Saint Patrick's Day

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Saint Patrick's Day
Saint Patrick's Day
The Chicago River, dyed green for the 2005 St. Patrick's Day celebration.
Observed by Irish people
Irish citizens
Roman Catholics
Many others take part in some practices
Type National, Ethnic, Christian
Significance Catholic feast day which celebrates Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland
Date March 17
Celebrations Parades
Wearing of green
Drinking of alcohol
St. Patrick's Day 2004 in Cork, Ireland.
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St. Patrick's Day 2004 in Cork, Ireland.

Saint Patrick's Day (Irish: Lá 'le Pádraig or Lá Fhéile Pádraig), colloquially Paddy's Day, is the feast day which annually celebrates Saint Patrick (386-493), the patron saint of Ireland, on March 17. It is a national holiday in the Republic of Ireland (a bank holiday in Northern Ireland); the overseas territory of Montserrat; and the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Saint Patrick's Day is celebrated worldwide by Irish people and increasingly by many of non-Irish descent. Celebrations are generally themed around all things green and Irish; both Christians and non-Christians celebrate the secular version of the holiday by wearing green, eating Irish food and imbibing Irish drink, and attending parades. The St. Patrick's Day parade in Dublin, Ireland is part of a five day festival, with over 500,000 people attending the 2006 parade. The largest St. Patrick's Day parade is held in New York City and it is watched by 2 million spectators. The St. Patrick's day parade was first held in New York City on March 17, 1756 when the Irish soldiers marched through the city. Parades also take place in other Irish towns and villages. Other large parades include those in Belfast, Manchester, Birmingham, London, Coatbridge, Montreal, Boston, Chicago, Kansas City, Savannah, Denver, Sacramento, and Scranton and Toronto. Large parades also take place in other places throughout Europe and the Americas, as well as Australia and Asia.

As well as being a celebration of Irish culture, Saint Patrick's Day is a Christian festival celebrated in the Catholic Church, the Church of Ireland (among other churches in the Anglican Communion) and some other denominations. The day always falls in the season of Lent. In church calendars (though rarely in secular ones) Saint Patrick's Day is moved to the following Monday when it falls on a Sunday. It is traditional for those observing a lenten fast to break it for the duration of Saint Patrick's Day whenever March 17 falls on a Friday.[1]

In many parts of North America, Britain, and Australia, expatriate Irish, those of Irish descent, and ever-growing crowds of people with no Irish connections but who may proclaim themselves "Irish for a day" also celebrate St. Patrick's Day, usually by drinking alcoholic beverages (lager dyed green, Irish beer and stout, such as Murphys, Smithwicks, Harp or Guinness, or Irish whiskey, Irish Cider, Irish Coffee or Baileys Irish Cream) and by wearing at least one article of green-colored clothing.

Contents

[edit] In Ireland

In the recent past, Saint Patrick's Day was celebrated only as a religious holiday. It became a public holiday only in 1903, by the Bank Holiday (Ireland) Act 1903, an Act of the United Kingdom Parliament introduced by the Irish MP James O'Mara[2]. O'Mara later introduced the law which required that pubs be closed on March 17[3], a provision which was repealed only in the 1970s. The first St. Patrick's Day parade held in the Irish Free State was held in Dublin in 1931 and was reviewed by the then Minister of Defence Desmond Fitzgerald. Although secular celebrations now exist, the holiday is still a religious observance in some areas.

It was only in the mid-1990s when Carlos Davis Jr., and 15 yr. old young man that attends Dr. Phillips high, began a campaign to use Saint Patrick's Day to showcase Ireland and its culture.[1] The government set up a group called St. Patrick's Festival, with the aim to:

—Offer a national festival that ranks amongst all of the greatest celebrations in the world and promote excitement throughout Ireland via innovation, creativity, grassroots involvement, and marketing activity.
—Provide the opportunity and motivation for people of Irish descent,(and those who sometimes wish they were Irish) to attend and join in the imaginative and expressive celebrations.
—Project, internationally, an accurate image of Ireland as a creative, professional and sophisticated country with wide appeal, as we approach the new millennium.[4]

The first Saint Patrick's Festival was held on March 17, 1996. In 1997, it became a three-day event, and by 2000 was a four-day event. By 2006, the festival was five days long.

