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Saint Patrick's Day
Saint Patrick's Day
	The Chicago River is dyed green each year for the St. Patrick's Day celebration, shown here in 2008.
Observed by	; Irish people; People of Irish ancestry; Roman Catholics; Anglicans; Eastern Orthodox; English-speaking countries; Guinness Drinkers;
Type	National, Ethnic, Christian, Festive
Celebrations	; Attending Mass; Parades; Wearing shamrocks; Wearing green; Drinking Guinness;
Date	March 17

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Revision as of 09:58, 10 October 2008

Saint Patrick's Day (Irish: Lá ’le Pádraig or Lá Fhéile Pádraig), colloquially St. Paddy's Day or Paddy's Day, is an annual feast day which celebrates Saint Patrick (circa 385–461 AD), one of the patron saints of Ireland, and is generally celebrated on March 17.

The day is the national holiday of Ireland. It is a bank holiday in Northern Ireland and a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland, Montserrat, and the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. In the rest of Canada, Great Britain, Australia, the United States and New Zealand, it is widely celebrated but is not an official holiday. ^[1]

It became a feast day in the Roman Catholic Church due to the influence of the Waterford-born Franciscan scholar Luke Wadding^[2] in the early part of the 17th century, and is a holy day of obligation for Roman Catholics in Ireland. The date of the feast is occasionally, yet controversially, moved by church authorities when March 17 falls during Holy Week; this happened in 1940 when Saint Patrick's Day was observed on April 3 in order to avoid it coinciding with Palm Sunday, and happened again in 2008, having been observed on 15 March.^[3] March 17 will not fall during Holy Week again until 2160.^[4]

Celebration overview

Saint Patrick's Day is celebrated worldwide by Irish people and increasingly by non-Irish people (usually in Australia and North America). Celebrations are generally themed around all things Irish and, by association, the colour green. Both Christians and non-Christians celebrate the secular version of the holiday by wearing green or orange, eating Irish food and/or green foods, imbibing Irish drink (such as Guinness or Baileys Irish Cream) and attending parades.Primary and high schools also often dress up in green on st Patricks day

The St. Patrick's Day parade in Dublin, Ireland is part of a five-day festival; over 500,000 people attended the 2006 parade. The St. Patrick's Day parade was first held in Boston in 1761, organized by the Charitable Irish Society. New York City's celebration began on 18 March, 1762 when Irish soldiers in the British army marched through the city,^{[citation needed]} and the New York parade is the largest, typically drawing two million spectators and 150,000 marchers.^[5] The predominantly French-speaking Canadian city of Montreal, in the province of Québec has the longest continually running Saint Patrick's day parade in North America, since 1824;^[6] The city's flag has the Irish emblem, the shamrock, in one of its corners. Ireland's cities all hold their own parades and festivals, including Dublin, Cork, Belfast, Derry, Galway, Kilkenny, Limerick, and Waterford. Parades also take place in other Irish towns and villages.

"Leprechauns" kick off week-long festivities by renaming New London, Wisconsin to New Dublin [3]

Other large parades include those in Savannah, Georgia ([4]), Milwaukee, Wisconsin, ([5]) New London, Wisconsin (which changes its name to New Dublin the week of St. Patrick's Day) ([6]), Dallas, Cleveland, Manchester, Birmingham, London, Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, Jackson, Mississippi, Boston, Buffalo, Houston, Chicago, Baltimore, Salt Lake City, Cincinnati,[7] Kansas City, Rolla, Missouri, St. Louis, Philadelphia, Indianapolis, Baton Rouge, Pittsburgh, Denver, St. Paul, Sacramento, San Francisco, Scranton, Seattle, Butte, Bayonne, New Jersey, Detroit, Syracuse, Newport, Holyoke, MA, New Haven, CT,[8] Toronto, Vancouver, and throughout much of the Western world. The parade held in Sydney, Australia, is recorded as being the largest in the Southern Hemisphere.

As well as being a celebration of Irish culture, Saint Patrick's Day is a Christian festival celebrated in the Catholic Church, the Church of Ireland, and some other denominations. The day almost always falls in the season of Lent. Some bishops will grant an indult, or release, from the Friday no-meat observance when St. Patrick's Day falls on a Friday; this is sometimes colloquially known as a "corned-beef indult".^[7] When 17 March falls on a Sunday, church calendars (though rarely secular ones) move Saint Patrick's Day to the following Monday—and when the 17th falls during Holy Week (very rarely), the observance will be moved to the next available date or, exceptionally, before holy week.^[8] The public holiday in Ireland does not move and always remains at 17 March, being fixed on the State calendar.

