Saint Patrick was a 5th-century Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Much of what is known about Saint Patrick comes from theDeclaration, which was allegedly written by Patrick himself. It is believed that he was born inRoman Britain in the fourth century, into a wealthyRomano-British family. His father was a Christiandeacon and his grandfather apriest. According to theDeclaration, at the age of sixteen, he was kidnapped by Irish raiders and taken as a slave toGaelic Ireland.[19] It says that he spent six years there working as a shepherd and that during this time hefound God. TheDeclaration says that God told Patrick to flee to the coast, where a ship would be waiting to take him home. After making his way home, Patrick went on to become a priest.[20]
According to tradition, Patrick returned to Ireland to convert thepagan Irish to Christianity. TheDeclaration says that he spent many years evangelising in the northern half of Ireland and converted thousands.
Tradition holds that he died on 17 March and was buried atDownpatrick. Over the following centuries, many legends grew up around Patrick and he became Ireland's foremost saint.
Traditional Saint Patrick's Day badges from the early 20th century,Museum of Country Life inCounty MayoAccording to legend, Saint Patrick used the three-leavedshamrock to explain theHoly Trinity toIrish pagans.Sydney Opera House lit up green in honour of Saint Patrick inSydney, Australia
Present day Saint Patrick's Day celebrations have been greatly influenced by those that developed among the Irish diaspora, especially in North America. Until the late 20th century, Saint Patrick's Day was often a bigger celebration among the diaspora than it was in Ireland.[17]
Celebrations generally involve public parades and festivals, Irish traditional music sessions (céilithe), and the wearing of green attire or shamrocks.[9] There are also formal gatherings such as banquets and dances, although these were more common in the past. Saint Patrick's Day parades began in North America in the 18th century but did not spread to Ireland until the 20th century.[21] The participants generally include marching bands, the military, fire brigades, cultural organisations, charitable organisations,voluntary associations,youth groups,fraternities, and so on. However, over time, many of the parades have become more akin to acarnival. More effort is made to use theIrish language, especially in Ireland, where 1 March to St Patrick's Day on 17 March is Seachtain na Gaeilge ("Irish language week").[22]
Since 2010, famous landmarks have been lit up in green on Saint Patrick's Day as part ofTourism Ireland's "Global Greening Initiative" or "Going Green for St Patrick's Day".[23][24] TheSydney Opera House and theSky Tower inAuckland were the first landmarks to participate and since then over 300 landmarks in fifty countries across the globe have gone green for Saint Patrick's Day.[25][26]
Christians may also attendchurch services,[8][10] and theLenten restrictionson eating anddrinking alcohol are lifted for the day. Perhaps because of this, drinking alcohol – particularly Irish whiskey, beer, or cider – has become an integral part of the celebrations.[8][9][11][12] In Ireland, this relaxation of fasting rules is notably marked by the consumption of stout, a dark ale beer that is a key part of the celebration, with breweries preparing months in advance for the demand.[27] The Saint Patrick's Day custom of "drowning the shamrock" or "wetting the shamrock" was historically popular. At the end of the celebrations, especially in Ireland, a shamrock is put into the bottom of a cup, which is then filled with whiskey, beer, or cider. It is then drunk as atoast to Saint Patrick, Ireland, or those present. The shamrock would either be swallowed with the drink or taken out and tossed over the shoulder for good luck.[28][29][30]
Irish Government ministers travel abroad on official visits to various countries around Saint Patrick's Day to promote Ireland.[31][32]
On Saint Patrick's Day, it is customary to wearshamrocks, green clothing or green accessories. Saint Patrick is said to have used the shamrock, a three-leaved plant, to explain theHoly Trinity to thepagan Irish.[33][34] This story first appears in writing in 1726, though it may be older. In pagan Ireland, three was a significant number and the Irish had manytriple deities, which may have aided St Patrick in hisevangelisation efforts.[35][36] Roger Homan writes, "We can perhaps see St Patrick drawing upon the visual concept of thetriskele when he uses the shamrock to explain the Trinity".[37]Patricia Monaghan says there is no evidence the shamrock was sacred to the pagan Irish.[35]Jack Santino speculates that it may have represented the regenerative powers of nature, and was recast in a Christian context—icons of Saint Patrick often depict the saint "with across in one hand and a sprig of shamrocks in the other".[38]
