March 17—St. Patrick's religious feast day and the anniversary of his death in the fifth century. A date that falls during the Christian season of Lent. The Irish have observed this date as a religious holiday for over a thousand years. Irish families would traditionally attend church in the morning and celebrate in the afternoon.
The first St. Patrick's Day parade took place in the U.S., not in Ireland. Irish soldiers serving in the English military marched through New York City on March 17, 1762, (when we were still a British colony). When researching the date of the first parade, I came up with several first parade dates in addition to 1762. One of the listings said the first parade was held in Boston. Another said the date was 1766 and yet another listing said 1601 in Florida.
In 1848, several New York Irish aid societies united their parades to form one New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade. Today, that parade is the world's oldest civilian parade and the largest in the United States with over 150,000 participants.
Today, St.
Patrick's Day is celebrated by people of all backgrounds in the United States,
Canada, and Australia. Although North America is home to the largest
celebrations, it has been celebrated in other locations far from Ireland,
including Japan, Singapore, and Russia.
In modern day Ireland, St. Patrick's Day has traditionally been a religious occasion. Until the 1970s, Irish laws mandated pubs be closed on March 17. In 1995, the Irish government began a national campaign to use St. Patrick's Day as an opportunity to promote tourism.
Symbols and Traditions
The shamrock
was a sacred plant in ancient Ireland, symbolizing the rebirth of spring. By
the seventeenth century, it became a symbol of emerging Irish nationalism.
Music is often
associated with St. Patrick's Day and Irish culture in general. Since the
ancient days of the Celts, music has always been an important part of Irish
life. The Celts had an oral culture where religion, legend, and history were
passed from one generation to the next through stories and songs.
Banishing
snakes from Ireland has been associated with St. Patrick. A long held belief
says St. Patrick once stood on a hilltop and with only a wooden staff managed
to drive all the snakes from Ireland. The fact is the island nation of Ireland
has never had snakes. The climate is too cold and damp for reptiles that cannot
internally generate their own body heat.
Every year on
St. Patrick's Day the traditional meal of corned beef and cabbage is consumed.
Cabbage has long been an Irish food, but corned beef didn't become associated
with St. Patrick's Day until many years later.
Belief in leprechauns probably comes from Celtic belief in fairies—tiny men and women who could use their magical powers to serve good or evil. Leprechauns are only minor figures in Celtic folklore, cantankerous little men known for their trickery which they often used to protect their fabled treasure. The cheerful, friendly image of the leprechaun is a purely American invention created by Walt Disney in his 1959 movie, Darby O'Gill and the Little People.
Chicago is
famous for a somewhat peculiar annual event: dyeing the Chicago River green.
The tradition started in 1962, when city pollution-control workers used dyes to
trace illegal sewage discharges and realized that the green dye might provide a
unique way to celebrate the holiday. That year, they released 100 pounds of
green vegetable dye into the river—enough to keep it green for a week. Today,
in order to minimize environmental damage, only forty pounds of vegetable dye
are used, making the river green for several hours rather than days.
Green beer,
certainly associated with St. Patrick's Day here in the United States, is NOT
an Irish creation. Purists claim that Arthur Guinness would turn over in his
grave if anyone attempted to add green food coloring to the traditional Irish
brew. Green beer is most likely of American origins.
And Irish
coffee? The forerunner of today's Irish
coffee was said to have originated one miserable winter night in the 1940s at
Foynes' port, the precursor to Shannon International Airport on the west coast
of Ireland near the town of Limerick. Joseph Sheridan added some whiskey to the
coffee to warm the arriving American passengers, proclaiming it to be Irish
coffee.
A travel
writer named Stanton Delaplane brought Irish coffee to the U.S. after drinking
it at Shannon Airport. He worked with the Buena Vista Café in San Francisco to
develop the perfect drink. The Buena Vista Cafe started serving Irish coffee on
November 10, 1952, and continues to serve large quantities of it to this day
starting from the time they open in the morning for breakfast until they close
at night. [On several occasions, I have enjoyed Irish coffee at the Buena
Vista.]
So, here's to everyone celebrating on March 17 whether Irish or not. Enjoy your corned beef and cabbage, green beer, and Irish coffee.
