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St. Patrick’s Day
What is St. Patrick’s Day?
St. Patrick’s Day is the feast day ofSt. Patrick, a patron saint ofIreland. Originally celebrated with religious feasts and services, St. Patrick’s Day became a secular celebration of Irish culture when it reached the United States alongside Irish immigrants.
When is St. Patrick’s Day celebrated?
St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated annually on March 17, the anniversary ofSt. Patrick’s death in 461.
What is the origin of St. Patrick’s Day?
St. Patrick’s Day was originally celebrated in Ireland with religious services and feasts in honour ofSt. Patrick, one of Ireland’spatron saints. When Irish immigrants brought St. Patrick’s Day traditions to the United States, the day evolved into a secular celebration of Irish culture.
Who was St. Patrick?
St. Patrick was a 5th-century missionary toIreland who is credited with bringingChristianity to Ireland. He became a legendary figure by the end of the 7th century and is considered apatron saint of Ireland.
St. Patrick’s Day,feast day (March 17) ofSt. Patrick, patronsaint ofIreland. Born inRoman Britain in the late 4th century, he was kidnapped at the age of 16 and taken toIreland as a slave. He escaped but returned about 432ce to convert the Irish toChristianity. By the time of his death on March 17, 461, he had establishedmonasteries,churches, and schools. Manylegends grew up around him—for example, that he drove thesnakes out of Ireland and used theshamrock to explain theTrinity. Ireland came to celebrate his day with religious services and feasts.
It was emigrants, particularly to theUnited States, who transformed St. Patrick’s Day into a largelysecularholiday of revelry and celebration of thingsIrish. Cities with large numbers of Irish immigrants, who often wielded political power, staged the most extensive celebrations, which included elaborate parades.Boston held its first St. Patrick’s Day parade in 1737, followed byNew York City in 1762. Since 1962Chicago has coloured itsriver green to mark the holiday. (Although blue was the colour traditionally associated with St. Patrick, green is now commonly connected with the day.) Irish and non-Irish alike commonly participate in the “wearing of the green”—sporting an item of green clothing or a shamrock, the Irish national plant, in the lapel.Corned beef andcabbage are associated with the holiday, and evenbeer is sometimes dyed green to celebrate the day. Although some of these practices eventually were adopted by the Irish themselves, they did so largely for the benefit of tourists.