The first association of the colour green with Ireland is from a legend in the 11th centuryLebor Gabála Érenn (The Book of the Taking of Ireland). It tells ofGoídel Glas (Goídel the green), theeponymous ancestor of theGaels and creator of theGoidelic languages (Irish,Scottish Gaelic,Manx).[39][40] Goídel is bitten by a venomous snake but saved from death byMoses placing his staff on the snakebite, leaving him with a green mark. His descendants settle in Ireland, a land free of snakes.[41] One of the first,Íth, visits Ireland after climbing theTower of Hercules and being captivated by the sight of a beautiful green island in the distance.[39][40][41]
The colour green was further associated with Ireland from the 1640s, when thegreen harp flag was used by theIrish Catholic Confederation. Later,James Connolly described this flag as representing "the sacred emblem of Ireland's unconquered soul".[42] Green ribbons and shamrocks have been worn on Saint Patrick's Day since at least the 1680s.[43] Since then, the colour green and its association with St Patrick's Day have grown.[44] The Friendly Brothers of St Patrick, an Irishfraternity founded in about 1750,[45] adopted green as its colour.[46] TheOrder of St Patrick, an Anglo-Irishchivalric order founded in 1783, instead adopted blue as its colour, which led to blue beingassociated with Saint Patrick. In the 1790s, the colour green was adopted by theUnited Irishmen. This was arepublican organisation—founded mostly by Protestants but with many Catholic members—who launched arebellion in 1798 against British rule. Ireland was first called "the Emerald Isle" in "When Erin First Rose" (1795), a poem by a co-founder of the United Irishmen,William Drennan, which stresses the historical importance of green to the Irish.[47][48][49][50] The phrase "wearing of the green" comes from asong of the same name about United Irishmen being persecuted for wearing green. Theflags of the1916 Easter Rising featured green, such as theStarry Plough banner and theProclamation Flag of the Irish Republic. When theIrish Free State was founded in 1922, the government ordered allpost boxes be painted green, with the slogan "green paint for a green people";[51][52] in 1924, the government introduced a greenIrish passport.[53][54][55]
The wearing of the 'St Patrick's Day Cross' was also a popular custom in Ireland until the early 20th century. These were aCeltic Christian cross made of paper that was "covered with silk or ribbon of different colours, and a bunch or rosette of green silk in the centre".[56]
Saint Patrick'sfeast day, as a kind of national day, was already being celebrated by the Irish in Europe in the ninth and tenth centuries.[57] Saint Patrick's feast day was finally placed on theliturgical calendar of the Catholic Church in the early 1600s, due to the influence ofWaterford-bornFranciscan scholarLuke Wadding.[58] Saint Patrick's Day thus became aholy day of obligation for Catholics in Ireland. It is also a feast day in theChurch of Ireland, part of theAnglican Communion. The church calendar avoids the observance of saints' feasts during certain solemnities, moving the saint's day to a time outside those periods. Saint Patrick's Day is occasionally affected by this requirement, when 17 March falls duringHoly Week. This happened in 1940, when Saint Patrick's Day was officially observed on 3 April to avoid it coinciding withPalm Sunday, and again in 2008, where it was officially observed on 15 March.[59] Saint Patrick's Day will not fall within Holy Week again until 2160.[60][61] However, the popular festivities may still be held on 17 March or on a weekend near to the feast day.[62]
Saint Patrick's was perceived as the middle day ofspring in theIrish calendar. People expected that weather would be improved following the festival, and farmers would begin planting potato.[63]
The first Saint Patrick's Day parade in Ireland was held inWaterford in 1903, hundreds of years after the first parade in North America. The week of Saint Patrick's Day 1903 had been declared Irish Language Week by theGaelic League and in Waterford they opted to have a procession on Sunday 15 March. The procession comprised the Mayor and members of Waterford Corporation, the Trades Hall, the various trade unions and bands who included the 'Barrack St Band' and the 'Thomas Francis Meagher Band'.[65] The parade began at the premises of the Gaelic League in George's St and finished in the Peoples Park, where the public were addressed by the Mayor and other dignitaries.[66][67] On Tuesday 17 March, most Waterford businesses—including public houses—were closed and marching bands paraded as they had two days previously.[68]
On Saint Patrick's Day 1916, theIrish Volunteers—an Irish nationalist paramilitary organisation—held parades throughout Ireland. The authorities recorded 38 St Patrick's Day parades, involving 6,000 marchers, almost half of whom were reported to be armed.[69] The following month, the Irish Volunteers launched theEaster Rising against British rule. This marked the beginning of theIrish revolutionary period and led to theIrish War of Independence andCivil War. During this time, Saint Patrick's Day celebrations in Ireland were muted, although the day was sometimes chosen to hold large political rallies.[70]
