St Patrick's Day
A celebration of Irish heritage
St Patricks Day is celebrated in Ireland each year on 17 March.
St Patricks Day provides an annual opportunity to appreciate the Irish culture and traditions. Irish music concerts, dancers, exhibitions, theatre performances and religious services are held throughout March each year. St Patricks day is celebrated by wearing green, eating green foods, and drinking popular Irish drinks - Guinness, Jameson Irish Whiskey or Baileys Irish Cream.
St Patrick’s Day in the United Kingdom – A Celebration to Remember
This green holiday has been celebrated for centuries, but has changed from a very religious holiday to commemorate a great saint of the Catholic Church to become a secular holiday celebrated in Ireland predominantly. However, as the Irish diaspora has spread throughout the world, the celebrations and traditions involved with this special day have quickly become very special for those who share an Irish heritage.
Celebrations in the UK
In the past, the Queen Mother in the United Kingdom used to present special arrangements of shamrocks to the soldiers in the Irish Guard, one of the sections of the Army of Britain. Instead of having a mass celebration at this time, many of the people in the UK simply had Irish only events planned. However, as the holiday progressed into something more popular among all kinds of people, the celebrations and traditions have also begun to be more widespread and popular. This general acceptance of the traditionally Irish holiday has been a real benefit for the Irish populations in Ireland and the rest of the world.
The soldiers who used to receive the clover leaves as gifts were members of the elite group of Guards from Ireland. These soldiers were typically from the North of Ireland as well as the Irish Republic. On this day, all of the soldiers wear special imported clover leaves which are flown in from the country of Ireland.
For those who are not in the armed forces, there are other events and festivals which have been very popular as part of Saint Patrick’s Day. In Britain, there is a large festival which typically has thousands of people with Irish heritage come out to celebrate. Called the Festival of Cheltenham, the main event at this gathering is the racing of horses. This festival usually falls right on the same day as St. Patty’s Day, but for some years, it has changed to a day before or a day after.
The largest festival in Britain for St. Patricks Day is the one held in Birmingham. This is the most popular event for both Irish and non-Irish citizens of England. In the centre of the city, there is an enormous parade highlighting the Irish people in Britain. Those who organise this event have called it one of the largest parades dedicated to Saint Patrick’s Day in the world. Likely the largest holiday celebration for this green holiday after the ones held in New York City and Dublin, the Birmingham St. Patrick’s Day party is massive. The route for the parade is around 3km long and goes right through the middle of the city.
Other cities in Britain have been following suit by starting up parades and events of their own in the past decade. The big city of London has sponsored an annual parade for St. Patrick’s Day for the past nine years, and will continue to have one in the middle of the city in years coming up. Typically, the parade is restricted to the weekend closest to the actual day of Saint Patrick’s Day, and the festival is usually set up in Trafalgar Square. In some years, the fountains in Trafalgar Square have water which is dyed green in colour. In addition to London, the port city of Liverpool has been celebrating massive celebrations for St. Patty’s Day for years. This city in England has the highest proportion of people with Irish heritage in the entire country of Britain. The proximity of Liverpool to the Irish Sea has caused it to attract many Irish people to its banks. There is traditional music, parades, and cultural events.
Other cities which hold event for Saint Patrick’s Day outside of Ireland include Manchester which holds a long celebration for the holiday which is stretched over a 2 week period. These days of celebration are held during the two weeks which lead up to the actual day of celebration on March 17. The city of Manchester sets up an authentic market based on old markets in and around Ireland. There are also many cultural events designed to teach about the beginnings of Irish heritage. In Scotland, the town named Coatbridge has a majority Irish population. The St. Patrick’s Day party which is held there has several parades about town. Glasgow has recently started its own festival to commemorate the day, with events having been officially started in 2007.
History of St Patrick’s Day
The history of this special day is actually very interesting and diverse. Starting from the early days of Saint Patrick, a Catholic priest, being captured and brought to Ireland, the day has changed in significance several times. Saint Patrick was taken prisoner in the fourth century AD and taken to the island of Ireland. After having a dream sent from God, Patrick acted on the divine instructions and escaped from captivity and went to the coast. Once he was there, he boarded a ship destined for England. After arriving back home, Patrick felt the call to service of God. He became a priest and decided to return to the country of his past capture, Ireland. There, he taught and evangelised the Irish people.
The reason that the three leaf clover is used so much in holiday celebrations is that Saint Patrick himself used the leaf to teach about one of the basic elements of Christianity, the Holy Trinity.
After this, all events tied to Saint Patrick were celebrated with the natural colour of the clover leaf, which is green. The clover leaf is also known as a shamrock, and it is currently the most widely used symbol for the holiday in the whole world.
When Saint Patrick passed away in the year 461 AD, he left behind a great legacy of service and patience with the Irish people, as well as bringing in the famous usage of the colour green.
