Saint Patrick's Day

Every year on March 17, people around the world celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day, also called the Feast of Saint Patrick. The date marks the traditional day of Saint Patrick’s death. He is Ireland’s most important patron saint. The holiday is both religious and cultural, honoring Saint Patrick and the introduction of Christianity to Ireland, as well as Irish heritage and culture in general.

In the early 1600s, it became an official Christian feast day. Today, it is observed by the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion (especially the Church of Ireland), the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Lutheran Church. Because the day falls during Lent, the usual rules about fasting and avoiding alcohol were historically set aside, which helped fuel the holiday’s lively, party-like atmosphere.

Saint Patrick’s Day is a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador (for provincial government workers), and the British Overseas Territory of Montserrat. It is also widely celebrated wherever large Irish communities have settled, including Great Britain, Canada, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. In fact, more countries celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day than any other national festival. Modern festivities have been shaped heavily by the Irish diaspora, especially traditions that grew in North America. Still, the holiday has faced criticism for becoming too commercial, for its ties to drinking, and for promoting negative stereotypes of Irish people.

**Saint Patrick**

Saint Patrick was a Christian missionary and bishop who lived in Ireland during the 5th century. Most of what we know about him comes from a document called the *Declaration*, which is said to have been written by Patrick himself. He was likely born in Roman Britain in the 4th century, into a wealthy Romano-British family. His father was a Christian deacon, and his grandfather was a priest. According to the *Declaration*, when Patrick was sixteen, Irish raiders kidnapped him and took him to Gaelic Ireland as a slave. He spent six years there working as a shepherd, and during that time he found God. The text says God told him to escape to the coast, where a ship would be waiting to take him home. After returning, Patrick became a priest.

Tradition says he went back to Ireland to convert the pagan Irish to Christianity. The *Declaration* claims he spent many years preaching in the northern half of Ireland and converted thousands. He is believed to have died on March 17 and was buried at Downpatrick. Over the centuries, many legends grew around him, and he became Ireland’s most famous saint.

**Celebration and Traditions**

Today’s Saint Patrick’s Day celebrations are largely influenced by the Irish diaspora, especially in North America. Until the late 1900s, the holiday was often bigger among Irish communities abroad than in Ireland itself.

Typical celebrations include public parades and festivals, Irish traditional music sessions (called céilithe), and wearing green clothing or shamrocks. Formal banquets and dances were more common in the past. Parades started in North America during the 1700s but only reached Ireland in the 1900s. They usually feature marching bands, the military, fire brigades, cultural groups, charities, volunteer organizations, youth groups, and fraternities. Over time, many parades have become more like carnivals. In Ireland, there is extra effort to use the Irish language, especially during Seachtain na Gaeilge (“Irish language week”), which runs from March 1 to Saint Patrick’s Day.

Since 2010, famous landmarks have been lit up in green on March 17 as part of Tourism Ireland’s “Global Greening Initiative” or “Going Green for St Patrick’s Day.” The Sydney Opera House and the Sky Tower in Auckland were the first to join, and now more than 300 landmarks in fifty countries take part.

Many Irish people also attend church services with their families. Because Lenten restrictions on eating and drinking alcohol are lifted for the day, drinking—especially Irish whiskey, beer, or cider—has become a big part of the festivities. In Ireland, this means a lot of stout is consumed, and breweries prepare months ahead for the demand. A traditional custom called “drowning the shamrock” or “wetting the shamrock” was once popular. At the end of the celebration, a shamrock is placed at the bottom of a cup, which is then filled with whiskey, beer, or cider. People drink it as a toast to Saint Patrick, Ireland, or those present. The shamrock is either swallowed with the drink or taken out and tossed over the shoulder for good luck.

Irish government ministers travel abroad on official visits around Saint Patrick’s Day to promote Ireland.

**Wearing Green and Shamrocks**

On Saint Patrick’s Day, it is customary to wear shamrocks, green clothing, or green accessories.