The celebrations remained low-key after the creation of theIrish Free State; the only state-organized observance was a military procession andtrooping of the colours, and an Irish-languagemass attended by government ministers.[71] In 1927, the Irish Free State governmentbanned the selling of alcohol on St Patrick's Day, although it remained legal in Northern Ireland. The ban was not repealed until 1961.[72]
The first official, state-sponsored Saint Patrick's Day parade inDublin took place in 1931.[73] Public St Patrick's Day festivities in Ireland have been cancelled three times, all for public health reasons.[74][75] In 2001, celebrations were postponed to May due to thefoot-and-mouth outbreak,[76][77][78] while in 2020 and 2021 they were cancelled outright due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[79][80][81][82][83][84][85]
InNorthern Ireland, the celebration of Saint Patrick's Day was affected by sectarian divisions.[86] A majority of the population wereProtestantUlster unionists who saw themselves primarily as British, while a substantial minority were Catholic Irish nationalists who saw themselves primarily as Irish. Although it was a public holiday, Northern Ireland's unionist government did not officially observe St Patrick's Day.[86] During the conflict known asthe Troubles (late 1960s–late 1990s), public St Patrick's Day celebrations were rare and tended to be associated with the Catholic community.[86] In 1976,loyalistsdetonated a car bomb outside a pub crowded with Catholics celebrating St Patrick's Day inDungannon; four civilians were killed and many injured. However, some Protestant unionists attempted to 're-claim' the festival, and in 1985 theOrange Order held its own Saint Patrick's Day parade.[86] Since the end of the conflict in 1998 there have been cross-community St Patrick's Day parades in towns throughout Northern Ireland, which have attracted thousands of spectators.[86]
In the mid-1990s the government of theRepublic of Ireland began a campaign to use Saint Patrick's Day to showcase Ireland and its culture.[87] The government set up a group calledSt. Patrick's Festival, with the aims of creating a world-class national festival and "to project, internationally, an accurate image of Ireland as a creative, professional and sophisticated country with wide appeal".[88] The first Saint Patrick's Festival was held on 17 March 1996. In 1997, it became a three-day event, and by 2006, the festival was five days long. More than 675,000 people attended the 2009 parade, and that year's festival saw almost 1 million visitors, who took part in festivities that included concerts, outdoor theatre performances, and fireworks.[89] From 2006 to 2012 theSkyfest formed the centrepiece of the Saint Patrick's Festival.[90][91]
The week around Saint Patrick's Day isSeachtain na Gaeilge ("Irish Language Week"), when moreIrish language events are held and there is more effort to use the language.[92]
Christian leaders in Ireland have expressed concern about the secularisation of Saint Patrick's Day. InThe Word magazine's March 2007 issue, FrVincent Twomey wrote, "It is time to reclaim St Patrick's Day as a church festival". He questioned the need for "mindless alcohol-fuelled revelry" and concluded that "it is time to bring the piety and the fun together".[93]
One of the biggest celebrations outside the cities is inDownpatrick,County Down, where Saint Patrick is said to be buried. The shortest Saint Patrick's Day parade in the world formerly took place inDripsey,County Cork. The parade lasted just 23.4 metres and traveled between the village's two pubs. The tradition began in 1999, but ended after five years when one of the pubs closed.[94] The current shortest Saint Paddy's Day parade has been held in Little Compton, Rhode Island since 2022. The parade lasts only 89 feet. The title is disputed by Hot Springs, Arkansas which has hosted the shortest St. Patrick's Day parade since 2004, measuring at 98 feet.[95]
Saint Patrick's Day celebration atTrafalgar Square in London, 2006
In England, the Royal Colonel orColonel-in-chief traditionally present bowls of shamrock to members of theIrish Guards, a regiment in theBritish Army, followingQueen Alexandra introducing the tradition in 1901.[96] Since 2012,Catherine, Princess of Wales has presented the bowls of shamrock to the Irish Guards. While female royals are often tasked with presenting the bowls of shamrock, male royals have also undertaken the role, such asKing George VI in 1950 to mark the 50th anniversary of the formation of the Irish Guards, and in 2016 theDuke of Cambridge in place of his wife.[97][98] Fresh Shamrocks are presented to the Irish Guards, regardless of where they are stationed, and are flown in from Ireland.[99]