In many parts of North America, Britain, and Australia, expatriate Irish and ever-growing crowds of people with no Irish connections but who may proclaim themselves "Irish for a day" also celebrate St. Patrick's Day, usually with the consumption of traditionally Irish alcoholic beverages (beer and stout, such as Murphy's, Beamish, Smithwicks, Harp, or Guinness; Irish whiskey; Irish coffee; or Baileys Irish Cream) and by wearing green-coloured clothing.

2007 marked the first annual St. Patrick's Day parade and festival in the Scottish city of Glasgow.^{[citation needed]}

Wearing of green

St. Patrick's Blue, not green, was the colour long-associated with St. Patrick. Green, the colour most widely associated with Ireland, with Irish people, and with St. Patrick's Day in modern times, may have gained its prominence through the phrase "the wearing of the green" meaning to wear a shamrock on one's clothing. At many times in Irish history, to do so was seen as a sign of Irish nationalism or loyalty to the Roman Catholic faith. St. Patrick used the shamrock, a three-leaved plant, to explain the Holy Trinity to the pre-Christian Irish. The wearing of and display of shamrocks and shamrock-inspired designs have become a ubiquitous feature of the saint's holiday.^[9] The change to Ireland's association with green rather than blue probably began around the 1750s.^[10]^[11]

Recent history

In the past, Saint Patrick's Day was celebrated only as a religious holiday. It became a public holiday in 1903, by the Bank Holiday (Ireland) Act 1903, an Act of the United Kingdom Parliament introduced by the Irish MP James O'Mara.^[12] O'Mara later introduced the law which required that pubs be closed on 17 March, a provision which was repealed only in the 1970s. The first St. Patrick's Day parade held in the Irish Free State was held in Dublin in 1931 and was reviewed by the then Minister of Defence Desmond Fitzgerald. Although secular celebrations now exist, the holiday remains a religious observance in Ireland, for both the Church of Ireland and Roman Catholic Church.

It was only in the mid-1990s that the Irish government began a campaign to use Saint Patrick's Day to showcase Ireland and its culture.^[13] The government set up a group called St. Patrick's Festival, with the aim to:

—Offer a national festival that ranks amongst all of the greatest celebrations in the world and promote excitement throughout Ireland via innovation, creativity, grassroots involvement, and marketing activity.

—Provide the opportunity and motivation for people of Irish descent, (and those who sometimes wish they were Irish) to attend and join in the imaginative and expressive celebrations.

—Project, internationally, an accurate image of Ireland as a creative, professional and sophisticated country with wide appeal, as we approach the new millennium.^[14]

The first Saint Patrick's Festival was held on 17 March 1996. In 1997, it became a three-day event, and by 2000 it was a four-day event. By 2006, the festival was five days long.

The topic of the 2004 St. Patrick's Symposium was "Talking Irish," during which the nature of Irish identity, economic success, and the future were discussed. Since 1996, there has been a greater emphasis on celebrating and projecting a fluid and inclusive notion of "Irishness" rather than an identity based around traditional religious or ethnic allegiance. The week around Saint Patrick's Day usually involves Irish speakers using more Irish during seachtain na Gaeilge ("Irish Week").

The biggest celebrations on the island of Ireland outside Dublin are in Downpatrick, Northern Ireland, where Saint Patrick is rumoured to be buried following his death on 17 March 461. In 2004, according to Down District Council, the week-long St. Patrick's Festival had over 2,000 participants and 82 floats, bands, and performers, and was watched by over 30,000 people.^{[citation needed]}

Belfast City Council recently agreed to give public funds to its parade for the very first time.^{[citation needed]} In previous years funding was refused by pro-British Unionist councillors in the city for not being inclusive of Unionist citizens, the refusal to fund it was labelled as "anti-Irish racism" by Nationalist Belfast councillors.^[15]

Since the 1990s, Irish Taoisigh have sometimes attended special functions either on Saint Patrick's Day or a day or two earlier, in the White House, where they present a shamrock to the President of the United States. A similar presentation is made to the Speaker of the House. Originally only representatives of the Republic of Ireland attended, but since the mid-1990s all major Political parties in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland are invited, with the attendance including the representatives of the Irish government, the Ulster Unionist Party, the Social Democratic and Labour Party, Sinn Féin and others. No Northern Irish parties were invited for these functions in 2005. In recent years, it is common for the entire Irish government to be abroad representing the country in various parts of the world. In 2003, the President of Ireland celebrated the holiday in Sydney, the Taoiseach was in Washington, while other Irish government members attended ceremonies in New York City, Boston, San Francisco, Buffalo, San Jose, Savannah, Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, San Diego, New Zealand, Hong Kong, South Africa, Korea, Japan, and Brazil.