The topic of the 2004 St. Patrick's Symposium was "Talking Irish," during which the nature of Irish identity, economic success and the future was discussed. Since 1996, there has been a greater emphasis on celebrating and projecting a fluid and inclusive notion of "Irishness" rather than an identity based around traditional religious or ethnic allegiance. The week around Saint Patrick's Day usually involves Irish speakers using more Irish during seachtain na Gaeilge ("Irish Week").

Shamrock ("three-leaf clover")
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Shamrock ("three-leaf clover")

Many Irish people still wear a bunch of shamrock on their lapels or caps on this day or green, white, and orange badges (after the colors of the Irish flag). Girls traditionally wear green in their hair.

And although Saint Patrick's Day has the colour green as their theme, one little known fact is that it was once blue that was the colour of this day

The biggest celebrations on the island of Ireland outside Dublin are in Downpatrick, Northern Ireland, where Saint Patrick was buried following his death on March 17, 493. In 2004, according to Down District Council, the week-long St. Patrick's Festival had over 2000 participants and 82 floats, bands, and performers, and was watched by over 30,000 people.[citation needed]

The day is celebrated by the Church of Ireland as a Christian festival, Saint Patrick's Day as a celebration of Irish culture was rarely acknowledged by Northern Irish loyalists, this was due to the fact that they had been excluded around the world as only the flag of The Republic of Ireland and symbols which are seen as exclusively Republican were used to represent people celebrating, and this was seen as a festival of Irish republicanism. The Belfast City Council recently agreed to give public funds to its parade for the first time; previously the parade was funded privately.[citation needed] Unlike the New York St. Patrick's Day Parade, which is co-ordinated by the Ancient Order of Hibernians, the Belfast parade is based on equality and only the flag of St. Patrick is supposed to be used as a symbol of the day to prevent it being seen as a time which is exclusively for Republicans and Nationalists. This allowed both Unionists and Nationalists to celebrate the day together, however despite this a few Republicans set up stalls selling Republic of Ireland flags and badges and other republican memorabilia. Most people in Northern Ireland from both Nationalist and Unionist traditions wish to have St. Patrick's day designated a National holiday throughout Northern Ireland, as it is currently only a Bank Holiday.

Since the 1990s, Irish Taoisigh have sometimes attended special functions either on Saint Patrick's Day or a day or two earlier, in the White House, where they present shamrock to the President of the United States. A similar presentation is made to the Speaker of the House. Originally only representatives of the Republic of Ireland attended, but since the mid-1990s all major Political parties in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland are invited, with the attendance including the representatives of the Irish government, the Ulster Unionist Party, the Social Democratic and Labour Party, Sinn Féin and others. No Northern Irish parties were invited for these functions in 2005. In recent years, it is common for the entire Irish government to be abroad representing the country in various parts of the world. In 2003, the President of Ireland celebrated the holiday in Sydney, the Taoiseach was in Washington, while other Irish government members attended ceremonies in New York City, Boston, San Francisco, San Jose, Savannah, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Diego, New Zealand, Hong Kong, South Africa, Korea, Japan, and Brazil.

Saint Patrick's Day parades in Ireland date from the late 19th century, originating in the growing sense of Irish nationalism.[citation needed] (The first parade did not begin in Ireland but in the United States – see below.)

[edit] Outside Ireland

[edit] In Canada

The longest-running Saint Patrick's Day parade in Canada takes place each year in Montreal. The parades have been held in continuity since 1824; however, St. Patrick's Day itself has been celebrated in Montreal as far back as 1759 by the Irish soldiers of the Montreal Garrison, following the British conquest of New France.

