text and photos by Nina Sarmiento
St.Patrick's Day (more known as St. Paddy's day) is a religious feast day celebrated on March 17, to honor the patron saint of Ireland (Yeah yeah we hear you, we know St. Patrick is not Irish). He came to Christianise Ireland, and it's said he used the shamrock in explaining the Christian doctrine of the Holy Trinity: God, Son and the Holy Spirit. Hence, the shamrock design is widely used in the Emerald Isle on this day.
As per legend, St.Patrick drove the snakes out Ireland. Well, not in literal sense, as there were no snakes in the country but he supposedly banished 'evil' from the country
Originally, the feast is celebrated with great solemnity- which means "no drinking/dancing/singing" as this day usually falls on Lenten Season. It was only during the 1960's that the feast day turned into a public holiday. From thereon the celebration become more secular, we now enjoy green colored beers and shamrock shakes on the feast day itself.
St. Paddy Day is not only celebrated in Ireland, this is also being observed in places with big Irish communities such as the U.S., UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. In Chicago, as per tradition, the Chicago river is dyed green for a few hours.
One of the frequent complaints anyone can overhear during St.Patrick's day celebration in Ireland is that the parade is very small and at times lackluster; that is actually not a surprise. One of the lesser known facts about Ireland is the fact that the first St. Patrick's Day parade did not even happen in Ireland but in the U.S. It was the Irish immigrants who celebrated this day by marching on the streets of Boston city.
Also, the parade was done to honor St.Patrick, so it was more solemn. It took years to even to lift the ban of using balloons and floats in the parade.
In any case,every festival is unique and incomparable. All that matters is that for everyone to enjoy the diversity of every festival and appreciate different cultures 🙂
Here are some photos on how Paddy Day is being celebrated in Cork.
As per legend, St.Patrick drove the snakes out Ireland. Well, not in literal sense, as there were no snakes in the country but he supposedly banished 'evil' from the country
Originally, the feast is celebrated with great solemnity- which means "no drinking/dancing/singing" as this day usually falls on Lenten Season. It was only during the 1960's that the feast day turned into a public holiday. From thereon the celebration become more secular, we now enjoy green colored beers and shamrock shakes on the feast day itself.
St. Paddy Day is not only celebrated in Ireland, this is also being observed in places with big Irish communities such as the U.S., UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. In Chicago, as per tradition, the Chicago river is dyed green for a few hours.
One of the frequent complaints anyone can overhear during St.Patrick's day celebration in Ireland is that the parade is very small and at times lackluster; that is actually not a surprise. One of the lesser known facts about Ireland is the fact that the first St. Patrick's Day parade did not even happen in Ireland but in the U.S. It was the Irish immigrants who celebrated this day by marching on the streets of Boston city.
Also, the parade was done to honor St.Patrick, so it was more solemn. It took years to even to lift the ban of using balloons and floats in the parade.
In any case,every festival is unique and incomparable. All that matters is that for everyone to enjoy the diversity of every festival and appreciate different cultures 🙂
Here are some photos on how Paddy Day is being celebrated in Cork.
***
How about you? How do you celebrate St. Paddy Day? Tell us about it in our comments section.
