Celebrate St Patrick’s Day in March!
St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated in countries all over the world. What other day of the year can you wear green all over, drink green beer and go around asking people to kiss you because you’re Irish?…
Saint Patrick was born in England whilst under the occupation of the Romans. He was captured and taken as a slave but then escaped on a boat to Ireland. He worked to convert the Irish people to Christianity. Saint Patrick died on 17th March 461 AD, and has now become the "patron saint" of Ireland. St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated every year on March 17th, the day of the saint’s death. This day is the national holiday of Ireland and is celebrated with a public holiday. In Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United States and Great Britain, it is widely celebrated but it not an official holiday. No matter what country you are residing in, there is usually something entertaining to do on St. Patrick’s Day.
Ireland:
Ireland celebrates St. Patrick's Day with a parade in Dublin, which is part of a six-day festival. The festival consistently draws large crowds and features performances, spectacles and music throughout the streets of the country.
Canada:
Due to their Irish roots, the provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador actually have this day as a public holiday. Irish pubs across Canada are packed with people drinking green tinted beer and proclaiming themselves “Irish for the day”. The longest-running St. Patrick's Day parade in Canada occurs each year in Montreal, Quebec and has been held every year since 1824. In the city of Toronto in 1919 the current Toronto Maple Leafs hockey team was known as the Toronto St. Patricks and wore green jerseys until 1927.
Australia and New Zealand:
Although it is not a national holiday, the day is celebrated in Irish Pubs across both countries with Aussies and Kiwis adorning green costumes and drinking lots of Guinness. The St. Patrick’s Day parade in Sydney is recorded as being the largest in the southern hemisphere.
United States:
The United States was one of the first to celebrate the St Patrick’s Day. In 1737 the first civic and public celebration of St. Patrick's Day took place in Boston, Massachusetts where there is still a parade today. The parade in New York City has become the largest St. Patrick's Day parade in the world with around 150,000 participants marching up 5th Avenue in Manhattan. Furthermore in Chicago, Illinois the Chicago River is dyed green for St. Patrick’s Day and has been since 1961.
England
The largest St. Patrick's Day parade is held in Birmingham, England over a two mile route through the city centre. The organisers describe it as the third biggest parade in the world after Dublin and New York. London has a festival and parade in Trafalgar Square; traditional and contemporary Irish music take over the stage and the fountains pump out green water.
No matter what country you’re in on St. Patrick’s Day this year, make sure you put on your green clothes and celebrate. Whether it’s going to a parade or having a green beer or Guinness at the Irish Pub, be sure to have a good time!