For many people across the world, March 17 marks a day of festivities, communal gatherings and cheap beer.
That day? St. Patrick's Day.
Parades take place across America, and millions participate in the world's greenest holiday in numerous different ways.
For people of Irish heritage, St. Patrick's Day is a celebration that is often overlooked in high school history courses, and the importance of St. Patrick's feast day gets brushed under the rug and over-commercialized.
The man behind the holiday
St. Patrick, known as the patron saint of Ireland, was born in Roman Britain in the 4th century. At the age of 16, he was kidnapped and taken to Ireland as a slave, which he would escape before returning to Ireland in 432 CE to convert the Irish to Christianity. He died almost 30 years later on March 17, 461 CE, leaving many monasteries, churches and schools behind.
In the centuries that passed, legends have sprung up around St. Patrick's life. He is said to have explained the Holy Trinity using the shamrock's three leaves and driven all the snakes out of Ireland.
St. Patrick was never formally canonized as a saint in the Catholic Church, as there was no canonization process established during his life. Despite this, he is still a wildly popular figure among Catholic people.
From Ireland to America
Since the 10th century, people living in Ireland have honored St. Patrick's Roman Catholic feast day on March 17, the date of St. Patrick's death.
However, the first St. Patrick's Day parade did not take place in Ireland — it took place in a Spanish colony that would later become St. Augustine, Florida, in 1601. The next recorded parades didn't happen until a century later, with one in Boston occurring in 1737 and another in New York in 1762.
The holiday would only grow in popularity as Irish people continued to emigrate to America. During the next several decades, millions of Irish citizens flocked to America to escape oppressive British rule. The influx peaked during the Great Famine, also known as An Gorta Mór, as Irish peasants attempted to escape starvation.
This immigration was met with hostility and xenophobia. From the 18th century to the early 20th century, Irish immigrants were often barred from working regular jobs, leaving few opportunities for work. The political party known as Know Nothings and the Ku Klux Klan terrorized Irish immigrants, and newspapers portrayed Irish people celebrating St. Patrick's as violent, drunk and animalistic.
However, Irish Americans began fighting back against this prejudice. Irish Aid societies like The Society of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick and The Ancient Order of Hibernians were formed to protect and establish support networks for immigrants. Chapters of these aid societies located in New York City decided to unite to create one large parade in 1848, an annual parade that today attracts thousands of marchers and millions of attendees.
Irish Americans quickly became an influential voting bloc; known as "the green machine," political hopefuls began attending St. Patrick's Day parades in hopes of earning the votes of millions of middle and working-class Irish immigrants. Celebrations that were once characterized as hedonistic quickly turned into displays of strength, unity and pride.
After President Harry S. Truman attended New York City's massive St. Patrick's Day parade, many milestones were reached for Irish Americans. John F. Kennedy's 1960 presidential victory made him the first Irish Catholic president, and just over a year later, Chicago famously began dyeing the Chicago River green.
St. Patrick's Day now
St. Paddy's Day is hugely popular in America, where the largest celebrations take place. The New York City parade is the most popular, but other parades across America attract thousands of participants. Some of the largest after New York's include Boston, Chicago and Savannah, GA.
Many things Americans considered to be St. Patrick's Day staples — corned beef, cabbage and dyed green beer — started in America, not Ireland. Only recently has Ireland adopted American standards of St. Patrick's Day celebrations. It wasn't until 1995 that pubs in Ireland were allowed to open on March 17, and other famous traditions were only adopted to benefit tourism in Ireland.
Canada and Australia also have large St. Paddy's Day celebrations. Other countries that celebrate the holiday include Japan, Singapore and Russia.
In Athens, celebrating St. Patrick's Day can be somewhat more complicated, as March 17 usually falls during Ohio University's spring break. For students and Athens residents, March 6 is Green Beer Day, where local bars offer deals on beer and dye it green. Sober Bobcats can also put on their favorite green clothing item and participate in the fun.
As you celebrate St. Patrick's Day or Green Beer Day with your family and friends back home or with a cozy night in your apartment, honor the immigrants who solidified the holiday as an international success.