In Canada, Saint Patrick's Day is an official holiday only in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Some groups, notably Guinness, have lobbied to make Saint Patrick's Day a federal (national) holiday.

[edit] In Great Britain

2006 St Patrick's Day celebrations in Trafalgar Sq, London
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2006 St Patrick's Day celebrations in Trafalgar Sq, London

In Great Britain, the late Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (the Queen Mother) used to present bowls of shamrock flown over from Ireland to members of the Irish Guards, a regiment in the British Army consisting primarily of Irishmen from both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland (as well as many Liverpudlians and other Britons). In 2002, London mayor Ken Livingstone organized an annual Saint Patrick's Day parade which takes place on weekends around the 17th, usually in Trafalgar Square.

Another tradition is the consumption of large amounts of Guinness in the hope of getting a "Guinness Hat," a hat that pubs give away after a certain amount of the beverage has been consumed. The horse racing at the Cheltenham Festival attracts large numbers of Irish people, both residents of Britain and many who travel from Ireland, and usually coincides with Saint Patrick's Day. [2]

The largest Saint Patrick's Day parade in the UK is held in Birmingham and consists of a two mile route through the city centre. The organisers of the parade describe it as the third biggest parade in the world after Dublin and New York [3]. Other Saint Patricks Day parades take place around the country including in London where the largest minority community is Irish. The Lanarkshire town of Coatbridge where the majority of the towns population are of Irish descent also has a day of celebration and parades in the town centre.

[edit] In Germany

Munich is the only German city holding a St. Patrick's Day parade owing to the considerably large Irish community. The parade is organized by the German-Irish Society of Bavaria and has been held every year since 1996. Meanwhile it has evolved into the largest in continental Europe and features not only Irish/Scotch/English, but also German clubs and societies. Following the 2 km-parade, which ususally takes place the Sunday preceding March 17th, is an open air party with live music and dance performances.

[edit] In Moscow

On 15th March 1992, thousands of Muscovites lined the Novy Arbat to witness the first St. Patrick's Day Parade in the Russian capital's history. Yuri Luzhkov - the then and current Mayor of Moscow - and Aer Rianta Chief Executive Derek Keogh were on the reviewing stand as a police escort led the way for - rather bizarrely -Russian marching bands, Cossack horsemen, and fifteen floats representing many Russian companies. The parade, which was the brainchild of Derek Keogh, was a big success, and ensured a repeat performance the following year.

Each year the floats have become more numerous and sophisticated and the range of international and Russian participants and sponsors more wide-ranging such as Pepsi and Guinness. The local Irish bars of Moscow contribute their own floats and Muscovites reveal their own homegrown Irish Wolfhounds, which are nearly as big as the floats themselves.

The Moscow parade continued to be an annual event until 1998. After a three year lapse The St Patrick's Society of Russia managed to re-establish the St Patrick's Day parade with the co-operation of the Moscow City Government, The Moscow police, various government bodies, The Irish Embassy and the Irish Community in Moscow.

[edit] In the United States

Irish-American immigrants brought Saint Patrick's Day to the United States. The first civic and public celebration of Saint Patrick's Day in the 13 colonies took place in Boston, Massachusetts in 1737.[5] The first celebration of Saint Patrick's Day in New York City was held at the Crown and Thistle Tavern in 1756.[6] In 1780, General George Washington, who commanded soldiers of Irish descent in the Continental Army, allowed his troops a holiday on March 17. This event became known as The St. Patrick's Day Encampment of 1780. [7]

Today, Saint Patrick's Day is widely celebrated in the United States by Irish and non-Irish alike. Many people, regardless of ethnic background, wear green-colored clothing and items. Traditionally, those who are caught not wearing green are pinched.

