Holidays Explained > History of St. Patrick's Day

St. Patrick’s Day 

What is St. Patrick’s Day?

St. Patrick’s Day is a religious holiday on the 17th of March. It is named after Saint Patrick, the most commonly recognized of the patron saints of Ireland. It began as a purely Catholic holiday and became an official feast day in the early 17th century. It has gradually become more of a secular celebration of Ireland's culture.
   
St. Patrick’s Day has been observed by the Irish as a religious holiday for over a thousand years. On this holiday, which falls in Lent of the Christian season, Irish families would traditionally attend church in the morning and celebrate in the afternoon. Since during the Lent season there is a prohibition against eating meat, people would generally celebrate after Lent by dancing, drinking, and feasting on the traditional meal of Irish bacon and cabbage.

Saint Patrick

Who was St. Patrick?

It has been told that St. Patrick teaches the Christian doctrine of the Trinity to the Irish people by using the shamrock as his teaching method. Through his many other successful missions, St. Patrick took on the symbol of principal champion of Irish Christianity and is held in esteem in the Irish Church. From then on, the shamrock became the popular symbol of St. Patrick’s Day and is seen on all sorts of decoration for this specific holiday.


Where is it celebrated?

The first St. Patrick's Day parade took place not in Ireland but in the United States. Irish soldiers serving in the English military marched through New York City on March 17, 1762. Along with their music, the parade helped the soldiers reconnect with their Irish roots, as well as fellow Irishmen serving in the English army.

Over the next 35 years, Irish patriotism among American immigrants flourished, prompting the rise of so-called "Irish Aid" societies like the Friendly Sons of Saint Patrick and the Hibernian Society.

Shamrock

Each group would hold annual parades featuring bagpipes and drums.

Today, St. Patrick's Day is celebrated by people of all backgrounds in the United States, Canada and Australia. Although North America is home to the largest productions, St. Patrick's Day has been celebrated in other locations far from Ireland, including Japan, Singapore and Russia.

In North America, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Savannah celebrates this holiday with parades involving between 10,000 and 20,000 participants. In New York, the New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade is probably the world’s oldest civilian parade and the largest in the United States, with over 150,000 participants.

Green Chicago River

How do people celebrate this holiday?

On this day, people typically wear the color green as its association with St. Patrick grew. Green clothing is worn on this day to symbolize wearing shamrock in your clothing.

More recently St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated in America by Irish and non-Irish alike. It is one of the leading days for consumption of alcohol in the United States, and is typically one of the busiest days of the year for bars and restaurants. Those who are caught not wearing green usually get jokingly pinched. Large cities such as Indianapolis and Chicago would dye its famous river green and has done so since 1962. Seattle and some other cities would paint the traffic stripe of their parade routes green. Savannah, Georgia dyes its downtown city fountains green, so does Columbia, South Carolina. Besides these fun traditions that some major cities have, we also have grand parades held to celebrate this holiday.

Decorating for this holiday

To decorate for St. Patrick’s Day, we need to remember to put our focus on the color green. Occasionally you can throw it orange colored decorations, but green is the biggest identifier for this holiday. Besides that, anything with shamrocks, gold coins, or leprechauns are great elements to add into your decoration for a St. Patrick’s Day party. For party favors you can always get shot glasses with bead necklaces for your guests to have, as we all know that this holiday is highly associated with alcohol consumption. Decorate your party with shamrock tinsel garlands or string green Christmas lights. Prepare some top hats reminisce of leprechaun hats for your guests to wear as the new fashion statement of the day! There is really no going wrong with decorating for St. Patrick’s day! Shop now to throw the most memorable and wild St. Patrick’s Day party ever at our St. Patrick’s Day decorations shop.

Interesting Fact

- More than 100 St. Patrick’s Day parades are held across the United States. New York City and Boston are the cities with the largest St. Patrick’s Day celebrations.

- An Irish toast: “The Scots have their whisky, the Welsh have their tongue, but the Irish have Paddy, who's second to none!” - The first church founded by Saint Patrick is located at Mag-inis. The ground is considered holy.

- Believe it or not, the colour of St. Patrick was not actually green, but blue! In the 19th century, however, green came to be used as a symbol for Ireland.

- An Irish blessing: “May you always have... Walls for the winds, A roof for the rain Tea beside the fire, Laughter to cheer you Those you love near you And all your heart might desire.”

- What's good luck on Saint Patrick's Day?: Finding a four-leaf clover (that's double the good luck it usually is). Wearing green. (School children started this tradition of their own -- they used to pinch classmates who don't wear green on this holiday). Kissing the blarney stone.
 

