St. Patrick’s Day Parade began in New York City in 1762 with Irish Protestant immigrants. St. Patrick was captured by Celts and forced to work in Ireland before returning to England and becoming a priest. He returned to Ireland to convert the Irish people to Christianity. St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated in honor of him and his role in spreading Christianity in Ireland. The holiday has been observed for at least 1,000 years and is typically a day for attending mass. The wearing of green on St. Patrick’s Day is a nod to the shamrock, which St. Patrick used to illustrate the Holy Trinity. The holiday is celebrated in several countries, including Australia, Canada, Ireland, and the United States.
The first St. Patrick’s Day Parade was held away from Ireland, in New York City on March 17, 1762. The participants in the parade were not Catholics, who hold St. Patrick in great reverence, but were, in fact, Anglo-Irish or Irish Protestant immigrants. The wave of Catholic immigrants that would come to the United States would occur later in the 19th century due to the potato famine. All Irish Christians tend to observe St. Patrick’s Day to celebrate the spread of Christianity in Ireland.
The stories surrounding St. Patrick are a curious mix of tall tales, legends and facts. He was probably captured by a band of raiding Celts when he was 16 and forced to work in Ireland for about six years. He was then able to escape and return to England. His time as a slave caused him to lean heavily into his religion, resulting in visions of God’s wishes for him to convert the Irish people to Christianity.
After training as a priest in England, he returned to Ireland and began this conversion, which was very successful. He wasn’t the first Christian in Ireland and part of his job was to serve those Christians already living there. With his exceptional intelligence, he incorporated pagan ideals such as sun worship into Christian concepts. He was canonized by the Catholic Church after his death, in what is now widely accepted as AD 493, although his death date was previously thought to be around AD 460.
Since all saints have what is called a feast day, the Irish and other Catholics typically celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in his honor. Later, he became something of a national symbol for Ireland, because through him the Irish established part of their national identity, which is their strong commitment to Christianity. Although parades came much later, St. Patrick’s Day has been observed for at least 1,000 years. It is typically a day for attending mass, and fasting obligations during Lent, during which the holy day falls, are waived for that day. Traditional meats, such as Irish bacon, were often served with cabbage and were the only time during Lent that meat could be eaten.
There is a certain irony in the first St. Patrick’s Day Parade, even though St. Patrick was not Irish by birth. However, he brought Catholicism, not Protestantism, which didn’t exist yet, to Ireland. When large numbers of Irish Catholic immigrants flocked to the United States, they were often unwelcome, especially by previous Anglo-Irish immigrants. They were looked down upon by many as illiterate, drunk and needy. Celebrations in America often excluded Irish Catholics during the potato famine years.
However, St. Patrick’s Day can also be said to be the inspiration for second wave Irish immigrants to realize their political power in the United States. By organizing marches during the day, their strength in numbers allowed them to eventually become an important part of the political process. Soon political candidates had to appeal to them to be elected.
St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland was actually much more subdued than celebrations in the United States, due to the fact that it was a religious holiday and therefore treated with reverence. The influence of how the United States, Canada and Australia celebrated the holiday eventually led to changes in Irish celebrations. Until 1995, however, pubs weren’t open on St Patrick’s Day. The characterization of March 17 as a day for drinking is based on stereotyping Irish immigrants as drunk, which was clearly not true of many Irish people.
The “wearing green” on St. Patrick’s Day is a nod to shamrock. St. Patrick is largely thought to have used the Irish shamrock to illustrate the Holy Trinity to the Irish people. The green worn during the day may also reflect green-covered fields in Ireland, or the green section of the Irish flag, which is associated specifically with southern, mainly Catholic, Ireland.
Today St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated in Australia, Canada, Ireland and the United States. Some other interesting places in the world have also occasionally celebrated the holiday. Places like Russia, Singapore and Japan have also celebrated St. Patrick’s Day and the Irish typically use these celebrations to boost tourism to Ireland.
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