More About St. Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's Day, the way we celebrate it, is more American than Irish. In Ireland, St. Patrick's Day is a religious holiday-shops and businesses are closed to give everyone a day off to be spent with family and friends. Catholics begin their day by attending Mass. Families gather for celebratory meals and spend the day at popular sporting events-Gaelic games, championship rugby matches or a steeplechase. There are big parades in Dublin and Belfast to celebrate national pride.

It is said there are more Americans of Irish descent in America than there are Irishmen in Ireland. Americans celebrate St. Patrick's Day with such fun and wild abandon that many people in Ireland tune in their televisions to watch celebrations and parades in the U.S..

The first St. Patrick's Day celebration in America was in 1737 hosted by the Charitable Irish Society of Boston. The second was established in 1780 by the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick in Philadelphia.

It is not known if March 17 is celebrated because it is the date of St. Patrick's birth or his death. Some claim it is both, others say neither. As to St. Patrick's birthplace, the only definite statement is that he most certainly was not born in Ireland. He founded 165 churches and started a school with each one. St. Patrick is widely acknowledged as the patron saint of Ireland.

There are no snakes in all of Ireland thanks to St. Patrick. Of all the legends surrounding this popular figure, the most long-lived is the story of St. Patrick driving the snakes from Ireland. As the population of Ireland looked on, St. Patrick pounded a drum and banished the snakes.

The shamrock is seen everywhere on St. Patrick's Day. St. Patrick used the shamrock when he preached the doctrine of the Trinity as a symbol of its great mystery. Today, it is widely worn in Ireland and America to celebrate Irish heritage. In fact, several million shamrock plants are grown in County Cork, Ireland, and shipped all over the world for St. Patrick's Day.

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