While some Saint Patrick's Day celebrations could be conducted openly in Britain pre 1960s, this would change following the commencement by the IRA's bombing campaign onmainland Britain and as a consequence this resulted in a suspicion of all things Irish and those who supported them which led to people of Irish descent wearing a sprig of shamrock on Saint Patrick's day in private or attending specific events.[100] Today, after many years followingthe Good Friday Agreement, people of Irish descent openly wear a sprig of shamrock to celebrate their Irishness.[100]
Birmingham holds the largest Saint Patrick's Day parade in Britain with a city centre parade[102] over a two-mile (3 km) route through the city centre. The organisers describe it as the third biggest parade in the world after Dublin and New York.[103]
London, since 2002, has had an annual Saint Patrick's Day parade which takes place on weekends around the 17th, usually in Trafalgar Square. In 2008, the water in the Trafalgar Square fountains was dyed green. In 2020, the parade was cancelled due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[citation needed]
Liverpool has the highest proportion of residents with Irish ancestry of any English city.[104] This has led to a long-standing celebration on Saint Patrick's Day in terms of music, cultural events and the parade.[citation needed]
Manchester hosts a two-week Irish festival in the weeks prior to Saint Patrick's Day. The festival includes an Irish Market based at the city's town hall which flies the Irish tricolour opposite the Union Flag, a large parade as well as a large number of cultural and learning events throughout the two-week period.[105]
Glasgow has a considerably large Irish population; due, for the most part, to the Irish immigration during the 19th century. This immigration was the main cause in raising the population of Glasgow by over 100,000 people.[109] Due to this large Irish population, there are many Irish-themed pubs and Irish interest groups who hold yearly celebrations on Saint Patrick's day in Glasgow. Glasgow has held a yearly Saint Patrick's Day parade and festival since 2007.[110]
Porte des Bombes illuminated in green on Saint Patrick's Day of 2014
The first Saint Patrick's Day celebrations in Malta took place in the early 20th century by soldiers of theRoyal Dublin Fusiliers who were stationed inFloriana. Celebrations were held in the Balzunetta area of the town, which contained a number of bars and was located close to the barracks. The Irish diaspora in Malta continued to celebrate the feast annually.[111]
Today, Saint Patrick's Day is mainly celebrated in Spinola Bay andPaceville areas ofSt Julian's,[112] although other celebrations still occur at Floriana[111] and other locations.[113][114] Thousands of Maltese attend the celebrations, "which are more associated with drinking beer than traditional Irish culture."[115][116]
Moscow hosts an annual Saint Patrick's Day festival
The first Saint Patrick's Day parade in Russia took place in 1992.[117] Since 1999, there has been a yearly "Saint Patrick's Day" festival in Moscow and other Russian cities.[118] The official part of the Moscow parade is a military-style parade and is held in collaboration with the Moscow government and the Irish embassy in Moscow. The unofficial parade is held by volunteers and resembles a carnival. In 2014, Moscow Irish Week was celebrated from 12 to 23 March, which includes Saint Patrick's Day on 17 March. Over 70 events celebrating Irish culture in Moscow, St Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Voronezh, and Volgograd were sponsored by the Irish Embassy, the Moscow City Government, and other organisations.[119]
Sarajevo, the capital city ofBosnia and Herzegovina has an Irish expatriate community.[125][126] The community established theSarajevo Irish Festival in 2015, which is held for three days around and including Saint Patrick's Day. The festival organizes an annual parade, hosts Irish theatre companies, screens Irish films and organizes concerts of Irish folk musicians. The festival has hosted numerous Irish artists, filmmakers, theatre directors and musicians such asConor Horgan, Ailis Ni Riain,Dermot Dunne,Mick Moloney,Chloë Agnew and others.[127][128][129]
Although it is not a national holiday inLithuania, theVilnia River is dyed green every year on the Saint Patrick's Day in the capitalVilnius.[130]
Norway has had a Saint Patrick's Day parade in Oslo since 2000, first organized by Irish expatriates living in Norway, and partially coordinated with the Irish embassy in Oslo.[131]
While Saint Patrick's Day inSwitzerland is commonly celebrated on 17 March with festivities similar to those in neighbouring central European countries, it is not unusual for Swiss students to organise celebrations in their own living spaces on Saint Patrick's Eve. Most popular are usually those in Zurich'sKreis 4. Traditionally, guests also contribute with beverages and dress in green.[132]
Saint Patrick's Day is a government holiday inNewfoundland and Labrador.[133] The island Newfoundland has strong historic and cultural ties to Ireland and is cited as the most Irish place outside of Ireland.[134] Approximately 20% of Newfoundland's population consists ofIrish Newfoundlanders.