Saint Patrick's Day parades in Ireland date from the early 18th century.^{[citation needed]}.

Christian leaders in Ireland have expressed concern about the secularisation of St Patrick's Day. Writing in the Word magazine (March 2007), Fr. Vincent Twomey stated that, "it is time to reclaim St Patrick's Day as a church festival". He questioned the need for "mindless alcohol-fuelled revelry" and concluded that, "it is time to bring the piety and the fun together". The widespread use of alcoholic beverages on St. Patrick's Day may be rooted in the fact that the Roman festival of the Bacchanalia, a celebration of the deity Bacchus (to whom wine was sacred), was on 17 March^{[citation needed]}.

Outside Ireland

In Argentina

In Argentina, and especially in Buenos Aires, all-night long parties are celebrated in designated streets, since the weather is comfortably warm in March. People dance and drink only beer throughout the night, until seven or eight in the morning, and although the tradition of mocking those who do not does not exist, most people would wear something green. In Buenos Aires, the party is held in downtown street Reconquista, where there are several Irish pubs;^[16]^[17] in 2006, there were 50,000 people in this street and the pubs nearby.^[18] Curiously enough, the street is named that way ("Reconquest") remembering the takeover of the city after it had been invaded by the British in 1806,^[19] and much of the popularity of the day is due to the Argentine animosity against Great Britain (and thus, sympathy towards the Irish). Neither the Catholic Church nor the Irish community, the fifth largest in the world outside Ireland,^[20] take part in the organization of the parties.

In Canada

The longest-running Saint Patrick's Day parade in Canada occurs each year in Montreal, Quebec. The parades have been held in continuity since 1824; however, St. Patrick's Day itself has been celebrated in Montreal as far back as 1759 by Irish soldiers in the Montreal Garrison following the British conquest of New France.^[21]

In Canada, Saint Patrick's Day is an official holiday only in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Some groups, notably Guinness, have lobbied to make Saint Patrick's Day a federal (national) holiday.

In the Province of Manitoba, the Irish Association of Manitoba runs an annual three day festival of music and culture based around St Patrick's Day.

In the City of Toronto from 1919 to 1927, the Toronto Maple Leafs were known as the Toronto St. Patricks, and wore green jerseys. In 1999 when the Leafs played on Hockey Night in Canada (national broadcast of the NHL) on St. Patrick's Day, the Leafs wore the green St. Pats retro jersey.

Although the baseball season is still in the spring training phase when St. Patrick's Day rolls around, the Toronto Blue Jays wear green uniforms for the occasion.

In Great Britain

In Great Britain, the Queen Mother used to present bowls of shamrock flown over from Ireland to members of the Irish Guards, a regiment in the British Army consisting primarily of soldiers from both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. In 2002, London mayor Ken Livingstone organised an annual Saint Patrick's Day parade which takes place on weekends around the 17th, usually in Trafalgar Square. In 2008 the water in the Trafalgar Square fountains was dyed green.

The horse racing at the Cheltenham Festival attracts large numbers of Irish people, both residents of Britain and many who travel from Ireland, and usually coincides with Saint Patrick's Day.^[22]

The largest Saint Patrick's Day parade in Britain is held in Birmingham^[23] over a two mile (3 km) route through the city centre. The organisers describe it as the third biggest parade in the world after Dublin and New York.^{[citation needed]} Other Saint Patrick's Day parades take place around the country including in London where the largest minority community is Irish^{[citation needed]}. The Scottish town of Coatbridge, where the majority of the town's population are of Irish descent^{[citation needed]}, also has a day of celebration and parades in the town centre.

Manchester hosts a two week Irish festival in the weeks prior to St Patrick's Day, the city claims the largest Irish population in Great Britain outside of London^{[citation needed]}. The festival includes an Irish Market based at the city's town hall which flies the Irish tricolour opposite the Union Flag, a large parade (claiming to be the biggest outside of Dublin and New York based on entrant and float numbers) as well as a large number of cultural and learning events throughout the two-week period. The festival promotes itself as the largest in the UK.^[24]

In Denmark

The St. Patrick's Day 3 Legged Charity Race started in Copenhagen in 2001. The race is organized by the Irish expat community and is sponsored by the Carlsberg brewery and the Irish pub owners of Copenhagen. In 2007, the event raised 26,000 DKK (~3,500 euro). All proceeds were donated to a Danish charity for children with cancer. All proceeds from the 2008 race will be donated to the Neonatal Department at Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen.

