St. Patrick's Day

ICK’S DA R T A P S T. The Saint, The Story, Y The Festivities

Irish Blessing May the road rise to meet you.

May the wind be always at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face, The rains fall soft upon your fields, And until we meet again, May God hold you In the hollow of His hand.

Green party attire…festive shamrock décor…ice-cold mugs of artificially colored green beer… lively celebrations every year on March 17. While representative of modern-day St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, the clock must be rewound more than 1,500 years for the holiday’s original roots and meaning.

The Man: From Aristocrat to Slave to Patron Saint Legends and folklore are interwoven with what is known about St. Patrick. Historians generally agree that Patrick was born into an aristocratic family in Britain, not Ireland, at the end of the 4th Century. They also agree that during his teenage years around age 16, Patrick was kidnapped by Irish pirates and sold into slavery to a Celtic priest on Emerald Isle in Northern Ireland, just west of Great Britain. There, he toiled as a shepherd for six years before escaping the island and making his way back home.

Patrick later returned to Ireland, this time as a Christian missionary who converted many people to Christianity until his death, which many sources cite as March 17, 461. Centuries later, Patrick was named the patron saint of Ireland. March 17 became a holy day of obligation for Irish Catholics, with the first recorded St. Patrick’s Day holiday in 1631.

The Holiday: From Solemn to Celebratory St. Patrick’s Day has since evolved from a solemn religious holiday in Ireland to a festive secular day of revelry on many continents.

Up until the 1970s, pubs in Ireland were closed on March 17, but they later joined their counterparts across the pond in a day of merriment, partially to promote tourism and boost the economy.

The St. Patrick’s Festival in Dublin spanning several days now features themed activities, performances and a parade, and other cities and communities across Ireland host similar events.

Irish immigrants have introduced other countries to their food, drinks and culture, propelling them into the spotlight, and people around the world embrace all things Irish and green on St. Patrick’s Day.

According to legend, St. Patrick banished snakes from Ireland as he stood atop a hillside.

However, Ireland’s fossil record has no record of snakes in the country, nor does research suggest that snakes ever occupied the Emerald Isle.

E SHAMROCK H T Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock (or the Blarney Stone), you know that the shamrock – a low-growing, clover-life plant with three-lobed leaves – is widely associated with St. Patrick’s Day. Here’s what you might not know.

In 2003, the shamrock, along with the harp, became international registered trademarks of the Government of Ireland.

Before it was a government symbol, the shamrock was associated with St. Patrick, who used the three-leaf clover to explain the Christian concept of the Holy Trinity.

The word shamrock was introduced in English literature in 1571

by English scholar Edmund Champion in “A Historie of Irelande” in which he described a range of herbs and plants associated with Ireland.

A visible image linking St. Patrick to the shamrock first appeared on coins in 1675, showing the saint holding a shamrock while addressing a crowd of people.

Soon thereafter, it became the custom for men to wear a shamrock on their lapel or hat on the March 17 feast day. At the end of the day, they placed their shamrock in their last glass of grog, downed their drinks, removed the shamrocks and threw them over their left shoulders. This St. Patrick’s Day custom became known as “the drowning of the shamrock.”

The shamrock is the air traffic control sign of Aer Lingus, the flag carrier airline of Ireland.

New Yo rk C i ty’s S Par ade a de is the Ol d

SStt . Patrick’s Da y d es t i n A meri c a .

An early-1900s St. Patrick’s Day Parade in New York City.

In 1737, the first observance of St. Patrick’s Day in the 13 colonies was organized as a gathering, not a parade, by the Charitable Irish Society of Boston to honor their homeland of Ireland.

Similarly, New York held its first St. Patrick’s Day gathering and observance in 1762 in the home of Irish Protestant John Marshall, paving the way for similar future informal gatherings by other Irish immigrants. Four years later in 1766, Irish soldiers in the British Army held the first recorded St. Patrick’s Day parade in New York.

