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Who doesn’t loveSt. Patrick's Day? It’s Spring; the days are getting longer, and there is usually a big party going on, depending on where you live.
What is St Patrick the patron saint of? There is only one obvious answer: Ireland! However, Saint Patrick's Day is famous around the world, and many people come together to celebrate Saint Patrick's Day.
Many cities are famous for their St Paddy’s Day celebrations.Chicago is known fordyeing the Chicago River green, and people love to head out on boats to swim in the revelry. The St Patrick's Day parade is another long-standing tradition; major parades can be seen all over the United States and worldwide. These parade routes go right through the city and are a great way to celebrate. Also, many Saint Patrick's Day recipes and images of four-leaf clovers (like ourfour-leaf clover women’s tees) can be seen everywhere you go.
What do you think of hearing “Saint Patrick's Day”? Celebrating Irish heritage, (day) drinking Guinness, parades, and eitherCeltic music or the Drop Dead Murphy’s (depending on your preferences and age. Iron Maiden may not be Irish, but ourIrish Maiden shirts will be the talk of the party) are the standard things. But what do you really know about St Patrick’s Day? Why is St Patrick's Day celebrated? Here are 10 facts you may not know…
Unfortunately, the truth about St Patrick's Day is a bit of a shocker. St Patrick’s original name wasPatricus,and he was Anglo-Roman. England was a part of the Roman Empire at the time, and Ireland wasn't.
Born in the waning days of Roman power in Britain, Patricus was the son of a Roman official and a Church Deacon. He would have been raised in the upper classes and through a very tumultuous time in European history. However, that’s not even the craziest thing about St Patrick.
So honour the real history of St Patrick with one of our0% Irish shirts!
The last thing you probably think of when you hear St Patrick is pirates, but that’s how St Patrick first came toIreland. In those days, Ireland was totally separate from theRomanworld and the rest of the British Isles.
When St Patrick was 16, he was captured by Irish pirates and brought to Ireland, where he was enslaved for 6 years. He escaped, got on board a ship for England, landed and wandered the wilderness for 28 days before finding a boar and killing it.
These events deepened St Patrick’s ties toChristianityand were why he returned to Ireland to spread his faith.
When did St Patrick die? Why is St Patrick's Day celebrated on March 17th? Even though we aren’t 100% sure, the Feast of St Patrick was set as when St Patrick died sometime in the 4th or 5th Centuries. St Patrick remained famous locally in Ireland, but the Catholic Church eventually gave him a feast day. The feast became official in the 17th Century and has been celebrated ever since. It probably became popular because of its timing duringLent.
St Patrick's Day spiritual meaning is directly connected to Lent. Lent is 40 days (not counting Sundays) beforeEaster, an important date in the Catholic Church. During Lent, it was and still is customary for Catholics to renounce something that they love during Lent to commemorate when Jesus fasted before the crucifixion.
But during feast days, Catholics were allowed to indulge in the things they gave up. Since alcohol was, and is, a popular thing to give up during Lent, St Patrick’s Day became associated with (over)indulging and having big parties and parades. But these large parades didn’t start in Ireland.
Alcohol is definitely a theme of the day and ourmen’s andwomen’s St Patrick’s day shirts will make you fit right in to the celebration!
Although not a legal holiday in the US, major US cities will have large celebrations, parades, and traditions dating back to before the American Revolution. St Patrick’s Day parades were first held in New York in 1766, and celebrations of St Patrick's Day in the United States go back to 1600.
The first organized St Patrick's Day celebration was held in Boston in 1737. Chicago started dyeing the Chicago River green in 1962, and many US cities have their celebrations, parades and festivals.
The first St Patrick’s Day parade in Ireland was held in 1903, the same year it was declared a public holiday.
The Irish Diaspora around the world has been holding celebrations of St Patrick’s Day for a long time. Many of these celebrations were started by the local Irish community. These are some of the more interesting traditions.
In Moscow, Russia, the St Patrick’s Day parade ismilitarystyle, with coordinated marching and displays of different equipment. It is also a recognized feast by the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Bosnia and Herzegovina hold more of a cultural festival, screening Irishfilmsand concerts of Irish music.
Much like Chicago, the capital of Lithuania dyes theVilnia River green.
The biggest St Patrick's Day celebrations in Asia are held inMalaysia, with 36 parties and balls held around the Southeast Asian country.
One common theme, though is beer and maybe overindulging.Let’s Get Ready to Stumble!
On March 17, 1892, a massive winter storm hit the Southeastern United States. The hardest-hit city wasNashville. Nashville does get snow during the winter, with an average of 7 inches, but that year they got very little snow. However, that changed on the night of March 17 when asnowstormhit, eventually dumping17 inches of snow by the afternoon of St Patrick’s Day.
St Patrick’s Day 1892 still holds the record for snowfall in Nashville in 24 hours!
One commonly known ‘fact’ about St Patrick is that he chased all the snakes from Ireland, which is why Ireland has no snakes until now. However, more recent archeological evidence shows that there have never been snakes in Ireland, as Ireland was covered in ice during the last Ice Age.
The story of St Patrick chasing the snakes is symbolic of his bringing Catholicism to Ireland, as snakes are identified with evil in many Christian traditions.
(Don’t worry, you can still wear ourGo Home Snakes, You’re Drunk shirt, we won’t tell anyone)
For a long time, the national color of Ireland wasblue, as were the robes associated with St Patrick's. This changed in the 17th Century when theShamrockand the green countryside of Ireland became the national color.
The Irish Catholic Confederation first used the color green on their flag in the 1640s, andgreenhas grown to be the color most associated with Ireland today.
Symbols are important and can say a lot of information in a short time.This shirt is packed with symbols and will definitely be a conversation starter!
This article has a lot of information about Catholicism, but here’s one more: there is a debate about whether St Patrick is a saint. A saint must becanonized by the Vatican, which has been the case for over a thousand years. However, St Patrick was made a saint before this rule. At that time, local churches and dioceses (small groups of churches) could declare someone a saint.
Another interesting bonus fact: St Patrick is considered a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
However you celebrate, St Patrick's Day has a very long history with deep roots in Irish communities around the world. So raise a glass, put on some green, and participate in a tradition that goes back hundreds of years, celebrating a 5th Century English-born Roman missionary and bishop (say that 5 times fast!) With things opening up and people feeling more comfortable outside, St. Patrick's Day will probably be pretty epic this year. Let's hope St Patrick's Day2023 will be one to remember!
For an even crazier day, check out our selection of St Patrick’s Day shirts formen andwomen.