In Germany

Munich is a German city that holds a St. Patrick's Day parade due to the considerably large Irish community. The parade is organized by the German-Irish Society of Bavaria and has been held every year since 1996. Meanwhile it has evolved into the largest St.Patrick's Day parade in continental Europe and features not only Irish/Scots/English, but also German clubs and societies, with an estimated 25,000 to 30,000 participants and spectators in 2007.^[25] Following the 2 km parade, which usually takes place the Sunday preceding 17 March, is an open air party with live music and dance performances. Subject to its recent growth, the D.I.F. Bayern e.V. ("Deutsch-Irischer Freundeskreis" - German-Irish Circle of Friends) now claims that it organises the second largest parade in the whole of Europe.^[26] Patron of the parade is Munich's mayor Christian Ude and the celebration is attended by the ambassador and the honorary consul of the Republic of Ireland.^[27]

In Japan

Since 1992, the Irish Network Japan has hosted a St. Patrick's Day parade held on fashionable Omotesando Avenue in Tokyo, as a way of introducing Ireland and Irish culture to the Japanese. As of 2008, there are now ten cities across Japan that hold an annual parade: Ise, Kumamoto, Kyoto, Matsue, [Nagoya], Okinawa, Sendai, Tokyo, Tsukuba, Yokohama.

In Korea

The Irish Association of Korea has hosted Saint Patrick's Day celebrations since 2000 with more than 6000 people attending each year.^[28] The eighth annual St. Patrick's Day festival celebrated 25 years of friendship and diplomatic relations with Ireland and Korea along the Cheonggyecheon river.^[28]

In Mexico

On this day, and on 12 September, the Saint Patrick's Battalion (Batallón de San Patricio) is memorialized. It fought as part of the Mexican Army against the United States in the Mexican-American War of 1846 to 1848, and was composed of several hundred Irish, Germans, Swiss, Scots and other Roman Catholics of European descent.

In Montserrat

The tiny island of Montserrat, known as "Emerald Island of the Caribbean" due to its foundation by Irish refugees from Saint Kitts and Nevis, is the only place in the world apart from Ireland and the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador in which St Patrick's Day is a public holiday. The holiday commemorates a failed slave uprising that occurred on 17 March 1798.

In Russia

On March 15 1992, thousands of Muscovites lined the Novy Arbat to witness the first St. Patrick's Day Parade in the Russian capital's history. Yuri Luzhkov — now the current Mayor of Moscow - and Aer Rianta Chief Executive Derek Keogh were on the reviewing stand as a police escort led the way for Russian marching bands, Cossack horsemen, and fifteen floats representing many Russian companies. The parade, which was the brainchild of Derek Keogh, was a big success, and ensured a repeat performance the following year.

Each year the floats have become more numerous and sophisticated and the range of international and Russian participants and sponsors more wide-ranging such as Pepsi and Guinness. The local Irish bars of Moscow contribute their own floats.

The Moscow parade continued to be an annual event until 1998. The economic collapse of August 1998 meant that the 1999 parade was cancelled. In 2000, the St Patrick's Society of Russia managed to re-establish the St Patrick's Day parade with the co-operation of the Moscow city government, the Moscow police, various government bodies, the Irish embassy and the Irish community in Moscow.

In the United States

Irish colonists brought Saint Patrick's Day to what is now the United States of America. The first civic and public celebration of Saint Patrick's Day in the 13 colonies took place in Boston, Massachusetts in 1737.^[29] During this first celebration The Charitable Irish Society of Boston organized what was the first Saint Patrick's Day Parade in the colonies on 17 March 1737.^[30] The first celebration of Saint Patrick's Day in New York City was held at the Crown and Thistle Tavern in 1756,^[31] and New York's first Saint Patrick's Day Parade was held on 17 March 1762 by Irish soldiers in the British Army. In 1780, General George Washington, who commanded soldiers of Irish descent in the Continental Army, allowed his troops a holiday on 17 March. This event became known as The St. Patrick's Day Encampment of 1780.^[30] Today, Saint Patrick's Day is widely celebrated in America by Irish and non-Irish alike.

Americans celebrate the holiday by wearing green clothing. Many people, regardless of ethnic background, wear green-coloured clothing and items. Traditionally, those who are caught not wearing green are pinched, though this practice is in fact alien to those who actually come from Ireland.^[32]

Some cities paint the traffic stripe of their parade routes green. Chicago dyes its river green and has done so since 1961 when sewer workers used green dye to check for sewer discharges and got the idea to turn the river green for St. Patrick's Day.^[33] Indianapolis also dyes its main canal green. Savannah dyes its downtown city fountains green. University of Missouri Rolla - St Pat's Board Alumni paint 12 city blocks kelly green with mops before the annual parade.^{[citation needed]}

Many parades are held to celebrate the holiday including the cities listed below:

