St. Patrick’s day: What is it & why do we celebrate it?

St Patrick's Day

As I contemplated for weeks trying to decide on what would be my next topic for my article, I decided to choose St. Patrick’s Day. As I started my research on this topic, I found out a lot of things that I did not know and it really piqued my interest. Therefore, I would like to share the following information with all of you:

According to History.com: “St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated on March 17, the anniversary of his death in the Fifth century. The Irish have observed this day as a religious holiday for over 1,000 years.”

Why is St. Patrick’s Day celebrated? St. Patrick’s Day observes the death of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland.

 

The History of St. Patrick’s Day:

According to Better Homes & Garden: “In the Fifth Century a British man named Patrick envisioned himself visiting Ireland - and bringing Christianity to the people there. He travelled throughout Ireland, using a shamrock (or a three-leaf clover) to explain the Holy Trinity: Each clover’s leaves represented the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit. According to Google: By showing the public that the shamrock is one leaf with three parts, just as Christians believe God is one entity with three people. (Note: Thus, shamrocks are Ireland’s national flower and are used in St. Patrick’s Day celebrations).”

According to Better Homes & Garden: “When St. Patrick died on March 17th, 461, his death date became a national religious holiday in Ireland. The Irish people celebrated by eating corned beef and drinking beer. This tradition is now used to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day worldwide.”

 

Why Do We Wear Green on St. Patrick’s Day?

According to Google: “Leprechauns are actually one reason you’re supposed to wear green on St. Patrick’s Day - or risk getting pinched. The tradition is tied to folklore that says wearing green makes you invisible to leprechauns, which like to pinch anyone they can see.

Now, more than 1,000 years later, the tradition of St. Patrick‘s Day parades began. What I found so interesting doing this research for this article: Did you all know that the parades began in America and NOT in Ireland? In 1772, Irish soldiers serving in the army held a march on St. Patrick’s Day in New York City and this tradition has continued in most major cities in America.

 

What countries celebrate St. Patrick’s Day?

Today, people of all backgrounds celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, especially throughout the United States of America, Canada, and Australia. Although North America is the home to the largest productions, St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated around the world in locations far from Ireland, including Japan, Singapore and Russia. Today, more than 200 countries celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. To me, that is truly amazing and I have learned a lot of things that I never knew about this famous day.

How does Russia celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? According to Google: Since 1999, there has been a yearly St. Patrick’s Day festival in Moscow and other Russian cities. The official part of the Moscow parade is a military-style parade and is held in collaboration with the Moscow government and the Irish Embassy in Moscow.

How do they celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in Japan? According to the Japanese Media: St. Patrick’s Day in Japan is celebrated with a lot of excitement. Despite being far away from Ireland, Japan’s economic ties to Ireland have led to an enthusiasm for Irish culture. In many ways, this holiday is a combination of two cultures, as there is a Japanese spin on the usual Irish tradition. Every year in the spring, Japan puts on green and goes all out for this joyous holiday. In Tokyo, there is a big parade in celebration of the Irish holiday. On March 17 this parade features marching bands, people in costumes, music, and Irish dancers.

So as we all enjoy eating our corned beef and cabbage and drinking our green beer, contemplate the origin and history of this famous and much-celebrated holiday.

 

Hope all of the above information gave you all a little bit of knowledge of this famous St. Patrick’s Day. If you see me around on sMeet, please do not hesitate to say hi, and if you have a question or a topic that you would like for me to write on but was never published in any of my past year's articles, please message me in private.

So until we meet again, always keep smiling and dancing on sMeet. Always remember to love one another because LOVE conquers everything! Happy sMeeting and God bless!

 

SAYURI, EN JOURNALIST

 

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