3 Interesting Facts About St. Patrick’s Day
~ Natalia Radcliffe ~Tomorrow is St. Patrick’s Day! Traditionally a religious holiday in Ireland, it’s also become a holiday widely celebrated here in the U.S.
Owner Meggan is part Irish and her family had many Irish traditions growing up. Her great grandparents, the Devine’s, are from a town in County Cork, Ireland. Meggan’s had the opportunity to visit the country multiple times, including being able to visit the city of Dublin, kiss the Blarney Stone, and stay in castles while riding Connemara ponies through Galway, the countryside to the sea.
Today, in honor of the upcoming holiday and Meggan’s heritage, we present to you 3 interesting bits of information about St. Patrick’s Day.
1. St. Patrick
The holiday derives its name from the patron saint of Ireland and its national apostle, Saint Patrick. He was credited with bringing Christianity to the Irish people.
Interestingly, sources say he was born in Roman Britain, but was kidnapped and brought to Ireland as a slave in his teenage years. He eventually escaped, but ultimately returned to Ireland.
Myths and legends surrounding St. Patrick after his death grew and rooted itself in Irish culture. One of the most well-known legends says that St. Patrick explained the Holy Trinity (the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit) using a shamrock, a native Irish clover.
2. The First St. Patrick’s Day Parade
You would think the first St. Patrick’s Day parade happened in the U.S, given the event’s popularity during the holiday, right?
The Irish have been observing the Roman Catholic St. Patrick’s Day holiday on March 17 for centuries, but the first parade happened in 1601 in a Spanish Colony in the southern part of North America. This colony would eventually be known as St. Augustine, Florida.
3. St. Patrick’s Day Celebrations in the U.S
One of the first mass celebrations of St. Patrick’s Day in the early days of the U.S was a group of homesick Irish soldiers serving in the English army deciding to march in New York City on March 17, 1772 to honor their country’s patron saint.
Interest grew in the early cities of the U.S, including New York City and Boston, and the celebrations grew from there. Over the next few decades, Irish patriotism grew in the U.S, inspiring so-called “Irish Aid” societies to sprout. These societies would hold annual parades featuring bagpipes and drums.
When 1848 rolled around, several societies in New York decided to work together to create one large parade. This would become the official New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade, the world’s oldest civilian parade and the largest in the United States, consisting of over 150,000 participants. Millions of people line the parade route to watch the procession, which usually takes over 5 hours.
In addition to New York, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia and Savannah also boast large parades, with 10,000 to 20,000 participants each.
Hope you enjoyed learning about the history behind this annual holiday! Next week we’ll be giving you the inside scoop on a new lodging we’ll be adding to our property. Hope to see you there!
Information obtained from https://www.history.com/topics/st-patricks-day/history-of-st-patricks-day
Thumbnail: St. Patricks Day picture by alleksana on pexels.com. Three leaf clover picture by Anna Shvets on Pexels.com.
