St. Patrick's Day, which is celebrated every year on March 17, is one of the few foreign holidays with international "validity" that does not have American roots. Well, that's not quite true either, because the first parade on St. Patrick's Day, the saint who combined religion and beer, was held in Boston in 1737, where it was organized by Irish immigrants wearing green. Everything else is history. The celebration quickly became one of Ireland's main export items.
March 17 has been reserved for nearly three hundred years St. Patrick's Day, a day when everything is about the Irish, when we are all Irish, when the government green color, as the beer flows in gallons, when the voices of rejoicing are still heard in the morning hours and, which is pushed more and more into the background, the day when St. Patrick rejoices, who among the people of Green Island spread Christianity and with their help clovers (today one of the national Irish symbols) explained the meaning of the Trinity or Holy trinity.
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Nowadays, it no longer has a religious connotation, but has become ode to Ireland, its cultural heritage and its contribution to the world. The vast majority wash it down with beer, especially Guinness is probably the best-selling drink in the world on that day, and in Ireland schools and shops are closed on that day.
Interesting facts related to the Irish national holiday of St. Patrick's Day:
- In Ireland, St. Patrick's Day is a religious holiday, in importance on the level of Christmas and Easter.
- "Erin go Bragh" is the most common phrase you will hear from the Irish and it means Ireland forever.
- 33.7 million Americans are of Irish descent, which is almost nine times the number of Irish people in Ireland.
- The first Saint Patrick's Day was not in Ireland, but in Boston in 1737.
- The largest parade in the United States, which has been held since 1762, is in New York City and attracts around two million visitors every year, with around 150,000 people performing. Otherwise, over 100 cities (including Chicago, Illinois and Georgia) celebrate St. Patrick's Day in the USA alone.
- In the mid-1990s, the Irish government launched a campaign using St. Patrick's Day for tourism and promotional purposes. This especially pleased the Irish brewers, as their beers became world famous and appreciated.
- But it wasn't always all about beer in streams. St. Patrick's Day was the first exclusively religious holiday in Ireland, and until 1970 the authorities even banned restaurant and pub owners from operating on this day.
- Well, until recently, even the opposite was true. In fact, it was even written in the law that catering establishments, i.e. pubs and taverns, should not be closed on this day. Today, however, everyone prefers to stick their mouths to the rich "March 17 nurse".
- Irish people still take the holiday very seriously, starting the day with a visit to church. They are dressed in green, and the shamrock symbol is not missing. Many of them also look like bearded gnomes, the most popular mythological creatures here and another Irish national symbol. So it's not all just fun, but it soon becomes, as fasting also ends on this day, so the abundance of drink and food is no coincidence.
- Saint Patrick's Day in Ireland is celebrated most massively in the capital Dublin, and parades in honor of the patron saint of Ireland, as mentioned, are also held in large numbers elsewhere in the world, especially where the Irish live or their descendants.
- The color green symbolizes life, the four leaf clover and the beginning of spring. In some places, they even turn the rivers green on this occasion.
- Saint Patrick was an Englishman by birth.
- 90 percent of Irish people are Catholic, but only 30 percent have ever gone to church.
- 73 percent of Americans can't locate Ireland on a map.
- There is one pub for every 100 people in Dublin.
- 19 American presidents have publicly expressed their pride in their Irish roots, including their first president, George Washington.
- Simple Irish food that you can prepare at home is ti Champ, a dish of potatoes, milk, butter, shallots and green onions.
- On this day, many world landmarks turn green (Sydney Opera House, London Eye, Burj Khalifa, Eiffel Tower, Rhine Falls, Taj Mahal, Niagara Falls, Tower of Pisa,...).
