Erin Go Bragh

St. Patrick's Day has always been one of my favorite holidays. My family has a strong Irish background and growing up we always had a big family dinner with a traditional St. Patrick's Day meal of corned beef and cabbage. So in light of this occasion, I thought I'd share some background on the holiday. While originally St. Patrick's Day was purely a Christian holiday, it has gradually transformed into a more secular holiday used as a reason to drink all day. We celebrate it on March 17 because St. Patrick died on March 17 461 AD. St. Patrick himself, in fact, was not Irish but British and was kidnapped by the Irish when he was a boy. After escaping he became a priest and later returned to Ireland as a bishop to save the people, which he did in fact accomplish. Originally, the color associated with St. Patrick was actually blue. Green later became the commonly associated color because of the shamrock, which St. Patrick used to explain the Holy Trinity. The first St. Patrick's Day parade did not take place in Ireland, but rather in the United States on March 17, 1762 when Irish soldiers serving in the English military marched through New York City. As far as celebrations in Ireland go, up until the 1970's there were laws requiring that all pubs be closed on March 17 because drinking had gotten out-of-hand. In addition, it was not until 1995 that the Irish government decided to use St. Patrick' Day as an opportunity to promote Irish culture and increase tourism. One of the most well known St. Patrick's Day events is in Chicago where they dye the Chicago River green (pictured below). I hope you found some of this interesting. Happy St. Patrick's Day!