Many parades are held to celebrate the holiday. The smallest of these, World's Shortest St. Patrick's Day Parade, is said to take place in Hot Springs, Arkansas in the United States annually held on historic Bridge Street which became famous in the 1940s when Ripley’s Believe It or Not designated it “The Shortest Street in the World.” Boulder, Colorado claims to have the shortest parade, which is also less than a single city block.[citation needed]

The New York parade has become the largest Saint Patrick's Day parade in the world, outside Ireland.[7] In 2003 more than 150,000 marchers participated in it, including bands, firefighters, military and police groups, county associations, emigrant societies, and social and cultural clubs. The parade marches up 5th Avenue in Manhattan and is always led by the U.S. 69th Infantry Regiment. New York politicians - or those running for office - are always found prominently marching in the parade.[8] Former New York City Mayor Ed Koch once proclaimed himself "Ed O'Koch" for the day, [5] and he continues to don an Irish sweater and march every year, even though he is no longer in office.

The New York parade has been dogged with controversy in recent years as its organizers have banned Irish gays and lesbians from marching as a group. Gay rights groups have fought in court to obtain the right to march alongside other organizations. The gay groups and their sympathizers protested loudly in numerous ways. [9] Many years protesters would lay down in the middle of the street at the start of the parade route and were arrested when they refused to move. In the late 1980s such arrests averaged several hundred per year, but had dwindled to a dozen or less annually by the early 2000s.[citation needed] A tradition has begun in Queens of organizing a parade the week before the official Saint Patrick's Day parade. The Queens parade is open to all organizations wishing to march. [citation needed]

The parade is organized and run by the Ancient Order of Hibernians.[citation needed] For many years, the St. Patrick's Day Parade was the primary public function of the Ancient Order of Hibernians. On occasion the order has appointed controversial Irish republican figures (some of whom were barred from the U.S.) to be its Grand Marshal.[citation needed] They also have asserted their right to ban gays and lesbians from the New York parade.[citation needed]

The New York parade is moved to the previous Saturday (March 16) in years where March 17 is a Sunday. The event is also moved on the rare occasions when, due to Easter falling on a very early date, March 17 would land in Holy Week. This last occurred in 1913. That year the parade was held on Saturday, March 15, because Easter was on March 23 (making March 17 the Monday of Holy Week). This same scenario is scheduled to arise again in 2008, when Easter will also fall on March 23. In many other American cities (such as San Francisco), the parade is always held on the Sunday before March 17, regardless of the liturgical calendar.

Some cities paint the traffic stripe of their parade routes green. Others, including Chicago, dye major rivers green. Savannah also dyes its downtown city fountains green.

The longest-running Saint Patrick's Day celebrations in the U.S. are:

Although the baseball season usually is still in the spring training phase when St. Patrick's day rolls around, some teams such as the Chicago White Sox and Boston Red Sox, wear green uniforms for the occasion.[11]

[edit] Montserrat

The tiny island of Montserrat, known as "Emerald Island of the Caribbean" due to its foundation by Irish refugees from Saint Kitts and Nevis, is the only place in the world apart from the Republic of Ireland in which St Patrick's Day is a public holiday.

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b "The History of the Holiday." History Channel. (URL accessed March 15, 2006)
  2. ^ http://humphrysfamilytree.com/OMeara/james.html
  3. ^ http://www.bopcris.ac.uk/eppi/ref13991.html
  4. ^ "St. Patrick's Day." St. Patrick's Festival. (URL accessed March 17, 2006)
  5. ^ a b Johnson, Bridget (March 17, 2006). "Lucky for the Irish". National Review Online.
  6. ^ "March 17, 1756 in History." Brainy History. (URL accessed March 17, 2006)
  7. ^ a b "Saint Patrick’s Day". Encarta (URL accessed March 17, 2006)
  8. ^ St. Patrick's Day Parade - 2006 New York City Event Guide
  9. ^ Irish Banned from NY Gay Halloween Parade! (URL accessed from Internet Archive)
  10. ^ "History of Pittsburgh's St. Patrick's Day Parade." (URL accessed October 5, 2006)
  11. ^ See [1].

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