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Saint Patrick's Day
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Saint Patrick's Day |

The Chicago River is dyed green each year for the St Patrick's Day celebration, shown here in 2005. |
Also called | (St) Patrick's Day
(St) Paddy's Day
(St) Patty's Day |
Observed by | Irish people and people of Irish ancestry,
Roman Catholic Church (see calendar), AnglicanCommunion (see calendars), Eastern Orthodox Church (see calendar), Lutherans (see calendar) |
Type | National, ethnic, Christian |
Date | 17 March |
Celebrations | attending parades, attending céilithe, wearing shamrocks, wearing green, drinking Irish beer, drinking Irish whiskey |
Observances | attending mass or service |
Saint Patrick's Day (Irish: Lá Fhéile Pádraig) is a religiousholiday celebrated internationally on 17 March. It is named after Saint Patrick (c. AD 387–461), the most commonly recognised of the patron saints of Ireland. It originated as a Roman Catholic holiday but is now observed by Protestant churches also (especially the Church of Ireland).[1] It became an official feast day in the early 17th century. Over time, Saint Patrick's Day has gradually become moreof a secular celebration of Irish culture.
Saint Patrick's Day is a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland,[2] Northern Ireland,[3] Newfoundland and Labrador and in Montserrat. It is also widely celebrated by the Irish diaspora, especially in places such as Great Britain, Canada, the United States, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, and Montserrat, among others.
Contents[hide] * 1 SaintPatrick * 2 Wearing of the green * 3 In Ireland * 3.1 Sports events * 4 Outside Ireland * 4.1 In Argentina * 4.2 In Canada * 4.3 In Great Britain * 4.4 In Montserrat * 4.5 In South Korea * 4.6 In New Zealand * 4.7 In Japan * 4.8 In the United States * 4.8.1 Early celebrations * 4.8.2 Customs today * 4.8.3 Parades *4.8.4 U.S. cities with major celebrations * 4.8.4.1 Buffalo, New York * 4.8.4.2 Butte, Montana * 4.8.4.3 Dallas, Texas * 4.8.4.4 Hoboken, New Jersey * 4.8.4.5 Holyoke, Massachusetts * 4.8.4.6 Hot Springs, Arkansas * 4.8.4.7 Las Vegas, Nevada * 4.8.4.8 New Orleans * 4.8.4.9 New York City* 4.8.4.10 Pearl River, New York * 4.8.4.11 Rolla, Missouri * 4.8.4.12 Savannah, Georgia * 4.8.4.13 San Francisco, California * 4.8.4.14 Scranton, Pennsylvania * 4.8.4.15 Seattle, Washington * 4.8.4.16 Syracuse, New York * 4.8.4.17 Tallahassee, Florida * 4.8.5 Sports-related celebrations * 5 See also * 6References * 7 External links |
Saint Patrick

Saint Patrick (c. 387–461)
Main article: Saint Patrick
Little is known of Patrick's early life, though it is known that he was born in Roman Britain in the 4th century, into a wealthy Romano-British family. His father and grandfather were deacons in the Church. At the age of sixteen, he was kidnapped by Irish raiders and taken captive to Ireland asa slave.[4] It is believed he was held somewhere on the west coast of Ireland, possibly Mayo, but the exact location is unknown. According to his Confession, he was told by God in a dream to flee from captivity to the coast, where he would board a ship and return to Britain. Upon returning, he quickly joined the Church in Auxerre in Gaul and studied to be a priest.[citation needed]
In 432, heagain said that he was called back to Ireland, though as a bishop, to Christianise the Irish from their native polytheism. Irish folklore tells that one of his teaching methods included using the shamrock to explain the Christian doctrine of the Trinity to the Irish people. After nearly thirty years of evangelism, he died on 17 March 461, and according to tradition, was buried at Downpatrick....