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 the most widely venerated patron saint of the country. 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. He is said to have used the three-leaved shamrock to explain the Trinity. The feast day is also a patron saint's day for the Church of Ireland and the Catholic Church alike.
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. Smaller towns hold their own parades, often with local bands and community floats. Visitors should expect large crowds in Dublin.
Why it is observed
Patrick's traditional date of death is 17 March, in the second half of 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. Irish soldiers in the English army held the first recorded parade in New York in 1762, and in Ireland the day became a bank holiday under the Bank Holiday (Ireland) Act 1903. Until 1961 pubs had to close on the day, and the first official Dublin parade took place in 1931. The Chicago River has been dyed green each year since 1962.
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, and when it coincides with a Sunday or Holy Week the church celebration may be moved, but the Irish public holiday stays on 17 March.
How it is observed
Saint Patrick's Day is a public holiday in Ireland and in Northern Ireland, and a provincial holiday in Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada and in Montserrat, among others. Banks, public offices and schools close in Ireland, and shops and restaurants are open, but the cities are crowded and public transport runs a holiday schedule. Hotels and flights around the date are expensive and booked early. The Lenten restrictions on eating and drinking are traditionally relaxed for the day. Pay and time off depend on the employer and the contract. Check local rules.
Ireland