Many people celebrate St. Patrick’s Day; however, many of those people do not know what it is or how it came about. St. Patrick’s Day, celebrated on March 17, celebrates the feast day of the saint for which it is named and is the anniversary of his death. It is both a cultural and religious holiday that has been celebrated for over one thousand years.
Typically in Ireland, the people would first go to Mass in the morning and then celebrate later in the day. The meat and other Lenten restrictions were pardoned for the day as feasts went on.The traditional meal for this celebration is corned beef and cabbage. Irish soda bread is also a popular food; it is baked using baking soda instead of the more commonly used yeast. In 2009, over 2.3 billion pounds of cabbage and 26.1 billion pounds of corned beef were produced for the popular holiday. Feasting is a part of St. Patrick’s day, but nothing can top the parades that occur all around the country each year.
On March 17, 1762, the first St. Patrick’s Day parade took place in the United States when Irish soldiers in the English military marched through New York. Now, the largest parades are held in Boston and New York, but there are around one hundred other parades around the US.However great these celebrations are, we wouldn’t have any of them without our beloved St. Patrick. St. Patrick is the reason we celebrate this holiday every year. He was called to convert the Irish people to Christianity. He drove out the “snakes” of Ireland, which some believe is a symbol for paganism. He built many churches, schools, and monasteries for the people there. It started as more of an Irish day of pride and eventually evolved to days of eating, drinking, and celebrating.
Today, along with United States, Ireland, Canada, the countries of Singapore, Russia, and Japan also celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. The Irish Day of Pride has become an international celebration honoring St. Patrick and traditions.
