History and Traditions of Saint Patrick’s Day

The iconic Irish holiday takes place on Sunday, March 17th this year. Saint Patrick’s Day, an annual Irish holiday, is mainly associated with green colors, gold, rainbows, luck, shamrocks, and the figures of leprechauns. The holiday has been celebrated as a Christian holiday for many years because it falls during the Christian holiday of Lent. However, today is known to be celebrated by people of many different religions, mainly celebrating Irish culture. Although the holiday started in Ireland, today it is celebrated all over the world, including over 200 countries. Green is a staple color for the holiday, however, the original color for the holiday was blue. Since Ireland is known for its lush green nature and the shamrock became a strong symbol for the holiday, green took over as the primary color. Many people are known to wear green on the holiday to celebrate. 

Saint Patrick lived in the fifth century and was born in Roman Britain. However, when he was 16 he was kidnapped and brought to Ireland as a slave. When he escaped, he then returned to Ireland and was praised for bringing Christianity to the people. The holiday was then celebrated on March 17th to honor him, because it is believed to be the day he died. The holiday first started to become celebrated during the 9th and 10th centuries. 

The holiday then started to transfer into the U.S. during the 18th century, with Irish immigrants. One tradition in America is dyeing the Chicago River green. It was first started in 1962 to celebrate the holiday in a new and unique way. During the first year, 100 pounds of dye were released into the river. This amount of dye turned the river green for around a week, so today only 40 pounds of dye were released into the river, making it green for a couple of hours on the holiday. The first recorded parade for St. Patrick’s Day was in 1601, in what is now St. Augustine Florida. As the holiday grew in America, St. Patrick’s Day parades in big cities like New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, and Savannah, started to pick up popularity. Today, New York City’s parade is the world’s largest parade, taking place on Fifth Avenue. 

What started as a simple Irish holiday has now become a worldwide holiday that has taken on many new traditions.