Saint Patrick’s Day was celebrated on March 17, 2019, as a well known holiday recognizing the traditional death date of Saint Patrick, one of Ireland’s foremost patron saints. Saint Patrick’s Day was made an official Christian feast day dating back to the 17th century and is mostly celebrated by the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Lutheran Church. On this day, members of these communities commemorate Saint Patrick and the arrival and diaspora of the Christian religion to Ireland and continue to celebrate and acknowledge Irish heritage and their culture as a whole. Historically, restrictions were placed, prohibiting those who celebrated from consuming alcohol; however, the tradition has been modified to where alcohol consumption is one of the main ways to celebrate. In its founding region, Ireland, Saint Patrick’s Day was celebrated with parades and huge festivals, as all who wish to celebrate travel to Dublin. The Irish dressed up in green and labeled themselves with shamrocks to signify their roots and culture. During the parade, citizens watched and cheered as floats made their way through the display. Usually, the festivals that take place last about a week, as the Irish have fun with their neighbors and family for one of their biggest holidays of the year. Junior Allie Bettenhausen exclaimed, “I personally love celebrating St. Patrick’s Day. It is such a cute little holiday, and I love to challenge myself to wear everything green. Go green or go home!”

 Saint Patrick’s Day is celebrated differently around the world because of the different religions and ethnicities in certain regions. Elsewhere around the world, you may find different traditions, but all major cities hosted parades. This year in London, England they celebrated with parades, along with major U.S. cities, Sydney, Australia; Auckland, New Zealand; Brussels, Belgium; and Tokyo, Japan. All of these places hosted festivals and parades where entertainment, food, as well as a good time with friends and family were the main events.

 As different regions across the world celebrated this holiday, some places incorporated their own traditions and ceremonies for their citizens to enjoy. Some are far more silly than others. For instance, in the United States, the city of Chicago dyed the Chicago River a dark, vegetable green. In addition to the U.S., in New London, Wisconsin, their Shamrock Club members dressed up as leprechauns and changed the highway signs so the town then read New Dublin, to relate to the city of Dublin in Ireland. On a more serious note, in the Caribbean, where there is heavy Irish and African heritage, March 17 also signified a slave uprising in 1768. Here dancers roamed the streets and celebrated with songs and food.

 Saint Patrick’s Day around the world was celebrated differently, but in all places, the communities honored and celebrated their religion and its heritage. How did you celebrate?