St. Patrick's Day is the Roman Catholic feast day that honors St. Patrick (387-461 AD), the patron saint of Ireland. Because of St. Patrick's patronage, St. Patrick's Day (March 17) has come to be closely associated with Ireland and Irish culture.

History of St. Patrick's Day

Since the earliest centuries of Christianity, it has been a custom to celebrate the anniversary of saints' deaths. This allows believers to honor the saint's accomplishments and celebrate their entry into heaven. A "feast day" is designated for every saint, even when the exact date of death of a saint is not known.

St. Patrick was a fifth-century English (or perhaps Scottish) missionary to Ireland. Scholars agree he is a historical figure and that he converted many of the pagans on the island to Christianity, but dismiss most of the legend that has developed about him over the centuries.

The feast day of St. Patrick has been observed in Ireland on March 17 for hundreds of years. The date falls during the fasting season of Lent, but on St. Patrick's Day the prohibitions against eating meat were lifted, and the Irish would celebrate their patron saint with dancing, drinking, and feasting on the traditional meal of Irish bacon and cabbage.

One of the most widespread of today's St. Patrick's Day celebrations, the St. Patrick's Day parade, began not in Ireland but in America. It consisted of Irish soldiers serving in the English army and took place in New York City on March 17, 1762. The parade helped the soldiers connect with their Irish roots and their fellow Irishmen.

Irish patriotism flourished in America over the next several decades. Several "Irish Aid" societies were founded, each of which would hold annual parades featuring Irish music. In 1848, several Irish Aid societies in New York decided to combine their parades into a single St. Patrick's Day Parade. This parade is the oldest and the largest civilian parade.

Today, Irish expatriates, those of Irish descent, and ever-growing crowds of people with no Irish connections whatsoever celebrate St. Patrick's Day.

St. Patrick's Day in Ireland

Many Irish people wear a bunch of shamrock on their lapels or caps on St. Patrick's Day, while children wear tricolored (green, white and orange) badges. Girls traditionally wore green ribbons in their hair (many still do).

Unlike its American counterpart, St. Patrick's Day in Ireland has primarily been a religious festival. Until the 1970s, pubs were required by law to close on March 17. However, since 1995 the Irish government has sought to make St. Patrick's Day an opportunity to showcase Ireland and Irish culture to the world.

The St. Patrick's Day celebrations in Dublin have thus been extended to a week-long event called St. Patrick's Festival, encompassing a spectacular fireworks display (Skyfest), open-air music, street theater and the traditional parade. Over one million people attended the celebrations in 2004.

St. Patrick's Day Parades

St. Patrick's Day is celebrated worldwide by the Irish, those of Irish descent, and everyone else who enjoys being "Irish for a day." A major parade takes place in Dublin and in most other Irish towns and villages. The three largest parades of recent years have been held in Dublin, New York and Birmingham England. Parades also take place in other centers, London, Paris, Rome, Moscow, Beijing, Hong Kong, Singapore and throughout the Americas.

The New York celebration is the oldest and largest St. Patrick's Day Parade in the world. The parade dates back to 1762, and in 2003 more than 150,000 marchers (bands, military and police groups, county associations, emigrant societies, social and cultural clubs etc.) participated.

As might be expected in such a large event, it has also been dogged with controversy. Its organizers have banned Irish gays and lesbians from marching as a group, an act which has led to calls in Ireland (which, since 1992 has some of the most liberal gay laws in the world) for its boycotting. In addition, the Ancient Order of Hibernians has on occasion appointed controversial Irish Republican figures (some of whom were barred from the US) to be its Grand Marshal.

The longest running St. Patrick's Day parade in Canada takes place in Montreal. The 2003 parade was the 179th - the first Montreal parade taking place in 1824.

Other St. Patrick's Day Customs and Traditions

The most common traditions on St. Patrick's Day include wearing green, enjoying Irish folk music and food, and by consuming large quantities of Irish beer (sometimes dyed green), such as Murphys, Smithwicks, Harp or Guinness or other Irish liquors such as Irish whiskey, Irish Coffee or Baileys Irish Cream.

In the United States, St. Patrick's Day would not be St. Patrick's Day unless the Chicago River is dyed green. This tradition began in 1962, when Chicago pollution-control workers used green dye to trace illegal sewage discharges in the river. The workers thought it might be a fun way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, so they released 100 pounds of green vegetable dye into the river – enough to keep it green for a week! The idea was a hit, and continues to this day. However, only 40 pounds of dye are used today to minimize environmental damage.

Since the 1990s, Irish taoisigh (prime ministers) have attended special functions either on St. Patrick's Day or a day or two earlier, in the White House, where they present shamrock to the President of the United States. A similar presentation is made to the Speaker of the House. Originally only representatives of the Republic of Ireland attended, but since the mid-1990's all major Irish political parties from north and south are invited, with the attendance including the representatives of the Irish government, the Ulster Unionists, the Social Democratic and Labour Party, Sinn Féin and others.

In recent years it is common for the entire Irish Government to be abroad representing the country in various parts of the world. In 2003, the President of Ireland celebrated the holiday in Sydney, the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) was in Washington, while other Irish government members attended ceremonies in New York, Boston, San Francisco, San Jose, Savannah, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Diego, New Zealand, Hong Kong, South Africa, Korea, Japan and Brazil.

In Britain, the late Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother used to present bowls of shamrock specially flown over from Ireland to members of the Irish Guards, a regiment in the British Army made up of Irish people from both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.