In 1771, the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick provided relief to Philadelphia’s Irish immigrants. General George Washington, who was a member of that organization, actively encouraged Irish Americans to join the Continental Army and gave his troops a holiday on March 17, 1780 “as an act of solidarity with the Irish in their fight for independence.”

Since 1824, parades in Savannah, Georgia have always been held on March 17, rivaling those in New York City both in fervor and size.

By 1848, many aid societies had joined forces, and the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in New York City became the largest parade in the United States and one of the largest parades in the world.

Sewer workers in 1962 Chicago had the clever idea to use green dye to turn the Chicago River green for Saint Patrick’s Day. Other cities have also used green dye for festive visuals: Indianapolis dyes its main canal green; Savannah dyes it downtown city fountains green; Jamestown, New York dyes the Chadakoin River green; and St. Pat’s Board Alumni from the Missouri University of Science and Technology paint 12 city blocks green before the annual parade.

Cities with major celebrations now span from coast to coast and border to border, with countless St. Patrick’s Day parades, festivals and events held in communities across the nation.

One of the most popular associations with St. Patrick’s Day is the tiny, supernatural leprechaun clad in green attire.

Originally referred to in Irish folklore as ‘lobaircin,’ meaning ‘small-bodied fellow,’ leprechauns are likely tied to the Celtic belief in fairies who used their magical powers for good or evil.

The meal that became a St. Patrick’s Day staple across the country – corned beef and cabbage – was an Irish-American innovation. While ham and cabbage were eaten in Ireland, corned beef offered a cheaper substitute for impoverished 19th century immigrants.

BY THE NUMBERS

33.1 million Americans with Irish ancestry $1 billion in annual Irish whiskey revenues oldest bar in the world dates to 900AD in Ireland 119.5 seconds to pour the perfect Guinness 3 Celtic symbols: harp, Celtic cross, green shamrock 2 U.S. cities observe St. Patrick’s Day as a holiday 1 U.S. city – Savannah – always has its parade on 3.17 1601 was the first St. Patrick’s Day celebration in what’s now the U.S. U.S. consumers spend $4+ billion annually celebrating St. Patty’s Day F U N FA C T S Whether you’re celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with a traditional meal, an Irish movie or a themed libation, these Irish tidbits will put you in the know.

Gaeltacht Gaelic Phrases Learn Irish Irish Slang Guinness

A primarily Irish-speaking region Dia duit (hello), Slán (goodbye), Sláinte (cheers) Bitesize Irish (YouTube, Instagram, Facebook) Sure look = It is what it is. “Sure look, what can ye do?!”

A stout pint and the official drink of St. Patrick’s Day since 1959 Smithwick’s Ireland’s most consumed ale since 1710 Soda Bread An early-1800 recipe for non-baked bread Traditional Meal Beef stew, bacon and cabbage, colcannon, crubeens (pigs’ feet) Irish Movies The Quiet Man, War of the Buttons, The Secret of Roan Inish, In the Name of the Father, The Wind that Shakes the Barley Irish Music U2, The Cranberries, Clannad, Enya, Van Morrison, The Irish Rovers, Gilbert O’Sullivan, The Frames Harp The national symbol of Ireland, the only country to have a musical instrument as its national symbol Famous Irelanders Saint Brigid (patron saint of Ireland), Maureen O’Hara, Michael Fassbender Loooooong Name Muckanaghederdauhaulia: the longest name of an Irish town Sean-nos Traditional solo Irish dancing

Since 1962, to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, 40 pounds of green dye is poured in the Chicago River.

Our wish for you this St. Patrick’s Day and throughout 2021 is rooted in a popular Irish blessing: “Wherever you go and whatever you do, may the luck of the Irish be there with you.”

We also wish for you a pot of gold at the end of every heavenly rainbow and Lucky Charms that are magically delicious.

Beannachtai na Feile Padraig! bann/ockt/tee nih fail/eh pawd/rig

(Happy St. Patrick’s Day!)

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