St. Patricks Day

Background

• Celebrated March 17
• A global celebration
• Celebrated to remember the missionary St. Patrick who converted the Irish to Christianity

Traditions

• The wearing of the green - the green is symbolizing the shamrock which is what St. Patrick used to symbolize the Holy Trinity.
• Parades - the first parade was celebrated in New York in 1909 after 1 Million Irish people immigrated to the U.S. Countries around the world have parades for St. Patrick.

Traditions cont.

• Greening of monuments - In 1962 Chicago put 100Ibs of green dye into the Chicago river and turned the river green. Other monuments that get turned green are the White House, Disney Land, Leaning Tower of Pisa, and the Pyramids of Giza

Special Characters

• St. Patrick
• Leprechaun

Symbols

• Shamrock
• The color green
• Rainbows
• Pot of gold

Music

• Traditional Irish Folk music
• River Dancing

Food

• Corned Beef
• Cabbage
• Beer
• Whiskey

Interesting Facts

• The original color was blue
• St. Patrick banished snakes from Ireland
• Over 13 million pint of Guinness sold
• St. Patrick isn't even Irish