Montreal hosts one of the longest-running and largest Saint Patrick's Day parades in North America
One of the longest-running and largest Saint Patrick's Day (French:le jour de la Saint-Patrick) parades in North America occurs each year inMontreal,[135] whosecity flag includes ashamrock in its lower-right quadrant. The yearly celebration has been organised by the United Irish Societies of Montreal since 1929. The parade has been held yearly without interruption since 1824. Saint Patrick's Day itself, however, has been celebrated in Montreal since as far back as 1759 by Irish soldiers in the Montreal Garrison following the British conquest of New France.
InSaint John, New Brunswick Saint Patrick's Day is celebrated as a week-long celebration. Shortly after the JP Collins Celtic Festival is an Irish festival celebrating Saint John's Irish heritage. The festival is named for a young Irish doctor James Patrick Collins who worked onPartridge Island (Saint John County) quarantine station tending to sick Irish immigrants before he died there himself.
InManitoba, the Irish Association of Manitoba runs a yearly three-day festival of music and culture based around Saint Patrick's Day.[136]
In 2004, the CelticFest Vancouver Society organised its first yearly festival in downtownVancouver to celebrate theCeltic Nations and their cultures. This event, which includes a parade, occurs each year during the weekend nearest Saint Patrick's Day.[137]
There has been a parade held inToronto since at least 1863.[138]
TheToronto Maple Leafs hockey team was known as theToronto St. Patricks from 1919 to 1927, and wore green jerseys. In 1999, when the Maple Leafs played on Saint Patrick's Day, they wore green St Patrick's retro uniforms.[citation needed]
Some groups, notablyGuinness, have lobbied to make Saint Patrick's Day a national holiday.[139]
In March 2009, theCalgary Tower changed its top exterior lights to new green CFL bulbs just in time for Saint Patrick's Day. Part of an environmental non-profit organisation's campaign (Project Porchlight), the green represented environmental concerns. Approximately 210 lights were changed in time for Saint Patrick's Day, and resembled aLeprechaun's hat. After a week, white CFLs took their place. The change was estimated to save the Calgary Tower some $12,000 and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 104 tonnes.[140]
Since 2019, the City ofWaterloo, Ontario has had to contend with an ever-growing massive street party that has coincided with the Saint Patrick's Day celebrations. In 2023, police could be seen putting fences up on Ezra Avenue to discourage partiers to participate in the unauthorized event that has cost the city as much as $750,000 a year for police, paramedics, and municipal services.[141]
Saint Patrick's Day, while not a legal holiday in the United States, is nonetheless widely recognised and observed throughout the country as a celebration of Irish andIrish-American culture. Celebrations include prominent displays of the colour green, religious observances, numerous parades, and copious consumption of alcohol.[11] The holiday has been celebrated in what is now the U.S. since 1600, with the first parade occurring in 1601.[143]
It is customary for the IrishTaoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) to meet with thePresident of the United States on or around Saint Patrick's Day.[144][145] Traditionally, the Taoiseach presents the US president aWaterford Crystal bowl filled with shamrocks.[146] This tradition began in 1952 when the Irish Ambassador to the US,John Hearne, sent a box of shamrocks to PresidentHarry S. Truman. From then, it became a yearly custom for the Irish ambassador to send Saint Patrick's Day shamrocks to an official in the US President's administration, although on some occasions the shamrocks were given personally by the Irish Taoiseach or Irish President to the US president in Washington.[144][146] After the meeting between TaoiseachAlbert Reynolds and PresidentBill Clinton in 1994, the presenting of the shamrocks became a yearly custom.[144][147]
Celebrations inBuenos Aires centre on Reconquista street
In Buenos Aires, a party is held in the downtown street of Reconquista, where there are several Irish pubs;[149][150] in 2006, there were 50,000 people in this street and the pubs nearby.[151] Neither the Catholic Church nor theIrish community, the fifth largest in the world outside Ireland,[152] take part in the organisation of the parties.
