What is Saint Patrick's Day?
Saint Patrick's Day is the national day of Ireland and the feast day of Saint Patrick, the fifth-century missionary who is Ireland's foremost patron saint. According to tradition he was born in Roman Britain, was captured and brought to Ireland as a slave, escaped, and returned later as a bishop to spread Christianity. A legend, first recorded in writing in the eighteenth century, says he used the three-leaved shamrock to explain the Trinity. The feast is observed by the Catholic Church, the Church of Ireland and several other churches.
In Ireland the day combines a religious feast with a national celebration, with Mass in the morning and parades, concerts and festivals in towns and cities, including a large multi-day festival in Dublin. Green clothing, shamrocks and flags are everywhere. The day is celebrated even more widely among the Irish diaspora, with large parades in New York, Boston, Chicago and many other cities, and landmarks around the world are lit in green.
Why it is observed
Patrick's traditional date of death is 17 March, in the fifth century, and by the seventh century he was venerated across Ireland. The feast was added to the Catholic calendar in the early seventeenth century, largely through the Franciscan scholar Luke Wadding. The Bank Holiday (Ireland) Act 1903 made 17 March an official holiday in Ireland. From 1927 the Irish Free State banned the sale of alcohol on the day, and the ban was repealed in 1961. The first state-sponsored parade in Dublin took place in 1931.
How the date is set
Saint Patrick's Day is fixed on 17 March, the traditional date of Patrick's death. It always falls in Lent for Western churches. When it coincides with Holy Week the church feast may be moved (to 15 March in 2008), but the Irish public holiday stays on 17 March.
How it is observed
Saint Patrick's Day is a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Montserrat, and a holiday for provincial government employees in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. In the United States it is widely celebrated but is not a public holiday. Banks, public offices and schools close in Ireland, shops and restaurants mostly stay open, but cities are crowded and public transport runs a holiday timetable. Pay and time off depend on the employer and the contract.
Sources
Ireland