Twitter
Facebook
Every year on March 17, the world turns green — not with envy, but for a holiday that has been celebrated for more than 1,000 years: St. Patrick’s Day.
People acknowledge the colorful holiday as the saint’s religious feast day, and it commemorates Saint Patricius’ death.
Individuals who observe St. Patrick’s Day in the traditional sense spend the morning at church and celebrate in the afternoon. During this special occasion, rules such as not eating meat for Lent are allowed to be broken. In the evening, families come together for Irish bacon and cabbage, an authentic St. Paddy’s Day dinner.
The Irish consider Saint Patricius (more commonly known as Saint Patrick) the patron saint of Ireland. He died around March 17, 461, which explains why the world celebrates St. Patrick’s Day in the middle of March.
Saint Patrick holds so much significance with Ireland because historians believe he was the first to esablish Christianity there.
Contrary to popular belief, Saint Patrick’s birthplace is Great Britain, not Ireland.
Also, interestingly enough, the first St. Patrick’s Day parade took place in the U.S., not Ireland.
In fact, the U.S. is home to perhaps the most bizarre and creative St. Patrick’s Day tradition ever.
Every year since 1962, Chicago dyes its river green in the holiday’s honor.
However, unlike in this strange tradition’s early years, the city now dumps approximately 40 pounds of colored vegetable dye in the river so it appears green for a few hours as opposed to dumping 100 pounds of dye where the river remained green for close to a week.
Almost as interesting as the customs for the green holiday are its symbols and the origins surrounding them. The two most prominent in popular culture are the leprechaun and the shamrock.
It is probably surprising that their faces are commonly adorned with beards and bushy eyebrows because leprechauns are actually Celtic fairies.
Unlike their jolly portrayal in popular culture, leprechauns are believed to be unfriendly and unapproachable. Their hours are spent guarding their pot of gold and making shoes, so if you’re on the hunt to score a pot of gold of your own, keep your ears open for the sound of a shoemaker’s hammer. If you are fortunate enough to come across these difficult to find creatures, make sure you keep your eyes on them at all times or else they will vanish and all hope of obtaining their gold will be forever lost.
If, however, you’re unsuccessful in acquiring a pot of gold, keep your eyes open for a shamrock. Shamrocks, or three-leaved clovers, are so highly valued by the Irish because three is considered Ireland’s magic number.
Best of luck on your St. Patrick’s Day adventures. Erin go bragh!