Visit our blog for more tips on how to decorate for St. Patrick's Day!
 

A sneak peek into our blog...

February 22, 2013 ~ Easy & Lucky Homemade Chocolate Coins

Check out our newest blog post on an easy idea to make homemade chocolate coins for St. Patrick's Day! You can easily make them with ingredients and supplies found around your home!

February 21, 2013 ~ Clover and Shamrock Home Decorations

Fill your home with clovers and shamrocks this St. Patrick's Day to bring luck to your household! We're sharing our favorite clover home decor finds in our blog post! We even included our Happy St. Patrick's Day Shamrock Wreath!

February 20, 2013 ~ The Luck of the Clover

Learn a few fun facts about the clover for St. Patrick's Day in our newest blog post! Find a 4 leaf clover and be lucky this holiday!

February 19, 2013 ~ Ways to Go Green for St. Patrick's Day (Eco-Friendly!)

Go green this St. Patrick's Day holiday (& by going green we mean eco-friendly)! Check out our blog post for ideas on how to celebrate this holiday AND be good to the environment at the same time!

February 15, 2013 ~ 3 St. Patrick's Day Foods to Serve

Learn about 3 foods to serve on St. Patrick's Day to commemorate the holiday in our newest blog post! These Irish foods are sure to impress at your St. Patrick's Day party!

March 13, 2012 ~ Easy Shamrock Pattern for St. Patrick's Day Crafts - Food Edition

Learn how to make shamrocks out of bell peppers for St. Patrick's Day! This pattern is easy to create and fun to use! Use bell peppers to make stamps or fun food garnishes for the holiday! Visit out blog for more holiday ideas now! St. Patrick's Day is coming up soon!

March 12, 2012 ~ St. Patrick's Day Cereal Art

Have leftover cereal laying around in your kitchen? Put them to use and turn them into works of art! Today's blog post will share with everyone a fun project to make a rainbow for St. Patrick's Day with colorful cereals. For supplies and instructions, visit the blog now! More holiday ideas and projects coming up soon!

March 9, 2012 ~ St. Patrick's Day Cupcake Decoration Inspirations

Wondering how to decorate your cupcakes for St. Patrick's Day? Check out our newest blog post for ideas and inspiration pictures for fun St. Patrick's Day cupcakes! Make a batch for just your family, or make enough to give out to everyone to spread holiday cheer!

March 8, 2012, ~ St. Patrick's Day Homemade Shamrock Shake

If you're a fan of the minty Shamrock Shake, then this post is for you! Visit this post to learn a fun and easy recipe to make your own Shamrock Shake for St. Patrick's Day! With this recipe, we can enjoy the shake year round! If you're hosting a St. Patrick's Day party, make enough to serve all your guests!

March 6, 2012 ~ Ways to Wear Green For St. Patrick's Day

Check out our newest blog post for a few ideas on how to wear green for St. Patrick's Day! Let's step away from the mundane green shirt and pants! Share with us any other ideas you have as well for wearing green on St. Patrick's Day! More St. Patrick's Day ideas coming soon!

March 2, 2012 ~ A Leprechaun’s Pot of Gold – St. Patrick’s Day Craft Project & Home Decor

Tired of chasing rainbows for that pot of gold on St. Patrick's Day? Create your very own! Visit our blog for a fun project to make a pot of gold (rainbow included) to celebrate the holiday. Give them out as gifts or use them around your home as home decor for St. Patrick's Day!

March 1, 2012 ~ Easy Shamrock Pattern for St. Patrick's Day Crafts

Check out our newest blog post for an easy pattern idea to make shamrocks for St. Patrick's Day crafts! With a shamrock pattern, you can now make fun home decorations, art projects, and other projects for St. Patrick's Day. Visit the blog now for the idea! More St. Patrick's Day ideas coming up soon!

February 29, 2012 ~ Happy Leap Year 2012!

HomeSeasons would like to wish everyone a Happy Leap Year 2012! For all you Leap Day babies, we would like to say happy birthday to you! Let us know in the comments about your Leap Day plans! More St. Patrick's Day holiday and holiday decor ideas coming up soon. Keep checking back to our blog for more holiday ideas!

February 28, 2012 ~ DIY St. Patrick's Day Toilet Paper Tube Leprechauns

Visit our newest blog post for a fun DIY arts & crafts project to make leprechauns out of recycled toilet paper tubes! They are fun, easy to make, and perfect for a rainy day project. Once the rain clouds clear, our leprechaun might guide us to their pot of gold and give us a lot of good luck for the St. Patrick's Day holiday!