Postcard mailed in the United States in 1912

The longest-running Saint Patrick's Day celebrations in the U.S. are:

Boston, Massachusetts, since 1737
New York City, since 1762 (247th Consecutive Parade in 2008)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, since 1771
Morristown, New Jersey, since 1780
New Orleans, Louisiana, since 1809
Buffalo, New York, since 1811
Savannah, Georgia, since 1813
Carbondale, Pennsylvania, since 1833
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, since 1843
Chicago, Illinois, since 1843
New Haven, Connecticut, since 1845
Saint Paul, Minnesota, since 1851^[34]
San Francisco, California, since 1852
Scranton, Pennsylvania, since 1862
Cleveland, Ohio, since 1867
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, since 1869^[35]
Kansas City, Missouri, since 1873
Butte, Montana, since 1882
Rolla, Missouri, since 1908
Baltimore, since 1956
Denver, Colorado, since 1962
Las Vegas, Nevada since 1966

Savannah, GA, boasts the unofficial largest attendance with 750,000 in 2006.^{[citation needed]} Unlike other cities, the parade in Savannah takes place on the actual day of Saint Patrick's Day; even if that day is during the work week. However for 2008, the parade took place on Friday, 14 March, to honour Holy week in the Catholic faith.^[36] In 2006, the Tánaiste was featured in the parade. Since the parade travels through Savannah's Historic Park District, one tradition that has developed has been the official "dyeing of the fountains" which happens several days before the parade. It has also become tradition for women spectators to kiss the Armed Forces Units and other military organization's male members. Savannah does not have an open container law so there is a proliferation of alcohol on River Street, Bay Street and in City Market.

New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans, Louisiana, the parades include the influence of New Orleans Mardi Gras, with float riders throwing spectators strings of beads, cabbages, and potatoes.

Hot Springs, Arkansas

Perhaps the smallest notable parade World's Shortest St. Patrick's Day Parade, is said to take place in Hot Springs, Arkansas in the United States annually held on historic Bridge Street which became famous in the 1940s when Ripley’s Believe It or Not designated it “The Shortest Street in the World.” Boulder, Colorado claims to have the shortest parade, which is also less than a single city block.^{[citation needed]}

Syracuse, New York

File:Nduffy walking.jpg

Nancy Duffy marching in the Syracuse St. Patrick's Parade. The people marching with Nancy are: Nancy's sister, Barbara, Nancy's dad, Nancy, Congressman Jim Hanley, and John Farrell.

In the city of Syracuse, NY, Saint Patrick's celebrations are traditionally begun with the delivery of green beer to Coleman's Irish Pub on the first Sunday of March. Coleman's is located in the Tipperary Hill section of the city. Tipperary Hill is home to the World famous "Green-on-Top" Traffic Light and is historically the Irish section in Syracuse. Saint Patrick's Day is rung in at midnight with the painting of a Shamrock under the Green-Over-Red traffic light. Syracuse boasts the largest St. Patrick's day celebration per-capita in the United States with their annual Syracuse St. Patrick's Parade ([9])^[37], founded by Nancy Duffy, an honored journalist in the Central New York area and an active community leader. "The parade remains a major annual event, typically drawing an estimated crowd of more than 100,000 visitors to downtown Syracuse, as well as 5,000 to 6,000 marchers." ^[38]

New York City

The New York parade has become the largest Saint Patrick's Day parade in the world. In a typical year, 150,000 marchers participate in it, including bands, firefighters, military and police groups, county associations, emigrant societies, and social and cultural clubs, and 2 million spectators line the streets.^[5] The parade marches up 5th Avenue in Manhattan and is always led by the U.S. 69th Infantry Regiment. New York politicians - or those running for office - are always found prominently marching in the parade. Former New York City Mayor Ed Koch once proclaimed himself "Ed O'Koch" for the day,^[29] and he continues to don an Irish sweater and march every year up until 2003, even though he is no longer in office.

The parade is organized and run by the Ancient Order of Hibernians.^{[citation needed]} For many years, the St. Patrick's Day Parade was the primary public function of the organization. On occasion the order has appointed controversial Irish republican figures (some of whom were barred from the U.S.) to be its Grand Marshal.^{[citation needed]}

The New York parade is moved to the previous Saturday (16 March) in years where 17 March is a Sunday. The event also has been moved on the rare occasions when, due to Easter falling on a very early date, 17 March would land in Holy Week. This same scenario is scheduled to arise again in 2008, when Easter will also fall on 23 March, but the festivities took place at their normal date and had record viewers.^[39] In many other American cities (such as San Francisco), the parade is always held on the Sunday before 17 March, regardless of the liturgical calendar.

