Although Saint Patrick’s day is one of the hallmarks of Irish culture and diaspora, here’s why Saint Patrick life served as the foundation for this festival and the Irish culture.
Can we all remember how most of our Instagram timelines look on 17th March? The lovely green colors, ostentatious attires, huge floats, pints and pints of deep dark and frothy Guinness flood social media every year! We’re talking about saint Patrick’s day lovingly known as St. Patty’s day too and is every Irishmen and Irishwomen’s pride! Around 80 million people globally claim to be of Irish descent in the 21st Century, so it’s important to know how Ireland’s famous patron saint became so widely celebrated.
Who is Saint Patrick?
Saint Patrick had a very interesting life. From being kidnapped and forced into slavery in Ireland to escaping and arriving back to Ireland to spread the message of Christ, He was revered all throughout Ireland for his teachings and deeds and soon became a hallmark and figure for Irish culture.
The green that is celebrated!
Saint Patrick died on 17th March 461 A.D. However, several centuries later, the first parade was organized to commemorate him in 1601 in Florida, USA and not Ireland! Soon the day found its way as an official celebration in the Catholic Calendar during the 1630s. The first-ever official parade took place in New York City in 1762! The color green became a sign of Irish pride and unanimity since it was prohibited in Ireland then.
It’s asserted that Irish soldiers who felt homesick for Ireland and their culture honored the Saint to remember him and celebrate the Irish culture’s greatness. More than 32 million Americans as per the 2019 census claimed Irish ancestry. Ireland being super later declared St. Patrick’s Day as a public holiday in 1903 and had their first celebration in 1931!
Research analysis from Betway online casino revealed why this day is marked as a national holiday in four countries and why 149 million Americans in 2018 participated and observed this day! 365 days ahead, 50 nations joined the Green Bandwagon and lit up 400 monuments in greens to celebrate the day! Currently, New York City organizes the world’s largest parade with 150,000 volunteers! This festival soon transformed into a day of showing off the Irish culture and richness embedded in every Shamrock leaf!
Alcohol consumption became an essential part of the festival, especially Guinness since Lent restrictions are levied off only for this day! Ireland back then had banned alcohol consumption from 1927 to 1961. the US alone chugs down an average of 13 million pints of Guinness on Saint Patrick’s day!
What about Ireland? Around 500,000 vacationists land in Dublin to partake in the annual St. Patrick’s celebration. The whole 5-day long parade and festivities coast an earth-shattering €74m, but any for the Irish culture and Saint Patrick. However, Eastern nations have caught up too like India, Japan, and Singapore as they illuminate monuments, arrange fairs and honor the beauty of the Irish culture and people by some of the sparse descendants living there!
However, the COVID-19 pandemic caused a minor dent in the festivities as the parades and celebration had fewer celebrants but it cannot be purged as the powerful history behind it will never be erased.
