St. Patrick’s Day is a refreshing holiday, breaking up the long drought between New Year’s and Easter and giving people a reason to come out of hibernation in their most flattering shade of green. Parades march and Guinness flows in countries around the world, but do celebrators really know the facts behind the mid-March holiday? Put your knowledge of Irish luck to the test:
St. Patrick was not Irish; he was from Wales. And the humble shamrock was, originally, a teaching tool; St. Patrick used the three-leaved plant to explain the Holy Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) to the pagan Irish.
Boston lays claim to the first St. Patrick’s Day parade in 1737. However, it was the people of New York who got together and had the first organized parade in 1766. Today, about 36 million Americans claim Irish descent.
Odd to think, given the profusion of everything green on St. Patrick’s Day, that the color most often associated with the saint was blue. St. Patrick’s blue was considered symbolic of Ireland for many centuries and the Irish Presidential Standard is still blue. While small splashes of green were worn as far back as 1681, it was only when political factions started adopting the color green that it became synonymous with St. Patrick’s Day.
For many years, Dripsey in Ireland’s County Cork had the world’s shortest parade, just 77 feet (23.4 meters) between two pubs – The Weigh Inn and The Lee Valley. Sadly, The Lee Valley Inn closed in 2007 and now the town of Hot Springs, Arkansas, claims to have the shortest parade – a 98-foot (30-meter) route on Bridge Street. Recent participants included the Irish Elvises and the San Diego Chicken.
In Sydney, St Patrick’s Day was first marked on March 17, 1810 when Lachlan Macquarie, the Governor of New South Wales, provided entertainment for Irish convict workers. In 2010, the Sydney Opera House was lit up in green for the first time to mark the 200th anniversary.
Go to Ireland on March 17 and you won’t find very many public figures, musicians or dancers. They will have fanned out around the world for lucrative gigs, and, in the case of Irish politicians, to drum up some trade.
We’re used to seeing rivers and fountains dyed green. The Chicago River is the most famous example of this, but in Seattle, a green stripe is laid along the center of 4th Avenue to mark the route of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade (from 4th Ave at Jefferson up to Westlake Park). The ceremony is carried out the night before the parade (Friday, March 16 this year).
The shamrock that is traditionally given to the American President at the White House is grown in County Kerry in Ireland. The Taoiseach and the President (President O’Bama for the day no doubt) wear their green ties, pose for the media with the crystal bowl that overflows with the lush, green shamrock, exchange friendly words about Ireland-US relations and then, the Secret Service take it away and destroy the plant.
St. Patrick’s Day is one of the most-loved public holidays in Ireland, breaking up that long stretch between New Year’s and Easter. Although it was made an official holiday in 1903, it was only in the 1960s that one could drown the shamrock in a pub (that’s when you pull the shamrock off your lapel and throw it into the last drink of the night).
Not surprisingly, sales of Guinness soar on St. Patrick’s Day. According to recent figures from the drinks giant 5.5 million pints of the black stuff are downed around the world each day. On March 17, the number more than doubles to 13 million pints.
In Dublin, the first Saint Patrick’s Festival was held on March 17, 1996. This year’s theme takes its inspiration from Dublin’s status as The City of Science and the parade and city Treasure Hunt are inspired by the how, what and why of science.
One of the biggest celebrations outside Dublin is in Downpatrick, County Down, where the saint is said to be buried. His grave is an important place of pilgrimage on March 17 and there’s a visitor center that tells the story of Ireland’s patron saint.
Montserrat, a welcoming home to Irish slaves in the 17th century, is one of the few places outside Ireland where St. Patrick’s Day is a public holiday. Its festival runs for one week (March 10-19, 2012) with a Freedom Run, calypso competition, nature hike and a reconstructed Slave Village teeming with stalls selling delicious African-Irish delicacies.
Northern Ireland has a bank holiday on March 17, just like the Republic. Given the Troubles, the first St. Patrick’s Day parade didn’t occur until 1998. Today, there are well-attended, colorful celebrations in Belfast, Derry, Downpatrick, Newry, Armagh and Enniskillen.
Wild and windswept Newfoundland in Canada has a provincial holiday on March 17, which marks its historic associations with Ireland. Generations of Irish immigrants have made their mark with place names such as St. Patrick’s, Patrick’s Cove, Ireland’s Eye and Kilbride.
Montreal is home to one of the longest-running parades in North America. It goes back to 1824. No surprise there, the flag of Montreal has a shamrock, representing the Irish, in the bottom right corner. Along with the English, French and Scottish, the Irish were one of the founding groups in the 19th century.
The Shamrock Shake is McDonald’s contribution to the feast of St. Patrick. The much-loved creation is 540 calories of minty-flavored nectar topped off with whipped cream and a juicy red cherry. Like leprechauns, Aran jumpers and corned beef and cabbage it only comes out at this time of year. It’s on sale at McDonald’s in the US and Ireland until March 25. There’s even a website devoted to Shamrock Shake sightings.
(Images: Saint Patrick – jpmpinmontreal; Boston – Bryan Maleszyk; St. Patrick’s blue – pat_ossa; San Diego Chicken – www.shorteststpats.com, Sydney Opera House – wikimedia.org, Deserted Dublin – ghewgill, Chicago River – monika_thorpe, Shamrocks (featured image) – irishfireside, Guinness – Patrick Mackin, St. Patrick’s Day festival 2012 – stpatricksfestival.ie, St Patrick’s statue in Downpatrick – www.saintpatrickcentre.com, Montserrat – davidstanleytravel, Belfast – www.belfastcity.gov.uk, Newfoundland – newfoundlandlabrador.com, Montreal – jpmpinmontreal, Shamrock Shake – mcdonalds.com)
