Obscure Law No Longer Affects St. Patrick’s Day in Maine

Despite the fact that there's not a ton of Irish tradition in the state's history, Maine really enjoys celebrating St. Patrick's Day. In Maine's largest city, Portland, an all-day party will erupt bright and early filled with green beer, dancing, and a parade.

Maine's love of St. Patrick's Day actually forced the state to institute an obscure law to work around it. Despite a stark change in everyday life for most people, Maine still has been holding on to several blue laws that effect activities on certain days of the week. Specifically, Sunday.

One blue law people are very familiar with is the restriction on selling alcohol before 9am on a Sunday. That law was put into place so that people didn't head to the pub at dawn and then show up to church drunk on Sundays. But as people's routines and habits changed, Maine's legislature adopted a compromise that only shows up every few years.

According to ServingAlcohol.com, bar owners across the state pushed for an exception in Maine's blue law when St. Patrick's Day falls on a Sunday. Instead of 9am, people can start purchasing alcohol at 6am on a St. Patrick's Day Sunday. That exception law was only used once in Maine's history in 2013.

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That's because the Maine legislature decided to wipe out the archaic blue law and adopt the same alcohol rules for every day of the week. In 2015, that law was passed to allow establishments to start selling booze at 5am, whether it was a Sunday or a Tuesday.