Every March, people gather around the world to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, but in order to celebrate, you have to know the history behind this day. St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated every year on March 17, a day that the Irish have observed for over 1,000 years. St. Patrick’s Day falls during the time of Lent, when Irish families attend church service in the morning and have a celebration in the afternoon. They come out in the streets of Ireland and dance, eat and drink the rest of their day away in celebration of this special day. 

So, who is Saint Patrick? Born in the fifth century in Roman Britain, Saint Patrick was kidnapped at 16 and brought to Ireland as a slave. After a while, he was able to escape but returned to Ireland and was credited with bringing Christianity to its people. Patrick’s death which is believed to be on March 17, 461. The most well-known legend of St. Patrick is that he explained the Holy Trinity (Father, Son and the Holy Spirit) using the Irish clover, the shamrock. 

Records show that the first St. Patrick’s Day took place not in Ireland but in America on March 17, 1601, in a Spanish colony known today as St. Augustine, Florida. A century later, on March 17, 1772, the Irish soldiers serving in the English military marched in New York City to honor the Irish patron saint. For the next 35 years, American immigrants with Irish patriotism would hold parades featuring bagpipes and drums, which became popular in the Scottish and British armies. 

Today, the oldest St. Patrick’s Day parade is held in New York City. That parade is also the largest, with over 150,000 participants each year. In Boston, nearly 3 million people line up at the 1.5-mile parade to watch the procession that takes more than five hours. Other cities like Chicago, Philadelphia and Savannah also celebrate the day, with between 10,000 and 20,000 participants each year.  Due to COVID-19, the parade was canceled in 2020 and 2021 but returned in 2022. Today, people of all backgrounds celebrate St. Patrick’s Day eating popular foods like Irish soda bread, corned beef, cabbage and champ, along with wearing the color green. 

So again, I say, in order to celebrate this day, you will have to always know the history, that way you can recreate or create more history by celebrating.