Every year on March 17th Irish people and every one else who enjoys a good ole’ holiday come out of the woodworks to celebrate St. Patty’s Day. It’s a day of shamrocks, corn beef and cabbage, dancing, music, and of course, green beer. In fact, everything is green, even the water in some communities is often dyed green and if you’re not wearing green you may get pinched.
St. Patrick’s Day is a holiday meant to celebrate the death of Saint Patrick of Ireland. He was a Christian that found Christianity after he was kidnapped as a teenager and forced into slavery. He later escaped captivity and spent the rest of his life as a priest and converted pagan Irish to Christians. It is believed that he died on March 17th and that is why we celebrate St. Pat’s on that day every year.
In larger communities there are parades that celebrate St. Patrick’s Day followed by all kinds of Irish events that continue throughout the week and into the weekend. Most communities have music festivals with authentic Irish music and have Rugby tournaments. The U.S. and Ireland even have a special Rugby match to celebrate this Irish holiday.
Whether you celebrate St. Pat’s for the drinking, food or religious reasons one thing is always consistent. It brings people together and you get to wear silly green hats without people making fun of you. Happy St. Patrick’s Day!!!
wish we didn’t have school on st pats