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Cultural Holidays: St. Patrick's Day

Photo 1100St. Patrick's Day, also known as "St Paddy's", falls on March 17th of every year, celebrating the patron saint of Ireland.  Although the facts behind who Saint Patrick was are unclear, legend has it that Patrick came to Ireland as a Christian missionary, and gained fame by driving all the snakes out of Ireland and into the Sea.


In Ireland, the day is a national holiday, which means the entire country celebrates with festivities in some cities last almost an entire week!  St Paddy's is also a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland, Montserrat and Newfoundland, a province of Canada.  Many others claim that on March 17th, everyone is Irish for the day, and you will find the holiday is unofficially celebrated in many countries all over the world. 






Photo by Jlurie
Some people mark the occasion by wearing green, since Ireland is know as 'The Emerald Isle", or adorning themselves with shamrocks, which are believed to bring good luck.  Cities with a large Irish populations often celebrate the day with a parade - Chicago even dyes the river that flows through the city green to mark the occasion.








Photo by dacotahsgirlMany pubs and restaurants will serve Irish foods such as soda bread, or corned beef with boiled cabbage and serve beer that has been dyed green.  Often entertainment will be provided by bands playing Irish folk songs like Danny Boy, The Wild Rover, and Whiskey in the Jar.








How will you be celebrating?
lechuck
  • Authority 545
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lechuck said:

Mmmm, green beer!

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  • Posted 8 months ago.
Peter Blomert
  • Authority 603
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Peter Blomert said:

You may like to glance at this satiric blog about St. Patrick’s Day

They have some articles that made me LOL about myself :-)

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  • Posted 8 months ago.
pixelchef
  • Authority 178
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pixelchef said:

I ate some Lucky Charms for breakfast. Magically delicious!™

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  • Posted 8 months ago.
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