prevent pollution of the water source. These days, the lake flows into the river, keeping the polluted water away from the potable water.

What does that have to do with dyeing the river green for St. Patrick's Day? Well, it was the plumbers who set out to determine exactly how the river was being polluted in the 1960s, a job that heralded the introduction of the first batch of green dye to the 156-mile waterway.

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For some reason, everyone wants to be Irish in March. Maybe it's just that Guinness tastes so darned good, or maybe we all could use a little luck after the long winter, and green of any kind sound good!

Our friends at 1-800-FLOWERS.COM understand the uplifting power of a St. Patrick's Day votive, filled with shamrocks, or a pretty March's Rose bouquet of jade roses. Or the even more elaborate March's Bouquet, filled with greens and white blooms, to bring a smile to the face of your Irish sweetie.

Someone this week is going to truly enjoy the luck of the Irish, and receive a $100 giftcard that you can use on 1-800-FLOWERS.COM to order one of these Celtic-inspired gifts, or any other type of floral gift that tickles your fancy.

Enter Now!
Ready to kiss a leprechaun? Okay, then how about winning that gift card? Here's how you can be a winner:

• To enter, leave a confirmed comment below telling us about how you celebrate St. Patrick's Day!
• The comment must be left before 5pm ET on Friday, March 5th.
• You may enter only once on this post.
• One winner will be selected in a random drawing.
• One winner will receive: a gift card to be used on 1-1800-FLOWERS.COM (value: $100)
• Open to legal residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older.
• Click here for complete Official Rules.

We'll notify the winner by email, and you'll have 24 hours to respond. If we don't hear back, we'll pick a new winner, so remember to check your email.

While most women enjoy a goody-filled Easter basket as much as any kid, we generally prefer ours with a tad less sugar. It's not that we don't like jelly beans and marshmallow chicks, but we'd also appreciate not having to spend the month of April working off our Easter indulgences at the gym.

If you are filling Easter baskets for grown-up girls this year, consider skipping the tempting treats and opting instead for some non-edible gifts. Here are some ideas for themed Easter baskets that she's sure to love.

Gardening: With spring right around the corner, a garden-themed basket is a perfect choice for someone with a green thumb. Instead of a wicker basket, consider using a lightweight hanging planter instead. Fill the basket with a variety of seed packets, gardening gloves, garden markers and ergonomic hand tools. For a playful finishing touch, include a pair of adorable garden bunny statues.

Pampering: Fill a pink pedicure tub with a cooling foot scrub, exfoliating gloves, aromatic bubble bath and scented body lotion. Add some bunny and egg shaped soaps, candles and a relaxation CD and you've got a pampering Easter basket fit for a queen.

Romance: Valentine's Day may be long gone, but there's no reason the romance should be. Start with a heart-shaped Easter basket and surprise her with small tokens of your love. A sterling silver bunny heart necklace or this adorable bunny holding a pewter heart charm is sure to make her smile. Instead of candy, fill plastic eggs with love notes. Finish it off with a Some Bunny Loves You teddy bear.

Beauty: Have a peek inside her cosmetics bag and stock up on some of her favorite brands of makeup. Don't forget some nice new makeup brushes and applicators along with a beautiful hand mirror. To make it really special, include a bottle of her favorite perfume.

Second Childhood: Indulge her inner child with an Easter basket full of small toys, games and other forgotten fun from days gone by. Load up her basket with a jump rope, a yoyo and some sidewalk chalk. Add some bubbles, a few squirt guns, a paddleball and set of jacks and you've got a fun Easter basket that's sure to make her smile.

Did you give anything up for Lent this year? We'll bet it's not as weird as what these people gave up.

In case the annoying filet of fish commercials haven't been enough of a wake up call, we're well into the Lenten season. In other words, the time Christians remember Jesus' 40-day stint in the desert without food or water by giving things up. For a wide range of Christian denominations, Lent is a "season of penance, reflection, and fasting which prepares us for Christ's Resurrection on Easter Sunday, through which we attain redemption."

So what are Americans passing on in during Lent? Well, there's the usual, like alcohol and chocolate and shopping. But then there are the folks who choose more unusual sacrifices, like abstaining from psychic readings, sex, and ear cleaning.

Yes, we said ear cleaning. Or rather, Jennifer Arnold, a self-confessed "ear-cleaning-a-holic," says she's giving up her propensity for digging in her ears until Easter Sunday at least.

"I plan to give up something I've become absurdly addicted to," the Columbus, Ohio resident tells Holidash, "something that I indulge in every single day (sometimes more than once) that inevitably causes pain and long-term damage!" To try to honor God, she's going to replace all that Q-tip time with quiet time with the Scripture.

At least Arnold's Lenten abstinence brings her back to religion. But there seems to be a lure for Lenten sacrifice among non-religious types too.

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Each St. Patrick's Day, thousands of men take a break from wearing pants, opting instead for the man-skirt, aka the kilt. These rugged plaid garments are about as masculine as a skirt can get ... and that's admirable. Yet, as I watch these men proudly march in their kilts, I can't help but think: are they Irish kilts or Scottish kilts?

The answer is, unsurprisingly, shrouded in myth, folklore, and national rivalry. Most historians agree that the history of the kilt traces back not to a specific geographic location, but to the tribal society known as the Celts. The skirt-like garment that we know as a "kilt" is really the "small kilt" (or "philabeg" in Gaelic) and is actually the latest addition in a long line of wooly and toga-like Celtic garments.

The consensus is that as the Celts began to immigrate north across Europe to the British Isles (including Ireland), they brought this particular fashion sense with them. Over the centuries, this style developed from a shirt draped with a blanket (the leine and brat) to the great kilt, and finally to the utilitarian small kilt.

There is evidence to suggest that the Scots actually used the different plaid patterns (tartans) to identify clans, families, etc. However, in the mid 18th Century, the English outlawed the wearing of tartans and most typical forms of Highland dress to quell uprisings (think "Braveheart").

Once the Dress Act was lifted, the kilt was reinterpreted, so to speak, as a sort of national costume. Therefore, the kilt that is now celebrated by Celtic culture enthusiasts today is really an invention of the Scottish and English nobles of the 19th Century. So, is the kilt a Scottish tradition?

Simply put: The kilt is most often identified (perhaps rightly so) with the Scottish Highlands, but it has come to be a symbol of British Celtic pride and culture, worn by those celebrating their Welsh, Cornish, Scottish and Irish heritage. And that includes those of you who are Irish only on St. Patrick's day, we suppose.