The island ofMontserrat is known as the "Emerald Island of theCaribbean" because of its founding byIrish refugees from Saint Kitts and Nevis. Montserrat is one of three places where Saint Patrick's Day is a public holiday, along with Ireland and the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The holiday in Montserrat also commemorates a failed slave uprising that occurred on 17 March 1768.[153]
Saint Patrick's Day is not a public holiday in Australia, although it is celebrated each year across the country's states and territories.[154][155][156] Festivals and parades are often held on weekends around 17 March in cities such asSydney,[157]Brisbane,[158]Adelaide,[159] andMelbourne.[160] On occasion, festivals and parades are cancelled. For instance, Melbourne's 2006 and 2007 Saint Patrick's Day festivals and parades were cancelled due to sporting events (Commonwealth Games andAustralian Grand Prix) being booked on and around the planned Saint Patrick's Day festivals and parades in the city.[161] In Sydney the parade and family day was cancelled in 2016 due to financial problems.[162][163] However, Brisbane's Saint Patrick's Day parade, which was cancelled at the outbreak ofWorld War II and wasn't revived until 1990,[164] was not called off in 2020 as precaution for theCOVID-19 pandemic, in contrast to many other Saint Patrick's Day parades around the world.[165]
The first mention of Saint Patrick's Day being celebrated in Australia was in 1795, when Irish convicts and administrators, Catholic and Protestant, in thepenal colony came together to celebrate the day as a national holiday, despite a ban against assemblies being in place at the time.[166] This unified day of Irish nationalist observance would soon dissipate over time, with celebrations on Saint Patrick's Day becoming divisive between religions and social classes, representative more of Australianness than of Irishness and held intermittingly throughout the years.[166][167][168] HistorianPatrick O'Farrell credits the1916 Easter Rising inDublin andArchbishop Daniel Mannix ofMelbourne for re-igniting St Patrick's Day celebrations in Australia and reviving the sense of Irishness amongst those with Irish heritage.[166] The organisers of the Saint Patrick's festivities in the past were, more often than not, the Catholic clergy[169] which often courted controversy.[170][171]Bishop Patrick Phelan ofSale described in 1921 how the authorities inVictoria had ordered that aUnion Jack be flown at the front of the Saint Patrick's Day parade and following the refusal by Irishmen andIrish-Australians to do so, the authorities paid for an individual to carry the flag at the head of the parade.[172][173] This individual was later assaulted by two men who were later fined in court.[174][175]
From 1878 to 1955, Saint Patrick's Day was recognised as a public holiday in New Zealand, together withSt George's Day (England) andSt Andrew's Day (Scotland).[176][177][178]Auckland attracted many Irish migrants in the 1850s and 1860s, and it was here where some of the earliest Saint Patrick's Day celebrations took place, which often entailed the hosting of community picnics.[179] However, this rapidly evolved from the late 1860s onwards to include holding parades with pipe bands and marching children wearing green, sporting events, concerts, balls and other social events, where people displayed their Irishness with pride.[179] While Saint Patrick's Day is no longer recognised as a public holiday, it continues to be celebrated across New Zealand with festivals and parades at weekends on or around 17 March.[180][181]
Saint Patrick's parades are now held in many locations across Japan.[182] The first parade, in Tokyo, was organised by The Irish Network Japan (INJ) in 1992.
The Irish Association of Korea has celebrated Saint Patrick's Day since 1976 inSeoul, the capital city ofKorea andBusan, second largest city in Korea. The plaxe of the parade and festivals areItaewon of Seoul andSeomyeon of Busan. It is sponsored by Embassy of Ireland in Korea.[183]
Chris Hadfield took photographs of Ireland from Earth orbit, and a picture of himself wearing green clothing in the space station, and posted them online on Saint Patrick's Day in 2013. He also posted online a recording of himself singing "Danny Boy" in space.[189][190]
Saint Patrick's Day celebrations have been criticised, particularly for their association withpublic drunkenness anddisorderly conduct. Some argue that the festivities have become toocommercialised and tacky,[191][192] and have strayed from their original purpose of honouring Saint Patrick and Irish heritage.[193][194][191] Irish American journalistNiall O'Dowd has criticised attempts to recast Saint Patrick's Day as a celebration ofmulticulturalism rather than a celebration of Irishness.[195]
Saint Patrick's Day celebrations have also been criticised for fostering demeaning stereotypes of Ireland andIrish people.[191] An example is the wearing of 'leprechaun outfits',[196] which are based on derogatory 19th century caricatures of the Irish.[197] In the run up to Saint Patrick's Day 2014, theAncient Order of Hibernians successfully campaigned to stop major American retailers from selling novelty merchandise that promoted negative Irish stereotypes.[198]
Saint Patrick's Day celebrations outside Ireland have been described by critics as displays of "Plastic Paddyness"; where foreignersappropriate and misrepresentIrish culture, claim Irish identity, and enact Irish stereotypes.[199]
Horse racing at theCheltenham Festival attracts large numbers of Irish people, both residents of Britain and many who travel from Ireland, and usually coincides with Saint Patrick's Day.[203]
TheSaint Patrick's Day Test is an internationalrugby league tournament that is played between theUS andIreland. The competition was first started in 1995 and continued in 1996, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2011, and 2012. Ireland won the first two tests as well as the one in 2011, with the US winning the remaining 5. The game is usually held on or around 17 March to coincide with Saint Patrick's Day.[208]
^Bolton, Doug (16 March 2016)."One Irish creative agency is leading the charge against 'St. Patty's Day'".The Independent.Archived from the original on 12 March 2018. Retrieved12 March 2018.That's the thinking behind the No More Patty Google Chrome extension, created by Dublin-based creative agency in the Company of Huskies. The extension can be installed in a few clicks, and automatically replaces every online mention of the "very wrong" 'Patty' with the "absolutely right" 'Paddy'.
