St Patrick's Day

National holiday to honour St Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, celebrated in Ireland and all over the world, especially in the USA. St Patrick's Day (March 17th) is one of America's earliest holidays, declared in 1737 by a group of Irish Protestants at a meeting in Boston, Massachusetts.

In the USA it is a day of Irish bonding celebrated with riotous parades in over 100 cities, especially New York and Chicago. The day is marked by traditional Irish symbols. Cards, cakes, clothing, and other items are all decorated with shamrocks, shillelehs, leprechauns, and harps. The holiday is also associated with spring, and green is the colour of the day. Anyone caught not wearing green on the parade can be pinched. Food and drinks, including beer, are coloured green for the day; in some cities even the rivers flow temporarily green. Corned beef and cabbage (probably never eaten in Ireland) is the official dish of the day, and Irish stew, boxty (Irish potato bread), and other Irish dishes are served.