Cheers to green beers
Around the middle of March each year, many of us put on our favourite green outfits, find a new taste for dark stout beer and practise our bad Irish accents with phrases such as ‘Top o’ the morning to ya‘.
Yep it’s almost St Patrick’s Day, the day of celebration for Ireland’s patron saint. Both in and out of the Emerald Isle, St Patrick’s Day is a popular event that is celebrated by many, regardless of their heritage. It’s funny though, no other country in the world commands such a party. For example, England’s patron saint is St George but you’d never think of heading to the local English pub for a pint of ale on St George’s Day, would you? That is, if you even knew when St George’s Day was… Why is that? According to Christine:
When mass emigration occurred in the 19th century, the Irish stuck together and built up communities, like the Italians, Greeks etc, whereas the British did not for some reason. So its natural in a foreign land that large ethnic communities would keep their traditions alive more so than others. More
St Patrick’s Day is particularly popular in America, where many are descendents of the Irish. In fact, in Chicago, they even dye the river green to celebrate (see the picture to the right).
They use a vegetable-based dye that is harmless to fish. The powder actually starts out orange and then turn green when it’s mixed in the water. More
The Americans seem to have taken St Patrick’s on as their own and many Irish say they don’t even celebrate the day in the same fashion as the rest of the world:
We don’t dye our rivers green or drink green beer, we don’t sit down to a feast of cabbage and corned beef, or go around pinching someone who isn’t wearing green. These are all American customs. In Ireland, the older folks go to mass, the rest of us celebrate with the Patrick’s Day festival, which lasts for 5 days. On the day itself, we go to the parade, then hit the pub and dance the night away. Check out www.stpatricksday.ie and see all that goes on over the week. More
Who is this St Patrick anyway? There must be more to the day than drinking Guinness and wearing green.
St. Patrick was an Englishman who was taken prisoner by the Irish Pagans. He was returned to his family but God told him to go back and convert the Pagans. With help from God he returned and taught them about the Holy Trinity using a three leaf clover as an example. Thus, the clover is a universal sign for St. Patrick’s Day. More
How about you? Are you going to do anything special for St Patrick’s Day this year?
Caitlin
Community Manager
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