Scranton, Pennsylvania

Due to the rich history of Scranton participation in St. Patrick's Day festivities it is one of the oldest and most populated parades in the United States. It has been going on annually since 1862 by the St. Patrick's Day Parade Association of Lackawanna County and the parade has gotten attention nationally as being one of the better St. Patrick's Day parades. The parade route begins on Wyoming Ave. and loops up to Penn Ave. and then Lackawanna Ave. before going back down over Jefferson Ave. to get to Washington Ave. Scranton hosts the third largest St. Patrick's Day Parade in the United States. In 2008, up to 150,000 people attended the parade.

Seattle, Washington

Due to Seattle's northern state climates, like Ireland, the city received many Irish immigrants. So many that Seattle and Galway are sister cities. Every year on St. Patrick's Day, the Seattle Parade starts at 4th Avenue and Jefferson to the Reviewing Stand at Westlake Park, ending officially at the Seattle Center. The annual Irish Week Festival is enormous, including step dancing, food, historical and modern exhibitions, and Irish lessons. This is all celebrated on St. Patrick's Day and sometimes carries on until the 15, 16, and 17 March.

Las Vegas, Nevada

The Southern Nevada, (formerly Las Vegas) Sons of Erin has put on a parade since 1966. It was formerly held on Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas, later moved to 4th street. Since 2005, the parade has been held in downtown Henderson. It is one of the biggest parades in the state of Nevada. It also consists of a three day festival, carnival and classic car show in Old Town Henderson.

Baltimore, Maryland

The festivities of the St. Patrick's Day Parade (since 1956) include a 5K race with a finish line at Power Plant Live! and a brunch (both on the day of the parade) plus numerous fundraisers in Baltimore's Irish restaurants, leading up to the event.

Rolla, Missouri

Rolla is home to the Missouri University of Science & Technology (formerly known as University of Missouri-Rolla, and Missouri School of Mines), an engineering college. St. Patrick is the patron saint of engineers, and the school and town's celebrations last for a week or more, with a downtown parade held the Saturday before St. Pat's. A royal court are crowned, and the streets of the city's downtown area are painted solid green. In 2008, Rolla celebrates its 100th St. Patrick's Day festival.

In previous years, a pit of green liquid was made by students as part of the festivities, and named 'Alice' -- stepping into Alice was a rite of bravery. In recent years, however, the university faculty has banned the practice out of health concerns.^[40]

Baseball

Although the baseball season is still in the spring training phase when St. Patrick's Day rolls around, some teams celebrate by wearing St. Patrick's Day themed uniforms. The Cincinnati Reds were the first team to ever wear St. Patrick's Day hats in 1978. The Boston Red Sox were the second team to start wearing St. Patrick's Day hats in 1990.^[41] Many teams have since wearing St. Patrick's day themed jerseys, including the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1980s and Boston Red Sox in 2004.^[42] Since then it has become a tradition of many sports teams to also wear special uniforms to celebrate the holiday. The Los Angeles Dodgers also have a history with the Irish-American community. With the O'Malley family owning the team and now Frank McCourt, the Dodgers have had team celebrations or worn green jerseys on St. Patrick's Day.^[43] The Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia Phillies also wear St. Patrick's Day caps and jerseys.^[44] Other teams celebrate by wearing kelly green hats. These teams include: the Chicago Cubs, the Chicago White Sox, the New York Mets, the San Diego Padres, the Atlanta Braves, the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Kansas City Royals, the Seattle Mariners and the St. Louis Cardinals.^[45]

Nearly all major league baseball teams now produce St. Patrick's day merchandise, including Kelly green hats, jerseys, and t-shirts.^[46]

Food

Corned beef and cabbage is the most common meal eaten in the United States for St. Patrick's Day^{[citation needed]}, even though historically, corned beef and cabbage is an American (rather than a traditionally Irish) meal.

In the United States, many people have also made the holiday a celebration of the colour green. These people, besides wearing green on that day, may also stage dinner parties featuring all green foods.

Uruguay

Despite its minuscule population of true Irishmen, the capital city of Montevideo is alive with St. Patrick's Day festivities. One bizarre tradition involves spinning a partygoer (eyes closed) around on the spot (# of spins = age of the person) while clapping the count and chanting "Dublin borracho!" (roughly translate as "dublin drunk", first as a whisper and then gradually increasing in volume, which makes for much vocal straining when spinning older partygoers). Once the count is complete, the partygoer must walk a minimum of 10 steps and plant a kiss on the cheek of someone from the opposite sex. This second task is rarely achieved.

