The Tradition of St. Patrick's Day

Saint Patrick's Day is a national holiday in Ireland and is an annual day of feasting to celebrate St. Patrick, one of the patron saints of Ireland. It is also celebrated in many other countries, including the United States, but is not an official holiday. The holiday falls on March 17, and usually occurs during Lent.

Although the holiday is rooted in religion and Catholics in Ireland in particular, it has grown to be a worldwide celebration of Irish people and Irish customs. This includes the 'wearing of the green', drinking Irish beer and eating Irish food. Another custom which has grown up around the day is parades.

Parades began to spring up around the United States in the late nineteenth century with New York and Boston both claiming bragging rights to the first one. Since then, the New York parade has grown into the largest, but parades are typically held in Montreal, Savannah, Georgia, and many other cities around the continent. Of course, the largest and longest lasting is still held in Dublin, Ireland.

The tradition of wearing the green dates back to the early days of the Catholic Church in Ireland when St. Patrick used a shamrock or clover to explain the Holy Trinity. This evolved into people wearing a shamrock on their clothing for luck and became known as the wearing of the green. From this arose the tradition of people wearing green clothing on St. Patrick's Day.

Of course, no St. Paddy's day celebration would be complete without good food. Corned beef and cabbage has become synonymous with the celebration although its roots lie elsewhere. In Ireland, a dish of bacon and cabbage is more traditional, with the cut of bacon similar to that of Canadian bacon, or ham. The corned beef and cabbage actually comes more from the old English boiled dinner, which consisted of a beef roast and various root vegetables along with cabbage.

And although many bars and pubs in America will dye their beer green in celebration of St. Patrick's Day, the traditional Irish beverage of choice on this day would be a good Irish stout, such as Guinness. On this special day, Guinness is sold more outside of Ireland, particularly in Canada, than on the Emerald Isle itself. Although the holiday almost always falls during Lent, a traditional time of fasting and abstinence, it has become known as a day of feasting and drinking around the world.

So on March seventeenth, remember to wear the green, enjoy a nice boiled dinner, and hoist a fine Irish ale or stout in celebration.