Did you know that for about 200 years it was actually banned to wear green in Ireland? And St. Patrick wasn’t actually Irish? Many St. Patrick’s Day traditions have origins you wouldn’t expect.
The holiday itself started in Ireland in the 1600s. It was created to celebrate St. Patrick, a patron saint born in Roman England towards the end of the 4th century. He was enslaved at age 16 by the Irish, and forced over to Ireland. However, he managed to escape and became a missionary. After spending many years back in Great Britain, he later returned to Ireland and began to convert the Irish to Christianity. Along his journey, St. Patrick established many places of worship including churches and monasteries. People of Ireland began to feast in his honor every March 17th, the day of St. Patrick’s death. Although he wasn’t Irish, St. Patrick was a very important figure in Irish culture and religion.
Many traditions began to form as the holiday picked up momentum. One of the most common is wearing the color green. Yet it was banned to wear green in Ireland around the early 1600s. This was because it showed Irish identity, and the British, who ruled Ireland at the time, thought of it as a sign of rebellion. Many little things like that were banned in the Penal Laws. The series of acts were meant to eliminate religious rebellions among the Roman Catholics and push people towards Protestantism in what’s now the United Kingdom. You could even be executed for going against the Penal Laws and wearing green.
But in America, there was no one to tell the Irish what they could and couldn’t do. So on St. Patrick’s Day, the expatriates of Ireland, who had previously immigrated to the US, went all out with the color green to show pride in their roots. This tradition still stands today, although the punishment, a pinch, comes instead for not wearing green.
There are many dominant traditions in the US, like parades. The NYC St. Patrick’s Day Parade is one of the most famous St. Patrick’s Day parades in the country. It has been running since 1762, almost 264 years, and shows no sign of slowing down. It started back in the 18th century with Irish immigrants who were enlisted in the British Army which was positioned in New York at the time. They marched the streets of early New York City dressed in green, singing and playing Irish songs as they went. Today, millions of people crowd around the parade course along Fifth Street to celebrate St. Patrick.
However, the US isn’t the only country that celebrates every March 17th. In Ireland, there are several day festivals and celebrations. One of their most famous takes place in Dublin. New Zealand, Japan, and Argentina all have their own various parades. Australia even has a family field day. St. Patrick’s Day is not limited to Ireland and the US. Many other countries all around the world also take part in the celebration.