External articles and references

Citations and notes

^ "Federal Holidays Calendars from 1997 to 2010". Retrieved 17 March. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
^ "The Catholic Encyclopedia: Luke Wadding". Retrieved 15 February. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
^ "St. Patrick's Day, Catholic Church march to different drummers". USA Today. Retrieved 2008-03-11. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
^ Nevans-Pederson, Mary (2008-03-13). "No St. Pat's Day Mass allowed in Holy Week". Dubuque Telegraph Herald. Woodward Communications, Inc. Retrieved 2008-03-13.
^ ^a ^b Hajela, Deepti, Associated Press article, March 18, 2008, New York City dateline ("The parade typically draws 2 million spectators and 150,000 marchers [...] New York boasts the nation's largest parade [...]")
^ "St. Patrick's Day Parades Roundup, 2005". The Wild Geese Today. Retrieved 2008-03-03.
^ Whispers in the Loggia - Indult Scorecard, Master List March 14, 2006
^ Whispers In The Loggia - St Pat's, Advanced July 24, 2007
^ [1] "St. Patrick's Day: Fact vs. Fiction" (Bridget Haggerty, author of The Traditional Irish Wedding and the Web site "Irish Culture and Customs", speaks to National Geographic News)
^ [2] Holiday has history
^ "The History of St. Patrick's Day". 'Ottawa Plus. Retrieved 2007-03-16. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
^ Humphry's Family Tree - James O'Mara
^ "The History of the Holiday." History Channel. (URL accessed March 15, 2006)
^ "St. Patrick's Day". St. Patrick's Festival. Retrieved 2007-07-21.
^ BBC News | NORTHERN IRELAND | St Patrick's day parade refused funding
^ "Saint Patrick´s Day in Argentina".
^ "video of Saint Patrick´s Day in Argentina-youtube".
^ "Clarín newspaper".
^ "The Guardian".
^ "The Irish Times special report".
^ Don Pidgeon (2007-07-03). "Montreal's Saint Patrick's Day Parade: History". United Irish Societies of Montreal.
^ BBC News - The day the world turns green March 14, 1998
^ Connecting Histories - St Patrick's Day Parade
^ Manchester Irish Festival
^ "Die St. Patricks Day Parade 2008". 'ganz-muenchen.de'. Retrieved 2008-02-23.
^ "DIF Bayern". 'D.I.F. Bayern e.V.'. Retrieved 2008-02-23.
^ "St. Patrick's Day Munich - Messages of Greeting". 'D.I.F. Bayern e.V.'. Retrieved 2008-02-23.
^ ^a ^b "Citizens Can Enjoy St. Patrick's Day". 'The Korea Times'. Retrieved 2008-03-18.
^ ^a ^b Johnson, Bridget (17 March, 2006). 17 March, 2007"Lucky for the Irish". National Review Online.
^ ^a ^b "Saint Patrick’s Day". Encarta (URL accessed 19 March, 2007) Cite error: The named reference "Washington" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
^ "March 17, 1756 in History." Brainy History. (URL accessed 17 March, 2006)
^ BBC - h2g2 - St Patrick's Day
^ MSN - View of Celebrations of St. Patricks Day in the U.S.
^ Kunz, Virginia Brainard. Saint Paul: The First One Hundred and Fifty Years. Bookmen. pp. p.33. ISBN 0-9630690-0-4. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
^ "History of Pittsburgh's St. Patrick's Day Parade." (URL accessed October 5, 2006)
^ Savannah, Georgia - Saint Patrick's Day Celebration
^ "Syracuse St. Patrick's Parade". Retrieved 17 June. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
^ "Nancy Duffy". Retrieved 17 June. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
^ St. Patrick's Day causing Catholic dilemma - CNN.com
^ Careaga, Andrew (Winter 2007). "Go ask Alice? We would if we could". UMR Magazine Vol. 81 No. 4. mst.edu.
^ "The Official Site of The Boston Red Sox: News: Boston Red Sox News" (URL accessed 29 March, 2007)
^ "The Official Site of Major League Baseball: News: Major League Baseball News" (URL accessed 29 March, 2007)
^ Dodgers Auctions - LA Dodger's St. Patrick's Day Jersey
^ "St. Patrick's Day on Yahoo! News Photos" (URL accessed 29 March, 2007)
^ "The Official Site of The St. Louis Cardinals: News: St. Louis Cardinals News" (URL accessed 29 March, 2007)
^ "MLB.com shop" (URL accessed 29 March, 2007)

Books

Todd, J. H. (1864). St. Patrick, apostle of Ireland; a memoir of his life and mission, with an introductory dissertation on some early usages of the church in Ireland, and its historical position from the establishment of the English colony to the present day. Dublin: Hodges, Smith & Co.

