St. Patrick’s Day is probably one of the most un-celebrated holidays in the United States it seems like. When walking into a store most people see Easter decorations up directly after Valentine’s Day. As they keep walking they see a tiny little shelf full of green with all of the St. Patrick’s Day goodies on it. This is actually one of the most celebrated holidays in more countries than any other national festival around the world. So why is it that people still work, no one remembers getting pinched in school if you didn’t wear green, and no one knows where that holiday came from. Why get pinched? Why green? Well, here’s the background knowledge of how St. Patrick’s Day came to be.
Every year, St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated on March 17. According to History.com, “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.” So where did the green come from? According to Natalie Roterman of Latin Times says, “Blue was the color originally associated with this holiday. Ireland’s nickname is “The Emerald Isle” so because of this, green became a more popular color on this holiday. Also the green in the flag and the clover St. Patrick used in his teachings about Catholicism played a big role in why green is the color used on this day.”
Saint Patrick’s Day was made an official Christian feast day in the early 17th century and is observed by the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion (especially the Church of Ireland), the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Lutheran Church. The day commemorates Saint Patrick and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland, and celebrates the heritage and culture of the Irish in general. Christians also attend church services and the Lenten restrictions on eating and drinking alcohol are lifted for the day, which has encouraged and propagated the holiday’s tradition of alcohol consumption.
This holiday might not be celebrated much here, however, bigger cities such as New Orleans, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, Dallas, and many more metropolitan cities celebrate with green and a whole lot of beer.
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