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St. Patrick's Day is celebrated every year on March 17th. It
is a national holiday in the Republic of Ireland as well as
the Candian Province of Newfoundland and Laborador.
St. Patrick's Day was a religious holiday, dedicated the
Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, until 1903 when
it became public by the Bank Holiday Act fo 1903. The Irish
Memeber of Parliment, James O'Mara, later introduced a law
that all pubs be, wait for it, closed on March 17th. Suprisingly
this law stuck around until the 1970's, when people finally
realized that St. Patrick's Day is all about drinking, drinking,
drinking.
Saint Patrick
Saint Patrick was born around the end of the fourth
century A.D. in Britain. Although his father was a Christian
deacon, their family was not a very religous one. At 16, Saint
Patrick was taken into slavery by a group of Irish thieves
who took over his home village. During his time in captivity,
he spent a lot of time alone and in this time turned to God,
becoming more religious. After six years, Saint Patrick escaped
and went to Gaul where he studied in a monestary for 12-15
years. After being ordinated as a priest, Saint Patrick was
sent to Ireland to be a minister as well as conver the non-Christian
Irish. His mission lasted for 30 years.
The Parade
The first St. Patrick's Day Parade was actually
held in New York City in 1962. It consisted of Irish soldiers
serving in the English military marching the streets of the
city. "Each year, nearly three million people line the
one-and-a-half mile parade route to watch the procession,
which takes more than five hours. Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia,
and Savannah also celebrate the day with parades including
between 10,000 to 20,000 participants." - The History
Channel
Traditions
The traditional meal of Saint Patrick's Day is corned beef,
boiled potatoes and mashed cabbage, as well is Guiness.
The shamrock is a special part of the holiday; in ancient
Ireland it symbolized the rebirth of spring. Since then, the
shamrock has become a symbol of Irish nationalism and pride.
It is also said that Saint Patrick used the three-leaved shamrock
to demonstrate the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.
The color green is associated with the holiday for a few,
obvious reasons. The first is because of the shamrock, which
the Irish hold close to their culture. Also, green is on the
national Irish flag, where is represents all the green pastures
of the country.
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