What Are We Celebrating on St. Patrick’s Day?

                In the grocery store this weekend, I was in the seasonal section looking for decorations for my home.  While there were plenty of stuffed bunnies and baskets and plastic eggs for Easter, there was also a whole section of obnoxiously large green bowties, mounds of green beaded necklaces, and enough flashing buttons to drive you crazy.  Yes.  St. Patrick’s Day is among us.  There are uncountable “Erin Express” bar crawls in the Philadelphia area alone that start two weeks before the holiday, in fact, I have even participated in a “Half-Way to St. Paddy’s Day” bar crawl in October.  Roads are closed for the impending St. Patrick’s Day parades, which are rich in tradition all across the country.  There is a sea of green at any local bar, where they are most likely serving green beer.  But how did this day come to this?  I know my phone isn’t ringing to go hang out for St. Christopher’s or St. Anne’s Day, so why St. Patrick?

                As you may or may not know, St. Patrick is not Irish.  He was born in Britain and kidnapped by Irish raiders and forced to be a slave in County Mayo.  He managed to escape the 200 miles back to Britain, and then had a dream to return to Ireland to spread the word of Christianity.  After becoming a priest, he returned to Ireland teaching Pagans about Christianity, and ultimately opened many schools along Ireland’s West Coast.  About 30 years later, he died on March 17, and Ireland quickly chose to recognize that day in his honor.

                March 17 eventually became a holy day of obligation for Roman Catholics in Ireland.  People would attend church in the morning, and celebrate for the rest of the day.  During the Middle Ages, St. Patrick’s Day became a one-day reprieve from fasting during Lent, which usually included ale.  This is the basis for the over-indulgence that now surrounds the holiday.  There was a period of time where it was law in Ireland that all pubs be closed on the 17^th as the merriment began to get too out of hand, which was only recently repealed in the 1970s.  There is much concern from Christian leaders in Ireland about the focus on “mindless alcohol-fuelled revelry” and not about the man himself.

                Another change in tradition is the wearing of green to celebrate the saint’s holiday.  The original color was a specific shade of blue, called “St. Patrick’s Blue”.  A popular tradition was to pick shamrocks and wear them in your lapel, as St. Patrick used shamrocks to explain the Trinity to his students.  The combination of the green shamrocks, the song “Wearing of the Green”, and the 1798 United Irish Uprising wearing green uniforms have all established the custom of wearing green to commemorate the day.

                Locally, there are strong ties with St. Patrick’s Day celebrations.  The Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day parade is the 3^rd longest running one in the country, established in 1771.  Morristown, New Jersey is the 4^th longest since 1780.  Scranton, Pennsylvania has been hosting a parade since 1862, and has since grown to the 3^rd largest St. Patrick’s Day Parade in the United States.  In 2008, there were up to 150,000 people in attendance.  Crowds invade the town since it is known to have one of the better parades on record, with approximately 5,000 participants.

                So whether you are Irish, Catholic, both, or neither, I hope you enjoyed that brief history of what is now one of the most recognized and prominent drinking days in our country.  So enjoy a pint with some friends, sing an Irish tune, dance an Irish jig, and enjoy the festivities safely and responsibly!