^abRitschel, Chelsea; Michallon, Clémence (17 March 2022)."What is the meaning behind St Patrick's Day?".The Independent. Retrieved17 March 2022.The day of celebration, which marks the day of St Patrick's death, is a religious holiday meant to celebrate the arrival of Christianity in Ireland, and made official by the Catholic Church in the early 17th century. Observed by the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Lutheran Church, the day was typically observed with services, feasts and alcohol.
^Ariel, Shlomo (2018).Multi-Dimensional Therapy with Families, Children and Adults: The Diamond Model.Routledge.ISBN978-1-351-58794-5.In many culture, identity perception is supported by constitutive myths, traditions and rituals (e.g. the Jewish Passover, the myth of the foundation of Rome [the tale of Romulus and Remus] and St. Patrick's Day, which commemorates the arrival of Christianity to Ireland and celebrates the heritage and culture of the Irish in general).
^"St Patrick's Day celebrations".Church of Ireland. The Irish Times. 12 March 2011. Archived fromthe original on 15 May 2011. Retrieved17 March 2013 – via ireland.anglican.org.
^abcdeWillard Burgess Moore (1989).Circles of Tradition: Folk Arts in Minnesota. Minnesota Historical Society Press. p. 52.ISBN9780873512398. Retrieved13 November 2010.In nineteenth-century America it became a celebration of Irishness, more than a religious occasion, though attending Mass continues as an essential part of the day.
^abcdWillard Burgess Moore (1989).Circles of Tradition: Folk Arts in Minnesota. Minnesota Historical Society Press. p. 52.ISBN9780873512398. Retrieved13 November 2010.The religious occasion did involve the wearing of shamrocks, an Irish symbol of the Holy Trinity, and the lifting of Lenten restrictions on drinking.
^abBarth, Edna (2001).Shamrocks, Harps, and Shillelaghs: The Story of the St. Patrick's Day Symbols. Sandpiper. p. 7.ISBN0618096515.Archived from the original on 21 November 2015. Retrieved13 November 2010.For most Irish-Americans, this holiday (from holy day) is partially religious but overwhelmingly festive. For most Irish people in Ireland the day has little to do with religion at all and St. Patrick's Day church services are followed by parades and parties, the latter being the best attended. The festivities are marked by Irish music, songs, and dances.
^abcNagle, John (2009).Multiculturalism's Double-Bind.Ashgate Publishing.ISBN978-0-754-67607-2.Archived from the original on 19 August 2020. Retrieved13 November 2010.Like many other forms of carnival, St. Patrick's Day is a feast day, a break from Lent in which adherents are allowed to temporarily abandon rigorous fasting by indulging the forbidden. Since alcohol is often proscribed during Lent the copious consumption of alcohol is seen as an integral part of St. Patrick's day.
^abJames Terence Fisher (2007).Communion of Immigrants: A History of Catholics in America.Oxford University Press.ISBN9780199842254.Archived from the original on 6 October 2015. Retrieved13 November 2010.The 40-day period (not counting Sundays) prior to Easter is known as Lent, a time of prayer and fasting. Pastors of Irish-American parishes often supplied "dispensations" for St. Patrick s Day, enabling parishioners to forego Lenten sacrifices in order to celebrate the feast of their patron saint.
^"Public holidays in Ireland". Citizens Information Board.Archived from the original on 17 November 2010. Retrieved13 November 2010.There is only one place outside of Ireland that celebrates St. Patrick's Day as a national public holiday: the island of Montserrat. The small pear-shaped island is about 40 square miles and is located just south of Antigua. It's known as the Emerald Isle of the Caribbean.
^"Confession of St. Patrick". Christian Classics Ethereal Library at Calvin College.Archived from the original on 16 December 2009. Retrieved10 March 2010.
^Bridgwater, William; Kurtz, Seymour, eds. (1963). "Saint Patrick".The Columbia Encyclopedia (3rd ed.). New York: Columbia University Press. pp. 1611–12.
