St. Patrick’s Day Traditions Explained
The simplest way to explain St. Patrick’s Day is that it is a holiday for the Irish in America. A more elaborate explanation is that it is associated with shamrocks, parades, leprechauns, green, and everything else Irish. However, there are some of them which are completely American inventions. St. Patrick’s Day has been celebrated over 1000 years and is recognized as a religious holiday. Read on to know more about this day in detail.
About St. Patrick
Incidentally, St. Patrick, on whose name this day has been named, was not Irish. Instead, he was a noble born close to 400 A.D. in England and was kidnapped by Irish pirates at the age of 16 years. Though born into a religious family, he became an atheist in the early part of his life. It was during his enslavement in Ireland that he rediscovered his faith.
After spending 17 years as a slave, he managed to escape Ireland and located his way home but came back to Ireland as a missionary. It is said that he was prepared to die in Ireland for the sake of completing his mission. Though there isn’t any concrete evidence to support his death in Ireland, but it is widely believed that he died on March 17.
People recognize the most popular legend of St. Patrick was the way in which he explained the Holy Trinity concept using the leaves of shamrock, which is a native Irish clover. In the 4th century, he used the shamrock to convert many the Irish into Christianity. As a result, the shamrock became one of the popular symbols of this day.
Celebration of the First St. Patrick’s Day
The first St. Patrick’s Day parade took place not in Ireland, but in USA. As per records, this parade was on March 17, 1601 in a Spanish colony in an area that is presently in St. Augustine, Florida. After more than a century, on March 17, 1772, homesick Irish soldiers in the English military marched towards New York City to honor the Irish saint. Enthusiasm for this parade in the early American cities of Boston and New York City only increased from here.
Irish Within America
Till the middle part of the 19th century, most Irish immigrants in USA were a part of the Protestant middle class. At the time when the Great Potato Famine occurred in Ireland in 1845, about a million uneducated and poor Irish Catholics poured into America to get away from starvation. Their unfamiliar accents and alien religious beliefs made the Americans despise them, making it difficult for them to get even basic jobs. As Irish Americans took to the streets to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, newspapers showed them as violent and drunk monkeys.
Church in The Morning, Celebration in the Afternoon
St. Patrick’s Day occurs in the Christian season of Lent. On the morning of this day, Irish families visit church, and this is followed by celebrations in the afternoon. Originally there were Lenten prohibitions on the consumption of meat, but these have been waived over time, with people dancing, drinking, and feasting now. A traditional meal of cabbage and Irish bacon is served on this afternoon.
The Irish in Chicago started the tradition of dyeing the Chicago green on this day. Other American cities also developed similar traditions.
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