St. Patrick's Day in Ireland

St. Patrick's Day in Ireland

A lot of you have surely heard about Saint Patrick's day at least once in your life. However, for some of you, it could have been an unknown celebration until this very moment. Well, in either way, keep reading! Test how much you know about Saint Patrick's day!

CELEBRATION

St. Patrick's Day (also "St Paddy's Day," or "Paddy's Day") is celebrated on March 17, the day he is assumed to have died. The holiday originally was tied to religious ideals but now is also a symbol of Irish pride and, why not, a welcome to kick off the spring season. For Irish people, this day has been a religious holiday for over 1,000 years. On St. Patrick’s Day, which falls during the Christian season of Lent, Irish families would traditionally attend church in the morning and celebrate in the afternoon. This tradition started in America when a group of Irish people emigrated there and began celebrating it. Even if St. Patrick's Day is not recognized as a national holiday in the country, Americans still love to celebrate this date. In Chicago, they even dye their river green in its honor.

STORY

Saint Patrick, who lived during the fifth century, is the patron saint of Ireland and its national apostle. As opposite as you might think, St. Patrick wasn't Irish. He was born in Roman Britain, but was kidnapped when he was 16 and taken to Ireland as a slave. He managed to escape, and spread Christianity in Ireland while living in poverty. He established monasteries, churches, and schools. There are a lot of legends around him, for example, that he drove the snakes out of Ireland and used the shamrock to explain the Trinity (the unity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). This is why shamrocks are used to symbolize St. Patrick's Day. The three leaves of a shamrock are also said to stand for faith, hope and love, and a fourth leaf is where we get the luck from. Paddy's Day is celebrated on March 17 because is is when people believe he died.

TRADITIONS

On St. Patrick's Day, Irish people usually eat corned beef and cabbage with bacon, even as this is more of an American tradition rather than Irish. They also love dancing, drinking beer and partying. Both Irish and American will normally end this night in a pub with friends or family. People usually wear green clothes or accessories on this day, but blue is also used. Parades are also common in big cities.