February 21, 2012 ~ Shamrock Pretzels for St. Patrick's Day

Learn a recipe to make easy and tasty shamrock pretzels for St. Patrick's Day! We are sharing this recipe on our blog right now! Keep checking on our blog for more holiday and holiday home decor ideas for the holidays. We have more St. Patrick's Day posts coming up!

February 17, 2012 ~ St. Patrick's Day Green Ice Cream Jello

Check out our newest blog post to learn how o make green ice cream jello for St. Patrick's Day! Perfect for people hosting St. Patrick's Day parties but is crunched for time. Visit our blog now for the recipe and more St. Patrick's Day holiday ideas!

February 16, 2012 ~ 3 FAQs About St. Patrick's Day

Ever wonder why leprechauns are associated with St. Patrick's Day? Check out our blog now for our newest post, where we share answers to a few frequently asked questions about St. Patrick's Day! More St. Patrick's Day holiday and home decor ideas coming up!

March 17, 2011 ~ Happy ST. PATRICK'S DAY!

Are you wearing green today? Did you decorate your home with St. Patrick’s day decorations? St. Patrick’s Day is a holiday that happens only once a year! Go out there and celebrate this day with friends and liquor. Be safe and don’t drink and drive!

March 15, 2011 ~ Repurposing Decorations: St. Patrick's Day, Easter and Beyond

This is another article I wrote for another blog, it is about repurposing decorations and reusing them for other holidays! I wouldn’t consider myself frugal but instead resourceful. Hopefully this article is insightful to you and that you find a new way to repurpose your holiday decor without having to put a dent in your wallet!

March 9, 2011 ~ Handcrafted Leprechaun Hat for Kids

This is a fun activity to do with your children for St. Patrick’s Day! If they are begging for little green leprechaun hats for the one day holiday and you don’t want to spend the money for these hats to be only worn once, this is the St. Patrick’s Day DIY project just for you and your kids. Save money and make more St. Patrick’s Day decorations with crafts! Hopefully your children loves ice cream because they will be needing the empty containers for this project!

March 8, 2011 ~ Top 5 Family Destinations for St. Patrick's Day

As some of you may know by now, I sometimes write articles for other websites or guest posts for blogs. The following article is one that I had shared with Road Trips for Families about the Top 5 Family Destinations for St. Patrick’s Day. Whether you enjoy going on a road trip or flying, these destinations are some of the most popular ones in the U.S. and are worth taking the trip there!

March 4, 2011 ~ Feature Spring item: Snoopy Garden Statue

Spring is just around the corner as our weather is slowly changing for the better and the air around us is warm and flowers are blooming. This seasons is all about decorating the great outdoors, which means it is all about decorating your front lawn! We have a special feature Spring item to share with you today: Solar Powered Free Standing Snoopy Garden Statue.

February 28, 2011 ~ 5 Interesting Facts on St. Patrick's Day!

16 more days to go until St. Patrick’s Day! Have you started planning for a party or put up St. Patrick’s Day decorations yet? Here are some interesting facts about the holiday and its patron saint in case you are looking for conversation starters!

February 22, 2011 ~ A Leprechaun's role in St. Patrick's Day

Do you know just exactly how leprechauns are associated with St. Patrick’s Day? We celebrate certain holidays but we may not know where every idea and aspect of the holiday stem from. In this case, I wanted to know how leprechauns came into the picture…

February 17, 2011 ~ St. Patrick's Day Ideas for Teachers

St. Patrick’s Day is exactly a month from now! We are counting down to the days. Don’t you just love holidays? Holidays are definitely something exciting to look forward to. Here, we provide another great set of St. Patrick’s Day decorating ideas. For now, we are still scoping out for good ideas and tips for you to figure out what you want to do for your celebration.

February 16, 2011 ~ Who was St. Patrick?

Take a minute from planning St. Patrick’s Day decorations and party ideas. We have celebrated this holiday ever since around the 17th century, however we never have a complete understanding of how this holiday came about and who St. Patrick is. I searched for information online and found great information for the origin of this Irish holiday and tradition. If you guys wondered who St. Patrick was and why we celebrate this holiday, read on!

February 15, 2011 ~ Partying for St. Patrick's Day

If you want a reason to throw a party, why not throw one for St. Patrick’s Day? This holiday is coming up in about a month (March 17th), and it would be a great idea to start planning for it now! We have gathered up some great St. Patrick’s ideas for you to steal.