St. Patrick’s Day – March 17th
guest | March 17th, 2013 in : days of significance, Europe, General, North America
“Everyone’s Irish on March 17th!” says a large sign at
A Shamrock has become the symbol of St. Patrick's Day
Dublin’s Guinness museum.
March 17th is, of course, St. Patrick’s Day, a day to honor the death of one of the world’s most popular saints.
St. Patrick was born in Roman Britain, and he has been accredited for bringing Christianity to Ireland. Not much is known of St. Patrick’s life but one of the most famous legends says that he used the Shamrock, a three-leaved plant, to teach the Holy Trinity to the pre-Christian Irish people.
Although the religious origins of the day are widely known, nowadays St. Patrick’s Day is also celebrated as a kind of Irish national day…
Ireland doesn’t have an Independence Day so often St. Patrick’s Day functions as a day to celebrate ‘Irishness’ all around the world.
Traditionally, celebrating St. Patrick’s Day has been popular throughout centuries because during this day rules around Lent and fasting were usually waived and the people could drink, dance, and feast. Celebrations in the modern day are similar as St. Patrick’s Day has been commercialised by alcohol producers, such as Guinness and Jameson’s. Irish pubs around the world host big parties on March 17th, and some even feature count-downs till this date.
St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated in the UK, Canada, the US, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, and other countries where an Irish diaspora exists. Every year, New York hosts a St. Patrick’s Day parade of 150,000 participants, which makes it the largest parade in the US. It is also the oldest civilian parade that exists.
To kick start St. Patrick’s Day here’s a catchy Irish song for everyone to enjoy: Rocky Road to Dublin by The High Kings.
Other significant days in March:
International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
International Day for the Remembrance of Slave Trade and Its Abolition
International Day of Solidarity with Detained and Missing Staff Members
Tags: Guinness, parade, Shamrock, St. Patrick's Day, The High Kings
Hello, I'm Deborah Swallow and, for the last fifteen years, I've worked in over thirty countries addressing the complexities of people working internationally across multiple cultures, so individuals and organisations alike can gain an authentic competitive edge and win in international markets. 