^Newell, Jill (16 March 2000)."Holiday has history".Daily Forty-Niner.Archived from the original on 16 March 2009. Retrieved21 March 2009.
^abMonaghan, Patricia (1 January 2009).The Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore. Infobase Publishing.ISBN978-1-438-11037-0.There is no evidence that the clover or wood sorrel (both of which are called shamrocks) were sacred to the Celts in any way. However, the Celts had a philosophical and cosmological vision of triplicity, with many of their divinities appearing in three. Thus when St Patrick, attempting to convert the Druids on Beltane, held up a shamrock and discoursed on the Christian Trinity, the three-in-one god, he was doing more than finding a homely symbol for a complex religious concept. He was indicating knowledge of the significance of three in the Celtic realm, a knowledge that probably made his mission far easier and more successful than if he had been unaware of that number's meaning.
^Hegarty, Neil (24 April 2012).Story of Ireland. Ebury Publishing.ISBN978-1-448-14039-8.In some ways, though, the Christian mission resonated: pre-Christian devotion was characterized by, for example, the worship of gods in groups of three, by sayings collected in threes (triads), and so on – from all of which the concept of the Holy Trinity was not so very far removed. Against this backdrop the myth of Patrick and his three-leafed shamrock fits quite neatly.
^Homan, Roger (2006).The Art of the Sublime: Principles of Christian Art and Architecture. Ashgate Publishing. p. 37.
^Kelly, James.That Damn'd Thing Called Honour: Duelling in Ireland, 1570–1860. Cork University Press, 1995. p.65
^The Fundamental Laws, Statutes and Constitutions of the Ancient Order of the Friendly Brothers of Saint Patrick. 1751.
^Drennan, William.When Ireland First RoseArchived 5 February 2021 at theWayback Machine. in Charles A. Reed (ed.) (1884) The Cabinet of Irish Literature. Volume 2. Retrieved 2 February 2021 via Library Ireland
^"When Erin First Rose, Irish poem". 16 January 2021. Archived from the original on 16 January 2021. Retrieved5 November 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^Armao, Frederic. "The Color Green in Ireland: Ecological Mythology and the Recycling of Identity".Environmental Issues in Political Discourse in Britain and Ireland. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2013. p. 184
^Kerrigan, Jo (March–April 2004)."From Here to Here".Ireland of the Welcomes. Vol. 53, no. 2.Archived from the original on 21 October 2019. Retrieved6 June 2010 – via Dripsey.
^Mcbrien, Richard P. (2009).Lives of the Saints: From Mary and St. Francis of Assisi to John XXIII and Mother Teresa.HarperOne.ISBN9780061763656.Archived from the original on 3 October 2015. Retrieved13 November 2010.The most famous church in the United States is dedicated to him, St. Patrick's in New York City. St. Patrick's Day is celebrated by people of all ethnic backgrounds by the wearing of green and parades. His feast, which is on the General Roman Calendar, has been given as March 17 in liturgical calendars and martyrologies. The Church of England, the Episcopal Church in the USA, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America observe his feast on this day, and he is also commemorated on the Russian Orthodox calendar.
^Москва. День Св. Патрика [Moscow. St. Patrick's Day] (in Russian). Русское Кельтское Общество [Russian Celtic Society]. 1999–2007. Archived fromthe original on 17 April 2012. Retrieved29 May 2012.
^Holmes, Evelyn (12 March 2016)."Crowds gather for St. Patrick's Day celebrations downtown".Abc7 Chicago.American Broadcasting Company.Archived from the original on 13 March 2016. Retrieved13 March 2016.Large crowds gathered for Saturday's St. Patrick's Day festivities downtown. Although St. Patrick's Day is actually on a Thursday this year, Chicago will be marking the day all weekend long. Some started the day at Mass at Old St. Patrick's Church in the city's West Loop neighborhood. Spectators gathered along the riverfront in the Loop for the annual dyeing of the Chicago River, which began at 9 am
^Nally, Pat (1992)."Los Irlandeses en la Argentina".Familia, Journal of the Ulster Historical Foundation.2 (8).Archived from the original on 14 May 2016. Retrieved6 November 2010.
^abcO'Farrell, Patrick. (1995). St Patrick's Day in Australia: The John Alexander Ferguson Lecture 1994. Journal of Royal Historical Society 81(1) 1-16.
^The Southern Cross. (20 February 1931). St. Patrick's Day: The Adelaide Celebration: Meeting of the Committee.The Southern Cross.AdelaideSouth Australia. p7. Retrieved 2 February 2021 via National Library of Australia
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