Green Beer Day

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Green Beer Day is a holiday celebrated by students at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. It is celebrated on the Thursday before Spring Break every March. The holiday begins at 5:30am when the bars open to serve green-colored beer, shots, and cocktails to waiting Miami students. (The state of Ohio forbids bars from serving alcoholic beverages before 5:30am.) Many students wake up early to go to the Uptown bar district.

The holiday is thought to have begun in the early 1950s when the United States was experiencing grain shortages after World War II ^[1] A 1952 Miami University Student newspaper article says that students would not be imbibing dark green-colored beer due to the lack of grain available to breweries for beer production. It is held on the Thursday before students depart campus for Spring Break. This is because of the long-standing tradition of Miami University scheduling the break during St. Patrick's Day. Students at Miami keep the holiday alive because they cannot celebrate a St. Patrick's Day like most other college students.

The bars and restaurants in Oxford, Ohio support Green Beer Day by opening as early as 4:30am to serve green eggs and ham and green bagels to hungry students. They book a full day of live music from Irish bands, DJs, and local musicians. Some parties continue all night long as students will often go home to sleep it off in the afternoon in preparation for another round in the evening.

Television news crews from Cincinnati and Dayton often make an appearance to capture footage of the festivities.

Students wear Green Beer Day themed t-shirts and hats. Green is the color of the day. Students often begin their search in late February to early March to find green shirts, wristbands, caps, beads, bandanas, etc. to wear on Green Beer Day. Shirts are especially prized and students often snatch up as many different designs as possible as souvenirs.