Websites

[1] "Federal Holidays Calendars from 1997 to 2010". Retrieved 17 March. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)

[2] "The Catholic Encyclopedia: Luke Wadding". Retrieved 15 February. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)

[3] "St. Patrick's Day, Catholic Church march to different drummers". USA Today. Retrieved 2008-03-11. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)

[4] Nevans-Pederson, Mary (2008-03-13). "No St. Pat's Day Mass allowed in Holy Week". Dubuque Telegraph Herald. Woodward Communications, Inc. Retrieved 2008-03-13.

[apdh-5] Hajela, Deepti, Associated Press article, March 18, 2008, New York City dateline ("The parade typically draws 2 million spectators and 150,000 marchers [...] New York boasts the nation's largest parade [...]")

[St._Patrick's_Day_Parades_Roundup,_2005-6] "St. Patrick's Day Parades Roundup, 2005". The Wild Geese Today. Retrieved 2008-03-03.

[7] Whispers in the Loggia - Indult Scorecard, Master List March 14, 2006

[8] Whispers In The Loggia - St Pat's, Advanced July 24, 2007

[9] [1] "St. Patrick's Day: Fact vs. Fiction" (Bridget Haggerty, author of The Traditional Irish Wedding and the Web site "Irish Culture and Customs", speaks to National Geographic News)

[10] [2] Holiday has history

[11] "The History of St. Patrick's Day". 'Ottawa Plus. Retrieved 2007-03-16. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)

[omara1-12] Humphry's Family Tree - James O'Mara

[hist-13] "The History of the Holiday." History Channel. (URL accessed March 15, 2006)

[festival-14] "St. Patrick's Day". St. Patrick's Festival. Retrieved 2007-07-21.

[15] BBC News | NORTHERN IRELAND | St Patrick's day parade refused funding

[16] "Saint Patrick´s Day in Argentina".

[17] "video of Saint Patrick´s Day in Argentina-youtube".

[18] "Clarín newspaper".

[19] "The Guardian".

[20] "The Irish Times special report".

[21] Don Pidgeon (2007-07-03). "Montreal's Saint Patrick's Day Parade: History". United Irish Societies of Montreal.

[22] BBC News - The day the world turns green March 14, 1998

[23] Connecting Histories - St Patrick's Day Parade

[24] Manchester Irish Festival

[25] "Die St. Patricks Day Parade 2008". 'ganz-muenchen.de'. Retrieved 2008-02-23.

[26] "DIF Bayern". 'D.I.F. Bayern e.V.'. Retrieved 2008-02-23.

[27] "St. Patrick's Day Munich - Messages of Greeting". 'D.I.F. Bayern e.V.'. Retrieved 2008-02-23.

[korti-28] "Citizens Can Enjoy St. Patrick's Day". 'The Korea Times'. Retrieved 2008-03-18.

[Koch-29] Johnson, Bridget (17 March, 2006). 17 March, 2007"Lucky for the Irish". National Review Online.

[Washington-30] "Saint Patrick’s Day". Encarta (URL accessed 19 March, 2007) Cite error: The named reference "Washington" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).

[tavern-31] "March 17, 1756 in History." Brainy History. (URL accessed 17 March, 2006)

[32] BBC - h2g2 - St Patrick's Day

[33] MSN - View of Celebrations of St. Patricks Day in the U.S.

[34] Kunz, Virginia Brainard. Saint Paul: The First One Hundred and Fifty Years. Bookmen. pp. p.33. ISBN 0-9630690-0-4. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)

[pgh-35] "History of Pittsburgh's St. Patrick's Day Parade." (URL accessed October 5, 2006)

[36] Savannah, Georgia - Saint Patrick's Day Celebration

[37] "Syracuse St. Patrick's Parade". Retrieved 17 June. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)

[38] "Nancy Duffy". Retrieved 17 June. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)

[39] St. Patrick's Day causing Catholic dilemma - CNN.com

[40] Careaga, Andrew (Winter 2007). "Go ask Alice? We would if we could". UMR Magazine Vol. 81 No. 4. mst.edu.

[41] "The Official Site of The Boston Red Sox: News: Boston Red Sox News" (URL accessed 29 March, 2007)

[42] "The Official Site of Major League Baseball: News: Major League Baseball News" (URL accessed 29 March, 2007)

[43] Dodgers Auctions - LA Dodger's St. Patrick's Day Jersey

[44] "St. Patrick's Day on Yahoo! News Photos" (URL accessed 29 March, 2007)

[45] "The Official Site of The St. Louis Cardinals: News: St. Louis Cardinals News" (URL accessed 29 March, 2007)

[46] "MLB.com shop" (URL accessed 29 March, 2007)

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