A Brief History Of St. Patrick’s Day | 2022
Do you know why we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day or the history of St. Patrick’s Day? Read along as you sip or chug your green beer and by the time you’re ready for a refill, you’ll know everything you need to know to appreciate this international holiday. Every year we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day on March 17th. St. Patrick died on this day about 1600 years ago (or so it’s believed). This day is observed as a religious holiday in Ireland. Falling during the time of Lent, the churches are filled with Irish families in the morning and then a celebratory latter half of the day ensues. Traditionally, the Irish meal of bacon and cabbage is served, leading to a feast, while people drink, dance, and party the rest of the evening. The history of St. Patrick’s Day is different than what you may have previously thought.
The History Of St. Patrick’s Day
As we mentioned before, St. Patrick was a real person who lived about 1600 years ago. Considered to be the patron saint of Ireland, St. Patrick began his journey as a slave captured in Britain and transported to Ireland when he was just 16 years old. St. Patrick did ultimately escape but returned to Ireland and brought them Christianity.
It wasn’t until about 1000 years ago that the Irish began celebrating St. Patrick’s Day on March 17th. Although St. Patrick’s Day is an inherently Irish holiday and tradition, the United States has been fascinated by the history of St. Patrick’s Day and introduced the first St. Patrick’s Day parade. Before Florida was owned by the United States it was owned by the Spanish, and our country’s oldest city, St. Augustine, Florida was constructed. It was here that the first St. Patrick’s Day parade was held in 1601. This created an epidemic of St. Patrick’s Day parades, and an obsession with them, in places like New York and Boston. This obsession has grown exponentially.
The History Of St. Patrick’s Day Parades
Since the beginning of the St. Patrick’s Day parade in America, the patriotism of Irish American immigrants took off and formed groups such as “Irish Aid’ societies like the Friendly Sons of Saint Patrick and the Hibernian Society. Each group organized parades every year and they typically featured drums and bagpipes.
Later, a culmination of these smaller parades developed into the New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade in 1848. Now, the New York St. Patrick’s Day Parade is the world’s oldest civilian parade and it’s the largest parade in the United States. Every year the parade boasts over 150,000 contributors. Also, every year about 3 million people gather at the parade route to observe this traditional march. Although the St. Patrick’s Day parade was canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19, we have learned that the parade is back on for 2022.
St. Patrick’s Day Around The Globe
In 2022, people around the globe, from different nationalities and backgrounds, will celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. This especially rings true for The United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, and Russia. The United States still boasts some of the largest assemblies of St. Patrick’s Day patrons.
This is much different than what happens in Ireland on St. Patrick’s Day since it is mainly a religious holiday. Until about 50 years ago, Irish laws kept pubs closed on St. Patrick’s Day in observance. The Irish Government finally decided to use the St. Patrick’s Day enthusiasm to gain tourist dollars and share the Irish culture with the world in 1995. They even created a national campaign to make it happen.
Now that you know a bit more about St. Patrick’s Day and the history of St. Patrick’s Day you can celebrate appropriately. This St. Patrick’s Day let’s all try to be a little bit more traditional with our festivities. Remember that this day is a sacred religious holiday to a lot of Irish families. Keep in mind that it’s not all about drinking green beer or pinching others who don’t follow the status quo. An easy way to incorporate some real Irish tradition can be as easy as introducing your friends and family to a traditional Irish meal. We’ve made it easy and included a link to a highly rated Irish Bacon and Cabbage soup recipe for you to try out this year. So, remember the plight of St. Patrick, invite your loved ones over for Irish Bacon and Cabbage soup, and you may as well go ahead and have a few green beers.
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