St. Patrick’s Day

3/17/2016 (Permalink)

St. Patrick's Day

Every year on March 17, the Irish and the Irish-at-heart across the globe observe St. Patrick’s Day. What began as a religious feast day for the patron saint of Ireland has become an international festival celebrating Irish culture with parades, dancing, special foods and a whole lot of green.

Some fun facts about the Holiday are:

• Chicago dies its river green for the festivities, and many bars serve green-dyed beer. The White House fountain is also dyed green!
• Since many Catholics are Irish-American, some may be required to fast from drinking during Lent. However, they are allowed to break this fast during the St. Patrick's Day celebrations. This is one cause for the day's association with drinking heavily.
• The symbol of the shamrock used for St. Patrick's Day comes from the story of St. Patrick using the shamrock to illustrate the Holy Trinity. The three-leafed plant coincided with the Pagan religion's sanctity of the number three and is the root of the green color theme.
• St. Patrick's Day parades started in New York in 1762 by a group of Irish soldiers in the British military who marched down Broadway. This began the tradition of a military theme in the parade, as they often feature marching military unites.

May your troubles be less and your blessings be more, and nothing but happiness come through your door.  – Irish Proverb